Tayama Clay Pot Rice Cooker 5 Cup

I purchased this pot because it is made from clay instead of aluminum. I know there is no proof aluminum gives you Alzheimers, and no proof non-stick coatings cause cancer, but if it works just as well, and is made of dirt (clay) then why not?
It looks like a crock pot, but has 2 lids, and cooks much hotter (boils the water for rice of course).

I had a few concerns:
1) Would it cook slower? - it is a little slower, but only a few minutes. Not noticeable for us while we are busy cooking the dishes.
2) Would it be more difficult to clean? - I think it is about the same as a regular pot. Non-stick is a little easier to clean, but not enough to be an issue for us.
3) Would it cook the rice well? - The taste is great. The rice turns a little crunchy on the bottom layer, but I like that part, so for me it is better than our old cooker. If you don't like the crunchy layer, either skip it, or I think if we cooked larger volumes it wouldn't happen. We...Read more

We LOVE the Tayama Clay Pot rice cooker for the wonderful tasty rice it produces and the ease in cleaning. The clay pot is much healthier to use than non-stick surfaces. Not having instructions was the hard part. But now, I can cook 4 cups of organic long grain brown rice perfectly every time and it has NEVER tasted so good.

I use 4 cups (use the plastic cup that comes with the cooker) of organic long grain brown rice. Pour 4 regular measuring cups of cold water over the rice and stir to make sure all the rice kernels are under the water. Cover it with both clay lids and plug it into your electrical outlet. Make sure the toggle switch on the front is set to COOK. It takes about 1 hour. Once the timer light goes off indicating the rice is done, immediately remove the clay pot with covers from the cooker. Place the clay pot on a hot pad. Carefully open both of the clay lids using pot holders. Pour 1 measuring cup of cool water over the rice. Do not stir. Immediately cover...Read more

I love the idea of cooking my rice in a clay pot and the rice was delicious. However, my rice cooker cooked at such a high temperature that a lot rice was burned and stuck to the bottom of the pot, and it was impossible to scrape it off. I had to soak the pot for quite a while before the stuck on rice loosened up enough to clean it and I probably threw away a cup of burnt rice. If you buy this rice cooker be sure to cook a little extra rice when you use it because you might have to throw some away when you clean the pot. Hopefully not all of these rice cookers are set to cook at such a high temperature and you will have better luck with it then I did. I had to return mine because it was defective.