TechRadar Verdict
For those seeking a rice cooker that also functions as a multicooker with numerous cooking capabilities, the Cosori 5L Rice Cooker warrants consideration. However, achieving optimal results, particularly with its core rice cooking feature, may require some experimentation.
$79 at Walmart$89.99 at Amazon$99.99 at Cosori
Pros
- A dream to clean
- Large touchscreen buttons
- Makes wonderful cakes
- Over 10 cooking modes
Cons
- Rice was over-cooked in each test
- Slow cooking results weren’t optimal
- No control over temperature
Cosori 5L Rice Cooker: One-minute review
Modern rice cookers often serve as multicookers, offering a variety of cooking functions that make them versatile kitchen appliances. The Cosori 5L Rice Cooker exemplifies this trend, featuring more than 10 cooking modes for tasks like sautéing, steaming, and even preparing jams and cakes. However, this appliance struggles with its primary function.
During evaluation, rice cooked in the appliance consistently turned out overly dry, with clumps of overcooked grains. While not inedible, the quality did not meet expectations for a rice cooker in this price range. The Cosori Rice Cooker’s other cooking functions yielded mixed results, with some being excellent.
The appliance performs exceptionally well when making cakes, compotes, boiled eggs, and porridge. Conversely, its Slow Cook function was somewhat disappointing, and a lack of temperature control for some modes was noted.
The design of this rice cooker is commendable. It is remarkably easy to clean, compact for its 5L capacity, and features a user-friendly digital touchscreen display. Priced at approximately $99.99 / £119.99 (about AU$150), it is not excessively expensive.
If a user is willing to experiment to achieve optimal results, the Cosori 5L Rice Cooker is a viable option. However, it faces competition from similarly priced alternatives that offer more consistent, higher-quality outcomes.
Cosori 5L Rice Cooker: price and availability
- $99.99 / £119.99 at Cosori
- Sold at Ubuy and Amazon in Australia for between AU$197.57 and AU$249
- Available at third-party retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy
Priced at $99.99 / £119.99 (approximately AU$150), the Cosori 5L Rice Cooker falls into the budget-to-mid-range category. Its dual functionality as a multi-cooker adds value. While it may not be the top Instant Pot alternative, it is more affordable than models such as the Instant Pot Pro ($129.99 / £149.99) and the Instant Pot Duo Crisp ($229.99 / £229.99).
However, when compared to the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker, another multi-functional rice cooker in a similar price bracket ($129.99 / £119.99, about AU$200), the Cosori model’s performance is less consistent and its results are not as high quality as the Ninja.
- Value score: 4/5
$79 at Walmart$89.99 at Amazon$99.99 at Cosori
Cosori 5L Rice Cooker: specifications
- Review model: CRC-R501-KUK
- Number of baskets: 1 cooking pot
- Number of cooking functions: 10+
- Cooking functions and modes: White Rice (Long Grain, Short Grain, Quick), Brown Rice (Short Grain, Long Grain, Quick), Grains (Quinoa, Porridge, Mixed), Steam, Slow Cook, Soup, Sauté, Jam/Sauce, Cake, Keep Warm, Delay Timer
- Accessories: Soup ladle, measuring cup, 3L steam basket, and standing rice paddle
- Smart control: No
- Rated power: 970W
- Capacity: 5L
- Time range: Up to 24 hours on Slow Cooker/Keep Warm modes
- Dimensions: 12.3in (D) x 10.6in (W) x 9.2in (H) / 312mm (D) x 269mm (W) x 234mm (H)
- Weight: 9.81lbs / 4.45kg
- Dishwasher-safe: Yes (though not advised for non-stick coating)
- Guarantee: 2 years
Cosori 5L Rice Cooker: design
- 5L capacity cooking pot
- Large, touchscreen buttons
- Easily clean pot and accessories
- Lines in pot indicating required water levels
The Cosori rice cooker package includes a black, silver-topped main base, a 5L non-stick cooking pot, a soup ladle, a measuring cup, a standing rice paddle, and a 3L steam basket. Assembly is straightforward with the detailed user manual, although initially inserting the inner lid and steam cap might be a bit tricky.
