Joseph JosephM-Cuisine Cool-Touch Microwave Dish 1 EA Orange 45001

VERY GOOD FOR COOK FAST AND LAZY PEOPLE , I WILL TRY VEGETABLE

Working and living with peoples from South East Asia rice soon became the norm for me, even though I seldom ate it, except with curry. Soon, I noticed how useful it was to bulk out a meal, and that's a good money saver.In our house all the Asians had their own rice machines, I had never seen these contraptions before, but it was like an iPhone for them, they all used them and all had one. Those machines came in all shapes and prices, and completely incompatible with my views of kitchen utilities: which must be clean at all times, and therefore easy to clean.Joseph & Joseph's Microwave Rice and Grain Cooker solution was very much more affordable by comparison, and with a pleasing Bauhaus inspired modular design, but with a contemporary natural colour palate. Being left inside a microwave it would also have a home when not in use, thus not taking up space I didn't have to spare. I now had the advantage over my Asian housemates as my "cooker": looked better, cost (my parents) less and was always clean, of which none of them could compete with.The quality of the cooked rice depends: for a Westerner it was the best rice that I had consistently ever made, to the point that I couldn't tell the difference between rice from their machine or my own. They were too polite to say if it was less tasty, but they certainly liked it, so in my book that was good enough. Using this system I finally realised that rice should be washed beforehand, even my Australian housemates knew that, but for some reason I didn't, but then again I wasn't a big rice eater.Since investing in this system I now save more money, I know what quality of rice to go for ("New Crop" is best: it's all about harvest cycles with rice) and have learned how to pre-prepare rice. It couldn't be a simpler cooking process with this system as one only need measure the appropriate amount of water and allow the microwave to do the rest, whilst preparing the remainder of the meal.It took a little bit of time to absently trust a microwave to be on for eleven minutes (White Long Grain rice) as I'd never cooked anything close to that long ever before, and this was also of a polymer material. However, the scare stories were unfounded in my situation and never have I come close to melting the cooker, I did my research and cooked in stages to begin with, checking along the way.I got a good tip from somebody: when you don't have access to Jasmine Rice, just make your own using Jasmine Tea leaves (after all, that's what it actually is!) - with approximately half a teabag per cup of rice !!After two years of semi-regular use I think I know this product well enough to suggest improvements:1. Removing the lid after cooking2. Separating steamed foodstuffs from sitting water3. Rice gets caught in the colander's holesLid Removal:As the water boils to cook the rice it bubbles through the vents cut away from the lid, forming a slippery puddle that makes the tiny protruding knob difficult to grip on to.Unlike other suggestions of a knurled design around the edges of the knob. Which would not only interrupt the smooth design, but not be faithful to its sliding philosophy of operation: everything slides together, including the lock. I would instead employ a sliding pivot to simply poke the lid out of alignment with the rice paddle.Although I shy away from moving parts, and have never seriously relied on the built in handle on the colander, I can see there not being any compromise on that feature. So rather than removing the handle on the colander compartment, remove the existing wall that mirrors the handle instead, giving the lid a central pivot point of 180°, so when one half of the lid is pushed with the rice paddle from above it will tip like the Titanic and easily be removed.This would also mean the exterior body design would have to become flush as the lid no longer sits around its ledge to stabilise. In fact the lid is already designed to fit neatly on top of the colander itself when separated from the main outer body unit, but I have never done this and always kept all compartments compiled when in use, left inside the microwave to retain heat.Self Sufficient Draining:To give enough time for water to drain away from recently steamed vegetables, and avoid them left sitting in a pool of excess water, balancing the colander into the top of the cooker's outer body would keep the entire draining process self contained, avoiding sullying another surface.It would require the inner body to have groves cut to allow the colander to slide securely into position diagonally, around a 30-45° angle. This would also require the drainage holes to continue an inch or so further up from its base to avoid the water collecting in the colander itself.Nature Abhors A Vacuum:Aside from the colander, each element it simple to maintain. Without that this device would not only be unhygienic, but undesirable to rely on for more than a few uses. The colander must have an exit route for water, but that doesn't mean through narrow holes. In my experience, the rice all to easily collects and solidifies dry in those hard to reach holes. Better would it be to have slits running the length of the base to swipe clear and clean in a single motion with any normal household sponge.Conclusions:After two years, I have found that following instructions would guarantee the same results each time I cooked rice. These results were better than the best rice that I had ever cooked in a pan on the hob, and with such ease.While broken pieces of rice would collect in the holes of the colander, and during operation the lid can become tricky to remove, on the whole the design is simple to completely deconstruct for cleaning.The design is the most sophisticated of its price point, with mute colours pleasing to the eye and of a reliable solid constriction, except for the flimsy colander handle.The price has only increased £1 for each of those two years I have owned this product.I would recommend purchasing this utility over similarly priced competitors. However, they could improve the mechanics of the device to optimise it's shortcomings.Pro:• Fair price• Consistently reliable results• Easy to clean (mostly)• Uncomplicated product design• Pleasing to the eyeCon:• Lid is slippery to remove after cooking• Colander handle is flimsy and pointless• Colander could be easier to clean• Could be more self sufficient and versatile

