Kumo YumCarb Rice Cooker

As a big fan of Asian food ( especially Thai cuisine ) I am cooking rice every day. I rarely cook western food. So fair to say I cook and eat a lot of rice! I'm always very picky when it comes to food. My standards are high. I held off buying a rice cooker for the longest time; it was partly because I am picky and partly because I didn't want to spend money on something that I can already do with a pot. However, now I have finally made the leap and got one, I'm wishing that I had done this years ago. It's so convenient! I love having a hot bowl or rice ready to be used for when I need it. I don't have to stand around watching the pot. There's no chance of me forgetting it ( which happens ) - just set it and forget. It switches to warm and is ready when I need it. My other worry was how well this would cook rice. As I mentioned, I eat a lot of rice and I'm picky. I need not have worried. This cooked rice perfectly. In fact, it cooked it better than I can do it on the stove. The rice is perfect. My go to rice is Jasmine rice. It consistently cooks perfect rice every time. My favourite thing is the keep warm function. No more trying to have to time the rice to be done when the rest of my food is ready. Or I can set it in the morning or evening for rice later on. This comes with a steamer which is really handy! I use it to cook vegetables or fish while my rice is cooking. You basically have a meal all cooked and ready. Set and forget. Easy as microwaving. I often do salmon teriyaki with rice. I fill the bottom container with rice and the steamer with salmon and veg. All I have to do is heat up the sauce! Actually there are a few easy one pot meals you can make. You can do tomato rice. Use stock in place of water and add tomatoes on top. I have this with a fried egg or omelette. Do a Google for "clay pot chicken in a rice cooker" you will thank me later... You can also cook a few other things such as porridge oats/congee/other grains but I haven't tried those out. I love congee ( the Thai version Jok is my fav ) but I like to make it myself as I am super picky with it. Maybe I will try it one day. This probably does those other things well but really all I need it to do is cook rice and it does this perfectly. The cooker is very easy to use. For once the manual is actually well written and very clear. It's easy to clean and maintain. The manual lists a few basic recipes. My only very teeny tiny niggle would be that the water collection container in the back is a little flimsy. It's a minor thing though. I haven't had any problems. One small thing of note. I wanted to address the most up voted review here because it's really odd. He/She complained that it doesn't cook as well as a Japanese rice cooker... it IS a Japanese rice cooker. In any case, the argument is nonsensical. Just like any product, from any country, they vary in quality. There are good Japanese rice cookers, average Japanese rice cookers, and awful rubbish Japanese rice cookers. It's nonsensical to claim that it's not as good as Japanese rice cookers because they are good or bad or average just like any product from any country. In any case it IS a Japanese rice cooker so... I've had this rice cooker for over one month now. I waited awhile to put it through it's paces. It hasn't let me down yet! To sum up, I really highly recommend this rice cooker. If you cook a lot of rice this is a game changer. Get one!!! If you rarely cook it then don't bother but otherwise this is a must buy. It's easy to use, easy to clean, and cooks rice perfectly. For the price you just can't beat this. I love my kumo and look forward to many days of rice cooking together! Highly recommended.

If money were no object, I'd import a Japanese Zojirushi or Tiger without question. But here in the UK, dealing with voltage converters and £300+ import fees is a hard pass. Instead, I picked the Yum Asia Kumo up on sale for £72. It is hands down the best value fuzzy logic cooker with a high quality ceramic bowl in this market. It is cheaper than its sibling, the Panda Mini, because it cuts the bloat. You mainly loses the 'cake baking' mode, but seriously who bakes cake inside a rice cooker? Instead, you gain the YumCarb basket and a larger capacity in return. It focuses entirely on being a rice cooker, though you can throw vegetables into the steel basket to steam alongside the rice for efficiency. For those new to fuzzy logic, the included guidebook covers the essentials nicely. To get great rice, the process is simple: measure, wash, fill to the lines, and select the function you want. Cleaning is straightforward. The 2mm thick 'Ninja' ceramic bowl is heavy, durable, and wipes clean instantly, avoiding the peeling issues common with cheap Teflon bowls that degrade after a few months. The star of the show is the YumCarb function, boasting a 25% carb reduction. Honestly, this is mostly marketing fluff. My photo shows this mode with Mai Thai AAA Fragrant Rice. The 25% reduction isn't a lie, but don't expect a health miracle; most of the nutrition remains in the grain, so the blood sugar impact is minor. The real benefit of this mode is texture control. By suspending the rice during the steam phase, it prevents the grains from sitting in starchy water. This forces cheaper long grain rice to separate and fluff up, giving it a premium consistency that's hard to get with a standard boil. However, a critical warning: Do not use the YumCarb mode if you are using premium Japanese rice (like Koshihikari) or sticky rice. You pay extra for that specific sticky texture, and this mode will strip it away, leaving you with expensive, dry pellets. Use this function for supermarket long grain only. Because fuzzy logic mimics Japanese cooking, the default result leans toward soft, sticky rice. In my photo, I used slightly less water to get a drier, firmer grain. It is easy to experiment to find your preferred texture since the cooker is quite consistent. It has the sleek look of a modern appliance, but the foundation is perfected, reliable, old school Japanese technology. An easy 5 stars for the value alone.

