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Pros
Lots of uses, great instructions, perfectly cooked rice, countdown timer at the end
Cons
Quick cook took longer than anticipated

Setting up the Panda mini advanced rice cooker

It’s always good to see a quick-start guide, as it means you can get on with using it pretty much straightaway. The main instruction book is reassuringly weighty and comes with some recipes, with more available on the website.

The quick-start guide tells you to measure using the cup that comes with the cooker, then rinse, put the rice in the inner bowl, add water up to the relevant line, select the function using the menu button and hit start. And – if you just want rice – that’s it.

The instruction book gives further detail of how to adjust water levels to cook sticky or glutinous rice.

You can also use “preset” to delay the cooking for up to 24 hours, and you can adjust the cooking times for non-rice foods by pressing the hour and minute buttons. We tested the cake function and produced a small vegan chocolate cake in 30 minutes. It saved putting the oven on, which is a major bonus when you’re looking to save on energy costs.

How easy was it to use?

The machine has a timer, but it only starts when there are 10 minutes left to count down. Once the rice is cooked, it beeps – rather weakly, we thought – and then switches to “keep warm”. You wouldn’t be able to hear this in a different room, but if you use a rice cooker regularly, you’ll know to use it differently to a pan. The trick is to put it on well before you need it, then leave it to do its thing while you cook the rest of the meal/go off and do something else. The machine will keep your rice hot until needed, so you don’t need to worry about to-the-minute timing.

Of course, cooking time does depend on the type of rice – and even, as the instructions explain, the batch. We tested the quick function for white rice and it took 32 minutes (the instructions suggested 22). Obviously, the rice type will make a big difference, so we are happy to accept other varieties will be quicker. Brown rice was an 1 hour 2 minutes on the standard programme (exactly the time stated in the instructions) and a scoop of long-grain white took 36, slightly quicker than the instructions.

Cooking results

Rice was pretty much perfect, with all the water absorbed. After 1 hour 30 minutes, it was still piping hot and just the slightest bit dry. (If you’re leaving it for longer, the instructions suggest adding a little water, though.)

The “fuzzy logic” in the name refers to the machine’s multi-phased cooking, adjusting the temperature according to the weight, type of rice, temperature and more to ensure the rice is cooked just right.

The rice cooker is available in arctic white, cobalt grey or a mixture of the two colours to suit your kitchen colour scheme. It’s a very quiet machine and light, too.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a very effective, intuitive machine that goes about its job quietly. It’s perfect for smaller households and ideal if you want to cut down on oven use.

Panda mini advanced Fuzzy Logic ceramic rice cooker specifications

Serial number: YUMEN06
Warranty: 2 years
Wattage: 350w
Product weight: 2.36k
Preset functions: four rice (long grain, short grain, brown and quick cook) and four additional (steam, porridge, slow cook, cake)
Capacity / bowls: (ml) 3.5 cup/0.6 litres
Extra accessories: spatula, soup ladle, measuring cup and steam basket