After a few false starts (I should have read the handy booklet that comes with it) I managed to see why this is a handy pot to have in the kitchen. First things - as you would expect from Joseph Joseph, it's made of sturdy plastic and looks like the kitchen cousin of a Dyson. It doesn't reduce the time for making rice (in the case of wholemeal rice, the cooking time is significantly longer). But it does take away the need to keep checking on rice to make sure the pot is spilling over and splashing on the cooking surface. And it does what it says - it produces perfect rice, fluffy and ready to eat (so long as you read the handy booklet that comes with it). One word of warning, I heated some baked beans in it (it's not meant for that purpose). I can't get the stains from the plastic now. However, the flavour of the rice I've cooked since hasn't been affected. It's just that the bottom of the pot now has an orange circle. This is a good buy for people who just want to add the correct weight of ingredients, switch on the microwave and then go off and do other things until it pings and the food is ready. It's not a time-saver unless you factor in the other things you can be doing while it's doing its job.

It took 12 meals to get the quantities and cooking times exactly right. You'll probably need to experiment with the instruction charts. But now the JJ rice cooker does basmati, long grain and brown rice perfectly. My kitchen doesn't steam up, and it's oddly satisfying to open the container to find perfectly cooked rice AND no water remaining.The fitted colander is handy for first rinsing uncooked basmati or long grain rice - it's why I chose this make of rice cooker. Pending washing-up, I suggest keeping the colander base under water as sometimes a few rice grains stick in the holes and they're easier to poke out if kept wet. Dishwashers (upper basket) but the dishwasher won't poke the rice out for you.The rice paddle also acts as a lock and a carry handle. It feels nicely gadgety :-)The lid's knob is hard to hold when hot, especially if I'm wearing an oven mitt. Less of a problem if, as per the instructions, you leave it to stand for a few minutes, as the rice won't get cold but the knob does. Beware the escaping hot steam as you open the lid or you'll get a free facial.I've lately found that the Nice Rice Device does 6 generous adult portions of rice in one go. If you want more, use the Nice Rice Device twice or thrice :-)Sometimes I use it as a general microwave cooker. I've done veggies (without rice) so far and the colander's handy for straining them.

Best kitchen equipment I ever bought. It is simplest and probably best solution how to cook rice. It is not electric so there is little chance this will broke up. I prefer this solution that some cheap electric rice cooker that is taking lot's of space. This is very nice designed and also easy to stored. I used it twice with different types of rice and it works perfectly. Finally I didn't overcooked rice or it didn't burn.

For years I have been using a stackable stainless-steel steamer pot on an electric hob. Where I live the hob was fitted in 1982, hence it takes ages to bring the water to the boil sufficiently enough to steam my potatoes, carrots and other veg so needles to say an awful lot of electricity over the years has unnecessarily been used.Then one day recently whilst looking for a new potato peeler I came across this incredible microwave universal four piece stackable cooking set, so decided to invest in one especially as its a Joseph-Joseph design. Unlike a lot of things that tend to look good but don't function as well when you try them out, this cooking set really is the bees-knees! It has taken a lot of trial and error to achieve the same cooking perfection as before but hopefully I have finally cracked it, as my problem is I have a 'Nine Hundred Watt Microwave Combi-Oven' and the Joseph-Joseph cooking instructions only give times etc; for an 'Eight Hundred Watt Microwave'.However, that said I have given it a resounding Five Stars because I truly believe something so easy to use, keep clean by running under a tap and cool touch handles, that in the end is going to save me pounds on my Electricity Bill certainly deserves them!