Panasonic SR-MS183 10-Cup (Uncooked) "Fuzzy Logic" Rice Cooker

I purchased the rice cooker as a compromise. I really wanted a zojirushi but could not stomach the price tag. The panasonic had all of the features I was looking for, good reviews, and a decent price (refurb). So, I have been using this machine for a few months and truly love it. It's one of those appliances you don't really NEED but it makes life a little more convenient when you have one. I am not an avid rice eater; probably eat rice about once per week or less. However, I love grains (and pasta) so decided this could be a great multipurpose machine. I also bought The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook by Hensperger which is invaluable. The most important thing to keep in mind with this machine is that rice needs to be measured in the included measuring cup. I think it measures about 3/4C, however this is considered one cup by the manufacturer. You simply measure your desired 'cups' of dry rice, put it in the cooker pot, add water to the line inside the pot equal to the amount of rice you used, add any seasoning you might want, close the lid, select whichever cooking cycle you would like (white, brown, sticky, etc), and press start. I would recommend rinsing your rice unless you're going for sticky. It does take a while to cook rice! White rice is at least an hour. There's also a quick white rice button which I've never used. You can program the machine to start at a later time, so you can have your rice ready when you come home! My rice has come out perfect every time. Now, the best part. I have used this machine for many things beyond it's primary purpose. There is a steam function. You can steam veggies. There is a steamer basket that fits above the rice pot. You can cook rice at the same time as you steam veggies (have to open the pot and add the veggies when the rice is at least halfway done or they'll get mushy). You can steam fish or chicken above your rice. There is a porridge cycle. You can make oatmeal, polenta, or any other creamy concoction you'd like. There is a cake cycle. You can make a perfectly round cheesecake or a chocolate pudding cake. There's a slow cook cycle. I especially love this one. It's like using a crockpot on high setting. I made macaroni and cheese in this cooker and it came out looking and tasting exactly like baked. I will never go through the effort of making baked mac and cheese again. If interested, I would recommend Cook's Country Test Kitchen Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese Recipe. Since the rice pot is nonstick metal, you edges will come out golden just like in the oven. I've made holiday stuffing in this machine. Again, just as good as baked. I have several other 'crockpot' recipes that I plan to make in this machine. Finally, I have made millet and quinoa in this machine, using the white rice setting. Perfect. The possibilities are endless. This is a versatile machine. It's small and easy to store in a cabinet. It has a nice carry handle. The included accessories are a steamer basket, rice paddle, and measuring cup. These (including the power cord) fit nicely in the interior for storage. Some have complained about the cleaning. I don't get this. The inner pot is nonstick. There's an inner lid that seals the pot (think pressure cooker) which comes off which the push of a button and snaps back into place. I have never had any visible soiling under this lid. The rest wipes clean with damp cloth. Some have complained that the clock counts in military time....big deal. The nice thing is that when you unplug the unit the clock's internal battery keeps the time. I'm sure the battery will die at some point and there's no clear way to change it. I'll cross that path when I get to it. The only thing that would make this better is to have some kind of manual temperature control (for the slow cook setting). Overall, this is a great buy and has made my top 10 list of most cherished small kitchen appliances. This list includes my Kitchenaid stand mixer, Kitchenaid food processor, Vitamix blender, immersion hand blender, pressure cooker, crockpot, deep fryer, whoopie pie maker, and espresso machine.

I did not like this device because it broke after 3 months of purchase. It is rarely used, but broke down timer, and constantly turned on keep warm. I can no longer use this device because it does not work. I wrote to the Panasonic service center, because rice cooker was under warranty. They said that I should turn off and then turn on the device. They think I'm crazy, I've done it many times. I wrote letters to the Panasonic service center a few times, as a result I was offered the repair rice cookers. But in New York there is no service center of Panasonic, and I was told to take the unit in Texas. I do not want to do itI will not do it because it's expensive, and I do not want to pay money for the device that is to repair for free. So I really did not like the Panasonic rice cooker, and after-sales service is very bad. I do not advise anyone to buy this device

This is a great rice cooker, if you don't break anything. Our inner pot was damaged due to dropping, and won't able to get a replacement part. You might think Panasonic should support their products with spare parts, well, not in this case. Unless you don't damage anything, it's a great rick cooker.

I bought the same model product when I worked in China. I likes the one I got in China and trying to get the same one when I need one in US. But so frustrated, some of the details are missing from the US market product. 1. No timing record to show when the rice will be ready. The product I bought in China, when you start cooking, the timer shows how many minutes left before the rice/ porridge will be done. This is a very neat function. I can know how long my rice will be done and plan my dinner around that. In this product, when you press start, it gives you nothing! you will only know the rice is ready when it start to beep. 2. No water mark for porridge cooking. Again, the product I bought in China, it shows two water marks in the container, one for rice and one for porridge. So I know exactly how much water i need to put in when i cook rice or porridge. The one in US only has the mark for rice cooking. I have to guess how much water to put on when I cook rice. Really? you need to make some guessing on a computerized eletrical product? What is the computer for? Plus, this is nothing more than someone adding a mark in the container. 3. No plastic spoon for porridge. The China product comes with two spoons, one flat spoon for rice and one deep spoon for porridge. This product only has one flat spoon. Now I have to buy a plastic spoon myself. ALL these are small things, but these details just make me frustrated. Especailly when you are buying the same product with the same model from the same company, why the product in US is much sucker than the product in China? Does Panasonic wants to quit US market?

