the aroma arc-998 8-cup rice cooker have make cooking rice easier than ever for I . I love rice and have recently get into indian Curry so I have be make a bit of rice lately . while make rice over the stove can be a quicker alternative to this rice cooker , the arc-998 have a no mess and simple one button solution to make delicious fluffy rice without worry about pot and spill over . the Rice Cooker use a simple digital interface to determine which kind of rice you plan to use . there be steam , White rice and brown Rice and a Warm\/Off button . depend on the mode you select determine how the cooker will steam\/cook you rice . set-up be incredibly easy . just add rice to the removable bowl , add water and put into the rice cooker . Press the corresponding button and walk away . when finish the cooker will sound a alarm before switch to warm mode to avoid over-cook the rice . depend on the amount of rice\/water you add to the pot determine how long it can take to make a batch . White Rice can take upward of 30-50min -lrb- 2-8 cup -rrb- and Brown can take upward of 1hr 40min - 2hr -lrb- 2-6 cup -rrb- as you can see brown take much longer than average with this cooker , and that be because of how it handle the rice . it cook it longer and slower due to the rice be heavier . as a RICE COOKER the arc-998 might be a little slow compare to other model but it do what it be suppose to do , and do it well . have make a few batch of rice already -lrb- brown rice -rrb- I only run into slight burning once . that occur for the rice that be directly over the heating element and be burnt prior to the device auto switching to the warm state . soak the rice like the instruction say get rid of the slight burning . however do not leave you rice on WARM for too long or it will begin to burn . every batch of rice that I make come out fluffy and delicious , the rice tasting far better than it do when make in a pot over a stove . the steam process bring out the flavor I think . as a steamer the arc-998 be sub-par at best . while it can be use as a steamer it really do not do a good job when compare to a actual steamer . if you try to steam with rice forget about it . you rice will be do far before the food . if you wish to steam food by itself it do a much better job , but do not be shock if you might have to run it through the steamer process again for another 5-10 minute . OVERALL in the end this be a great rice cooker . it have white and brown rice option but can handle a wide variety of rice from the Long and Short grain family . it be a very simple rice cooker that get the job do , and do so be quiet and clean . the steam option be sub-par in my opinion , but for the price the aroma arc-998 be worth the investment . 5 star ! pro + simple setup + cook rice perfectly no matter how much you put in -lrb- anywhere from 2cup to 8cup -rrb- + condensation collector to avoid get that rice grime put into the air + no mess design -lrb- no spill over -rrb- + optional ability to be a steamer con - steamer option not the best solution - Hinged Lid make clean the grime that build up on the lid difficult at time - longer than average cook time \* note : comment section will list cooking times\/measurements for White and Brown rice