For years, my stovetop rice was a gamble—sometimes fluffy, sometimes a sticky mess, and occasionally scorched at the bottom. More than the inconsistency, I grew increasingly concerned about the scratched non-stick coatings on my old cookware. The thought of potential chemicals leaching into my family’s food was a constant worry. I needed a reliable, healthier solution, and I know now that the Aroma Housewares NutriWare 14-Cup Digital Rice Cooker would have saved me so much frustration and given me peace of mind.
A rice cooker is designed to solve one of life’s simple but surprisingly tricky culinary tasks: making perfect rice, every single time. It provides consistency that stovetop cooking often lacks, freeing up a burner and allowing you to focus on other parts of your meal without fear of burning or undercooking your grains. The ideal customer for a rice cooker is anyone who eats rice regularly, from busy families needing large batches to individuals who meal prep for the week. They value convenience, consistency, and the set-it-and-forget-it nature of the appliance.
However, if you only eat rice once in a blue moon or have an extremely small kitchen with no counter space to spare, a dedicated rice cooker might be an unnecessary purchase. For you, learning to perfect rice in a standard pot might be a more practical skill.
Before you buy, consider these key factors:
Capacity: How many people are you cooking for? A 14-cup (cooked) model like this one is great for families of four or more, or for those who like leftovers.
Inner Pot Material: This is a crucial choice. Non-stick is easy to clean but can scratch and raises health concerns for some. Stainless steel, like the one in this review, is durable, long-lasting, and free of chemical coatings, making it a favorite for health-conscious cooks.
Functions: Do you just need to cook white rice, or do you want the versatility to handle brown rice, steam vegetables, or even sauté ingredients? More functions mean a more versatile appliance.
- Health-conscious design – Our NutriWare series is made with an inner pot composed solely of food grade 304 stainless steel. This...
- Capacity & Dimensions – Our NutriWare multicooker has a spacious 14 cup cooked capacity made with Surgical Grade stainless steel and...
A Closer Look at the Aroma NutriWare
The Aroma Housewares NutriWare 14-Cup Digital Rice Cooker and Food Steamer is a direct answer to the concerns of modern, health-aware home cooks. Its central promise is delivering perfectly cooked rice and steamed meals from a pot that is 100% free of non-stick coatings. The inner cooking pot is made from food-grade 304 surgical stainless steel, offering durability and peace of mind. When you open the box, you get the main cooker unit, the stainless steel cooking pot, a tempered glass lid, a stainless steel steam tray, a rice measuring cup, and a serving spatula.
This specific product is perfect for families who prioritize health, want a large-capacity cooker, and appreciate simple, straightforward operation. It’s not for the tech enthusiast who wants an appliance with a dozen different grain settings and a smart-phone app. It’s a workhorse built for core functions, not for bells and whistles.
Pros:
- Surgical-grade stainless steel pot for healthy cooking.
- Large 14-cup cooked rice capacity is ideal for families.
- Versatile functions including Steam and Sauté-Then-Simmer®.
- Simple one-touch digital controls.
- Easy to clean as the pot and accessories are dishwasher safe.
Cons:
- Can sputter starchy water out of the lid’s steam vent.
- The Steam function does not have an automatic timer or shutoff.
- The stainless steel can have a learning curve to prevent sticking.
- Easy-to-use programmable digital controls complete with an automatic Keep Warm mode after each cycle
- Perfectly prepares 2 to 6 cups of any variety of cooked rice
- 𝟭𝟴 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿: Choose from different types of white and brown...
Deep Dive into Features and Performance
After using this cooker for years, I’ve come to know its strengths and quirks intimately. It has earned a permanent spot on my countertop not just for what it does, but for how reliably it does it.
The Heart of the Cooker: The Stainless Steel Pot
The number one reason I chose this model was its 100% surgical-grade stainless steel cooking pot. In a world saturated with non-stick coatings, finding a durable, chemical-free alternative felt like a major win. This isn’t just any steel; 304-grade is known for its resistance to corrosion and rust, ensuring it won’t impart any unwanted flavors into your food. Over time, I’ve used it to cook countless batches of rice, soups, and chili, and the pot remains as solid as the day I bought it.
Now, let’s address a common concern with stainless steel: sticking. Yes, if you just dump in dry rice and water, you might get some sticking at the bottom. But the solution is simple. First, always rinse your rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. This removes excess surface starch, which is the primary cause of both sticking and the sputtering issue I’ll mention later. Second, adding a small amount of oil or butter to the pot before the rice and water creates a natural non-stick layer. With these minor adjustments, cleanup becomes incredibly easy. After many uses, I did notice some faint discoloration at the bottom, but this is a normal part of cooking with stainless steel and does not affect performance or food safety. The peace of mind from avoiding PFOA and PTFE is well worth this tiny extra step. The Aroma NutriWare cooker truly excels in this area.