4 and a half years on, still working perfectly. The cooking time is consistant, the quality of the cooked rice is great. Also, you can put veggies in the rice (dont need the steamer tray) and add spices and make yourself a really tasty meal. Goes well with pepper, Carrots and beans. I use Japanese rice mostly, just a preference. Dont rinse before hand. Add rice, one cup or so, and add water, just enough to cover the rice with about a cm over. So easy to use. The ONLY negative i have is the steam catcher always falls off, but its only condensed water vapour so no big deal.

A very good rice cooker but does not make enough rice if you have a large family. I bought this to replace my old Tefal rice cooker which made a much larger amount. This one is almost as easy to use and comes with a large booklet but most of the pages are to do with recipes rather than operational stuff. The measuring cup provided for the quantity of rice needed is absolutely essential if you do not wish to make an absolute mess. Also the scale on the inside of the ceramic cooking pot is also not to be ignored if you know what is good for you. The ceramic cooking pot is also not dishwasher safe and is hand wash only but it is of very good quality and is so smooth that you can easily clean it with just a damp sponge. The cooker also has a countdown time feature and a keep warm function. My only other gripe (apart from the quantity of rice cooked in one go) is that the steam outlet valve is at the back of cooker and not the front. This means you must move it well away from the wall unless you want your walls to be stripped of paint or wallpaper.

This is such a great rice cooker. So far I have used it every day for my morning porridge and rice in the evenings. The first thing I did was make a test portion for rice and then discarded as per the recommendations. After this I made a portion of porridge for myself for breakfast. The instructions are super clear! Porridge on day 1 - I made this with 50g of porridge oats (shaken in a sieve as recommended) with the normal amount of liquid I would use if making in a pan (350ml - 50% milk and 50% water). I left this for an hour on the porridge setting and it was a little too thin for my liking, but edible. Porridge on day 2 - I made this with the same amount of rolled porridge oats (50g shaken in a sieve) with a little less liquid (300ml - 50% milk and 50% water), again I left this for the hour and it was the perfect constancy for me, I added some honey gave it a stir and my breakfast was ready and it was perfect! I have made porridge for breakfast everyday since I've purchased this, I don't have a microwave so I would have normally had to make it in a pan, stirring and watching so it didn't boil over. The process would take about 10 minutes, now it takes me less than a minute and its ready for when I want it, it does take 1hr on slow setting, but that means I can go about my day and have it there for when I am ready for it. Alternatively you could add the ingredients and pre-set it to start cooking early in the morning so its ready for when you wake up. This is not the main reason why I bought this cooker, but it really has made my life allot easier. I've also cooked brown rice perfectly and the low carb white rice was also lovely, a little wetter than the normal function, but still very enjoyable. The keep warm feature is great and the accessories are perfect. I have not been paid for this review, it was a genuine purchase because I wanted a rice cooker to ensure my dinner was ready on time and the components were dishwasher proof and I would 100% recommend this. Also the item was delivered the next day rather than the 5 day delay as originally expected couldn't ask for better service and a great product. I'm very happy with this purchase!

Amazing rice cooker, one of the best kitchen gadgets I’ve purchased. Cooks rice perfectly (basmati, jasmine etc) and I’ve used it to make pearl barley and even rice pudding with great results. If you whack in some marinated meat and veg you get an easy one pot meal. Other functions are fantastic. Used the slow cooker function to make a lamb massamam curry and lamb was perfectly tender after 3 hours. The steam function also works a treat for veg or dumplings. Easy to clean, just remember to rinse and clean the water catcher and don’t use anything abrasive on the non stick.

Cooks great rice every time with virtually zero effort. Small footprint but makes more than enough to feed a family of four.

Great rice cooker especially if you have diabetes. Might not be the best looking rice cooker, but its definitely the best rice cooker. Cooks rice to perfection.