We have a nice rice-cooker by Zojirushi, but I needed a European analog of "multicooker" for making soups, hot milk cereals and steaming meats and veggies for my babies. I found this very useful, especially in a family with children and tight morning & after-work schedules. I have bought one for myself (use EVERY day) and one for my expecting friend. The only thing I wish was different, is the minimum time for "cake" and "slow cook", which are both set to 1 hour. I use recipes, that call for 35-45 min baking. Slow cooking is literally universal for preparing broths, soups, light stews, etc, so sometime I need to use this mode for 40 min only. The above modes as well as steaming cannot be put on timer, which is quite inconvenient, especially for recipes, that could have been made first thing in the morning, before you even wake up.

There are many reviews about the SR-MS183 and I would suggest they all be read. What I found out as an owner is confusion comes about in the reviews by the rice cooker cup not being an 8 ounce cup. It is 180 ml. about 3/4 of a cup. I was worried that the minimum batch would be to large for 2 people but it has not been a problem. The procedure is to measure the rice using the included 180ml cup and then use the numbers on the inside of the crucible to measure the water. Some types of rice require an adjustment and might require more water, white rice is simple amount of rice cooker cups to same number on the cooker crucible. So the larger model offers more utility if you are going to have company or cook a single pot meal using the included steamer basket. The interface on the machine is simple but it has a memory that is battery powered and goes into a hold/warm mode after your rice is cooked. You need to hit the off button when you are done. I never do that but just unplug and take the cooker into the dining room. The next time I use it I must hit off to cancel the previous use before it can be programmed for the desired type of rice. Due to the memory being battery powered disconnecting the power does not cancel the program. This cooker is a big hit with my guests and Grand kids. I think rice being served from this elegant futuristic appliance heightens the rice eating experience. You expect the rice to be better and it really is perfect. Chicken Teriaki is a big hit and I make extra sauce so we can put some on the Jasmine rice. I do the chicken on the grill or in a grill pan. The fit and finish of this machine is of the highest quality. Everything every piece is a wonder to touch. The rice cooker crucible is coated with Binochan charcoal infused non stick. The rice does not stick and clean up is easy. The crucible has a hammered area on the outside which Panasonic feels is helpful. This is not just a piece of aluminum with non stick. The metal is so hard it rings when set on the counter.There are 5 items that need to be washed after use. The break down and clean is easy. After a couple of times it is intuitive. The sealing is of a high quality (silicone?)rubber that appears very durable. Would buy again and feel that the extra expense of fuzzy logic and high quality construction were worth while to me. Great high tech cooker that makes perfect rice while I am busy slicing and dicing and stir frying. Some reviewers comment on a long cook time but so far the rice is always done first and then it goes to hold. While Panasonic recommends the rice be flaked as soon as it is done I rarely do that and it is just perfect. The Japan Bargain rice strainer washer is truly a bargain and will facilitate perfect rice no matter how you cook it.

Well, actually, I don't eat that much rice, but my wife loves rice. However, many times she cooks rice (either with a pressure cooker or the previous regular rice cooker we used), the rice used to be either too soft and watery or too hard and chewing was tough and it gave that grrh grrh feeling in the back of the teeth (molars). And we hated it. Additionally, the thing spewed the starchy liquid all over the counter and steam all over would blow. So we finally decided to get this over Zojirushi simply because of the pricing diff. Ratings seemed same for both. It arrived fast (from AntOnline I think) and we like it a lot now. You can just put the rice and water the prior night and set a timer for rice to be cooked and ready when my wife returns from the gym around 11:45am. It is also ready when I'm back from work around 7pm. Best of all, the rice is soft and tastes and smells so good. Cleanup is a bit more involved than throwing it into dishwasher (which you cannot do). However, there is a detachable lid inside the top cover which you can clean under water easily. Rice also doesn't stick to the bin and cleans up easy. It just falls off the bowl which is great. But you also have to clean the top part of the unit and it is a bit more involved for my wife, but it is not that bad. It has a time display, keep warm setting. It can also make cakes, porridges, steam veggies and stuff but we don't really use it. White rice cooks in about 40mins or so. But we don't really care now because of the timer. You just put the rice with the included rice cup, add water and set the timer so you can just leave the house. When you return, the rice is cooked and ready. Brilliant. Final rating: 5/5.

The inner cooking pan does not have separate water level indicator for different types of rice! There has to be at least more than 3; white rice, brown rice, sushi rice, porridge, etc. In Japan, even mediocre rice cookers have separate water level gauge because water-rice ratio is critical in cooking rice. This cooker only has one water level measurement, that means you have to either look up the amount of water necessary on the internet and add the manually measured water into rice, or just be happy with soggy white rice / dry brown rice or whatever Panasonic cooker will produce. When I cook 3 cups of white rice using this cooker I add water to 2.5 on the water level indicator. for 9 cups of rice, the water level would be 7.5 -- huge difference. It's unacceptable.