what you have to understand be that I hardly ever cook rice before . oh , except for the instant boil-in bag ! and when I do , it come out sticky , dry , or burn . I have a large , busy family with 4 teens so I think I would get a big fuzzy logic rice cooker because I would hear rave -lrb- read the excellent `` the Ultimate Rice Cooker cookbook '' by Hensperger and Kaufman ! -rrb- and want to finally incorporate whole grain into we diet every day . fuzzy logic cooker be not like the regular old rice steamer ; instead they use some kind of computer magic to determine how long to cook rice perfectly every time . then I see this one with a smaller footprint , and for some reason I have to have it too . the bottom line be that I use it EVERY SINGLE DAY to make brown rice , quinoa , bhutanese red rice , forbid black rice , whole wheat couscous ... all the whole grain you be suppose to be eat . it be absolutely my favorite kitchen appliance and I actually try to take it when I travel ! I never use the larger fuzzy logic because this one make plenty ! my kid use the hard-boiled egg feature almost daily , too , because the egg come out perfectly and you can make 7 at a time . the timer and control be SUPER EASY and it come with extra bowl etc. . for tofu , you must use the homemade soy milk , not commercial . the steamer be nice , and the crock pot too , but I use the microwave for steam and have much larger crockpot for stew and pot roast etc. . eat more whole grain ! by the way , I have lose 80 lb . eat more vegetable and whole grain . get this Sanyo ecj-hc55 5.5 cup rice cooker ! highly recommend .