Consumer Agency Investigates 9 Products... Electricity Bills Vary Up to 1.8 Times
Cooking Time: IH Pressure Method 25-30 Minutes, Hot Plate Non-Pressure Method 40-75 Minutes
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] While the taste of freshly cooked rice from small electric rice cookers is generally similar, differences were found among products in terms of taste after keeping warm and the time taken to cook rice.
On the 20th, the Korea Consumer Agency disclosed the results of an evaluation of the safety, cooking time (cooking duration), and rice taste quality of nine small electric rice cookers for 3 to 4 people from seven companies.
The products surveyed were Daewoo Appliances (DEC-CM3500), Daewoong (DRC-0608), Shinil Industry (SCJ-PBP10WH), Cuckoo Electronics (CRP-EHS0320FW, CR-0365FR), Cuchen (CJH-PA0421SK, CJE-CD0301), Kitchen Art (KAEC-A350HLS), and PN Poongnyeon (MPCKA-03M(B)).
In the rice taste evaluation, all nine products were rated as "relatively excellent" immediately after cooking. Twenty-six trained sensory evaluation experts from the Korea Food Research Institute participated in the taste assessment.
However, after keeping warm for 12 hours, some differences in rice taste appeared. Seven products received a "good" rating, but Cuckoo Electronics' CR-0365FR was classified as "average." The Daewoong product showed significantly hardened rice on the outer part, making it unsuitable for keeping warm.
The texture of the rice also varied depending on the cooking method of the rice cooker.
Non-pressure rice cookers with a heating plate that heats the bottom of the inner pot tended to produce rice with a relatively soft and fluffy texture. In contrast, IH pressure rice cookers that cook rice at high pressure and temperature produced rice that was firmer and chewier, with a relatively more yellow color compared to the heating plate non-pressure rice cookers.
The texture evaluation was conducted by placing rice in a cylindrical container and compressing it with equipment that measures force, then quantifying hardness and adhesiveness to simulate the chewing process.
When cooking rice at maximum capacity according to the recommended cooking methods indicated in the product manuals, the cooking time for IH pressure rice cookers was 25 to 30 minutes, which was relatively shorter than the 40 to 75 minutes for heating plate non-pressure rice cookers.
As of March this year, the average price of heating plate non-pressure rice cookers purchased from online shopping malls was 43,000 KRW, which was cheaper than IH pressure rice cookers (average 221,000 KRW).
Annual electricity costs incurred from using the rice cookers varied, with Cuchen's CJH-PA0421SK product having the lowest at 13,000 KRW and Kitchen Art's product the highest at 24,000 KRW, showing a difference of up to 1.8 times.
Electric rice cookers are required by the Energy Use Rationalization Act to have labels attached that include information such as power consumption for one cooking and keeping warm cycle and energy efficiency rating.
However, Daewoo Appliances, Daewoong, and Kitchen Art products violated mandatory labeling requirements by attaching labels showing energy efficiency ratings based on old standards, despite the standards having changed on April 1, 2018.
Additionally, these products, while relatively inexpensive, lacked a power-off function, so if the power cord is not unplugged after use, the keep-warm function continues to operate, resulting in ongoing electricity charges.
The inner pot coatings showed no abnormalities in all products even after rubbing the surface 3,000 times with a stainless steel spatula.
Detailed evaluation results can be found in the "Comparison Sympathy" section of the Happy Dream Open Consumer Portal.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