This rice cooker is not excessively bulky, occupying minimal kitchen counter space. Its modern matte black base and silver-topped design ensure it blends well with various kitchen aesthetics.
When powered on, the front-mounted touchscreen digital display illuminates, showing rice preset options, a Keep Warm button, and a Mode button for accessing other cooking functions like Sauté and Steam. The touchscreen is intuitive, with large buttons and a prominent digital timer display that is easily visible from a distance.
Opening the rice cooker involves simply clicking the silver button on top, which causes the lid to spring open, revealing the heating plate and temperature sensor. The 5L non-stick-lined cooking pot fits effortlessly into the space, offering ample capacity for small to medium-sized households. Inside the pot, lines indicate the appropriate water levels for steaming or cooking different types of rice, corresponding to the number of grain cups added. These markings, along with the measuring cup and user manual’s quick reference chart, simplify achieving the correct water-to-grain ratio.
The non-stick pot proved exceptionally easy to clean. Residue from rice, porridge, and even compote could be removed with minimal effort by filling the pot with warm soapy water and wiping it with a soft sponge. While Cosori states the pot and accessories are dishwasher safe, cleaning non-stick coatings in a dishwasher is generally not recommended as it can damage the lining.
It is important to clean the inner pot lid and its steam cap after each use. This component has more crevices and requires disassembly for thorough cleaning, but the process remains relatively simple. The interior of the base can also be easily wiped clean with a cloth.
The included 3L steam basket fits neatly into the inner pot, but non-metallic handles would improve ease and safety of removal after cooking.
In addition to the user manual, the Cosori 5L Rice Cooker includes a quick reference guide with cooking tips, a grain chart, and instructions for setting up the appliance and cooking white/brown rice. This guide is convenient for quick reference. The rice cooker also comes with a recipe book featuring global recipes that utilize its various functions, which are highly recommended for their flavor.
Cosori 5L Rice Cooker: performance
- Variety of cooking modes and rice presets
- Rice was overcooked
- No control over temperature
- Cake function is excellent
The Cosori 5L rice cooker is primarily marketed as a rice cooker. Unfortunately, its rice cooking capabilities were found to be of lower quality compared to its other cooking functions.
This appliance offers several presets for rice and grains. For white and brown rice, options include short grain, long grain, or quick cook (the latter resulting in harder rice, according to the manual). When two cups of washed, long-grain white rice were added to the pot, filled to the indicated line, and the White Rice/Long Grain option selected, the cooking time was 50 minutes. This duration is comparable to some rice cookers but slightly longer than stovetop cooking.
During operation, the rice cooker is remarkably quiet, registering around 32 decibels (similar to a whisper). Upon completion, it emits several loud beeps audible from another room. After fluffing the rice with the paddle, clumps of overcooked rice were observed, and the overall results were quite dry. A subsequent attempt with the Quick Cook option, which takes 39 minutes, showed fewer dry clumps but still yielded less than ideal results.
Similar issues were encountered with long-grain brown rice. Using the relevant preset, it took 75 minutes, a considerably longer time than stovetop cooking, even accounting for brown rice’s longer cooking duration. Again, the results were overcooked and quite dry, with several clumps of chewy grains. While edible, the quality was not what one would expect.
Despite the rice cooking issues, the Cosori 5L Rice Cooker’s other functions generally performed well. Several recipes from the Recipe Booklet, utilizing different cooking functions, were tested, and the results were largely impressive, though varied.
Following the Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup recipe, the sauté function (accessed via Modes) was used to perfectly sauté onions and cumin seeds. A minor drawback was the pot’s high heat with no apparent temperature control, requiring careful monitoring to prevent overcooking in this mode. After sautéing, a seamless transition to the Soup function resulted in a delicious chunky soup with tender carrots after 45 minutes, ready for blending.
The Jam/Sauce mode also proved effective. The Strawberry-Thyme Compote recipe, which requires an open lid, produced a delicious compote in 15 minutes, featuring soft strawberry chunks, ample tang, and ideal consistency.
