if you be still boil and steam on a stove top , buy this and be free ! a super time saver , I have have mine about a year . this would be super for dorm room and very small apartment , no stove need . it cook so fast , that it will help student to eat more healthy whole grain instead of chip and candy ! add soy sauce to brown rice for a salty treat and have fiber + vitamin instead of oily chip ! as well as many type of rice , I eat many steamed grain ; amaranth , millet , quinoa , buckwheat , and more . this little cooker steam they all with ease and elegance . Wish I would buy one year ago . just measure in the grain and water , set and walk away . after a while the grain be warm and wait , with a warmer feature to keep they hot , but still moist -lrb- tight seal -rrb- , until I be ready to eat ! Dishwasher safe , easy to clean . if you be new at steam grain , they may come out too dry\/hard or too mushy until you figure out the right proportion of grain to water . like rice and pasta , you want not too soft and not too hard , but tender all the way through . add more or less water until you know the right proportion and measure every time . you will have perfectly steamed grain and it will take only seconds to measure the water and grain once you have the proportion right . whole grain be healthy to eat ! buy in bulk and save money ! check out `` handy pantry '' -lrb- on Amazon -rrb- for huge bucket of millet , amaranth , quinoa , etc. .