I be Japanese\/American , and have eat steamed rice all my life . have own a rice cooker almost all of my adult year . this be my second Zojurishi cooker . own a Zojurishi be so way worth it . why ? it just plain cook the rice as well as it can be make . I few year ago , I relocate to a far away local and eventually purchase a run of the mill rice cooker , and never like it . finally purchase another Zojurishi and now think I be silly for the time I do not have it . full feature and cooking option be cool too . the only draw back on my current model be that it do not have a run off for excess condensation , like my other one have . this do not affect the quality of my rice , just a noticeable difference . I shop and Amazon offer a excellent price with free shipping . no brainer .