This (perhaps without the thyme) complements porridge well. Surprisingly, despite the rice cooking problems, the Porridge preset (under Grains) delivered excellent results. Two cups of rolled oats were added to the pot and filled to the corresponding water/liquid line for porridge. Although it took 30 minutes, the porridge consistency was perfect.
The Steam function also yielded great results. For steaming, water is added to the steam line in the pot, and the steam basket is then placed inside. Following a recipe for a soft-boiled egg, two eggs were added to the basket. Steaming requires some preheating. While the preheating duration is not specified, the digital display indicates when the rice cooker is preheating and beeps upon completion. Concerns that this preheat time might affect cooking, as the eggs were in the basket during this period and it wasn’t factored into the six minutes of cooking time, proved unfounded; the results were excellent, with a runny yellow yolk and cooked but not overdone white.
Another recipe from the provided book, the Slow Cooked Sunday Sauce, utilized the Sauté and Slow Cooker modes. The pot’s width presented a slight limitation here. The recipe suggested cooking meat in batches, which was done, but there was limited space to ensure chuck beef could be layered adequately without multiple batch cooks.
The pot’s design prioritizes depth over width, so it does not function as a de facto hob in Sauté mode. After sautéing meat and vegetables in several batches and adding the necessary ingredients, the appliance was set to Slow Cook for four hours. After this period, the sauce itself was delicious. However, the fat on the beef chuck had not rendered, despite braising, leaving inedible, chewy fat on the meat. This was unfortunate, as the meat was otherwise well-cooked, though not exceptionally tender.
The most impressive results, surprisingly, were achieved with cake. Skepticism about a rice cooker’s ability to bake a cake was high. Following the Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe from the book, which involves preparing the batter separately before pouring it into the greased inner pot and selecting the Cake mode, a delicious chocolate cake was produced after 70 minutes. The cake was moist yet light. As one individual commented, it was “the best chocolate sponge ever.”
The Cosori 5L Rice Cooker offers mixed performance, with its rice-cooking capabilities being particularly disappointing. While experimentation (such as adding more water than suggested) might lead to better results, individuals seeking consistently perfect, fluffy rice with minimal effort may need to consider an alternative appliance.
- Performance score: 3.5/5
Should you buy the Cosori 5L Rice Cooker?
- Value: This rice cooker offers good value for its features, though competitors provide better performance at a similar price. (Score: 4/5)
- Design: Easy to clean and operate, this appliance is quiet and user-friendly. (Score: 5/5)
- Performance: Subpar results were observed with rice cooking, and other cooking modes delivered mixed outcomes. (Score: 3.5/5)
Buy it if
Its various cooking functions will be utilized
This rice cooker provides a multitude of cooking functions, including sautéing, steaming, and preparing cakes or jams. For those who enjoy cooking a diverse range of dishes or experimenting with new recipes, this appliance is worth considering. The accompanying recipe book offers excellent starting points.
A budget-to-mid-range multicooker/rice cooker is desired
Given its dual functionality as a multicooker, the appliance’s price of £119.99 / $99.99 represents good value, especially when compared to some multicookers costing over $200. It is a suitable option for budget-conscious individuals who intend to make full use of its various functions.
An easy-to-clean appliance is a priority
This appliance is exceptionally easy to clean. Whether dealing with porridge or compote residue, the cooking pot’s outstanding non-stick coating requires minimal effort for cleaning.
Don’t buy it if
Effortless, perfect rice every time is expected
The appliance’s rice-cooking capabilities were found to be subpar. While some experimentation might yield better results, those seeking consistently perfect, fluffy rice with minimal effort may find an alternative more suitable.
All its functions will not be used
If only a basic rice cooker is needed, this appliance may not be the best choice. There is no benefit in purchasing a multicooker if its additional functions will not be utilized. A quality rice cooker without extra features can be acquired for less than $100.
Consistency across all cooking functions is a requirement
While several of the Cosori 5L Rice Cooker’s functions were impressive, others did not meet expectations. For those requiring exceptional quality across all cooking modes, an alternative such as the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker might be a better option.