Generous Capacity and Thoughtful Design
With a capacity to yield up to 14 cups of cooked rice (from 7 cups of uncooked rice), this machine is built for feeding a crowd. It’s been a lifesaver for family dinners, parties, and weekly meal prepping. The unit itself, while spacious inside, has a manageable footprint on the counter. The clean, slightly off-white design blends in well with most kitchen aesthetics. One of my favorite design elements is the tempered glass lid. Unlike opaque, hinged lids on many other models, this allows me to check on my food—whether it’s steaming vegetables or simmering a stew—without releasing heat and steam.
Versatility Through Simple, Effective Functions
While it looks simple, this cooker is surprisingly versatile. The digital control panel is intuitive, with dedicated buttons for White Rice and Brown Rice. The machine’s sensors automatically adjust the cooking time and temperature for perfect results, then seamlessly switch to the Keep-Warm mode once finished. This automatic transition is flawless and keeps rice at an ideal serving temperature for hours without drying it out.
The real game-changer is the Sauté-Then-Simmer® function. It transforms the appliance from a simple rice cooker into a multi-cooker. I can sauté aromatics like onions and garlic directly in the pot, toast grains for a nuttier flavor, or even brown meat for a chili before adding the rest of my ingredients and letting it simmer. I even tried the famous Rice-a-Roni trick: I used the sauté function to brown the pasta and rice, then added the water and seasoning, switched it to the White Rice setting, and walked away. The result was perfect, and far less messy than using a skillet.
The Steam function, paired with the included stainless steel tray, is another feature I use constantly. It’s perfect for steaming a side of broccoli, asparagus, or fish. You can even steam vegetables on the tray above while your rice cooks in the pot below, creating a full, healthy meal in one go. However, this function has one significant drawback: it does not turn off automatically. You must set a separate timer and manually turn it off. Forgetting this can lead to all the water boiling away and scorching the bottom of your pot. It’s a strange oversight in an otherwise automated device.
Real-World Cooking Performance and a Common Quirk
After countless meals, I can attest that this digital rice cooker produces consistently fluffy, delicious rice. Brown rice, which can be tough to master on the stove, comes out perfectly tender every time.
However, no product is perfect, and this one has a well-documented quirk: it tends to sputter starchy water from the steam vent in the lid, especially when cooking larger batches of white rice. This can create a bit of a mess on the countertop. I’ve found two things that virtually eliminate this problem. First, as mentioned before, rinsing the rice is non-negotiable. Second, a clever user tip I picked up is to place the empty steam tray on top of the pot before putting the lid on. This adds extra headspace, allowing the starchy foam to expand without spewing out of the vent. It means one more item to wash, but it’s a small price to pay for a clean counter and perfect rice.
Accessories and Effortless Cleanup
The included accessories are practical and well-made. The serving spatula is designed not to scratch the pot, and the stainless steel steam tray is sturdy. A crucial tip: the included “rice cup” is not a standard US cup (8 oz), but a traditional 3/4 cup (6 oz) measure. Using a standard measuring cup will throw off your water-to-rice ratios and can lead to poor results. As for cleanup, it’s a dream. The stainless steel pot, steam tray, spatula, and glass lid are all dishwasher safe.
What Others are Saying
I spent some time browsing online forums and reviews to see if my experience matched others. The consensus is overwhelmingly positive. Most users, like me, bought the Aroma Housewares NutriWare specifically for its stainless steel inner pot and are thrilled with the move away from non-stick coatings. People celebrate its simplicity and the delicious, fluffy rice it produces. Many have also discovered its versatility, using it for everything from oatmeal to steaming potatoes. The sputtering issue is frequently mentioned, but most agree that rinsing the rice well makes a significant difference.
Final Verdict
The struggle for consistent, perfectly cooked rice is real, as is the desire to use safer, healthier cookware in our homes. This problem requires a solution that is both reliable and gives you peace of mind. The rice cooker and food steamer is an outstanding fit for this role. Its health-conscious stainless steel construction is its biggest selling point, and its performance in cooking perfect rice, steaming healthy meals, and even sautéing ingredients makes it an invaluable kitchen workhorse. It successfully combines simplicity with versatility.
If you’re ready to end the guesswork of stovetop cooking and embrace a healthier, more convenient way to prepare meals, this is the appliance for you. Click here to check out the Aroma NutriWare .
Last update on 2025-10-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API