Sometimes there's just nothing better than a simple bowl of steaming, slightly sweet, slightly sticky, Japanese-style short grain rice. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

It's possible to make this stuff in a standard stovetop pot (and I have), but it's a little time-consuming and requires close attention. A good, automated rice cooker like the Zojirushi NS-TSC10 makes the process way easier. At $150, it's at the higher end of the market but it has the features to back it up:

• Holds 5.5 cups of uncooked rice, 10 cups cooked
• Lots of cooking presets: white rice/sushi, mixed rice, porridge, sweet, brown, cake, steam, and quick cooking
• Can keep rice warm for up to 24 hours (although I don't recommend going past 12 hours if you can help it)
• Delay timer with two presets (defaults are 6 hours and 18 hours, respectively, but these can be adjusted) so you can set up the unit to have rice prepared as soon as you get home
• A clip for holding your rice paddle
• It's easy to clean

It's also highly-rated on Amazon—4.5 stars with 204 reviews. If you're serious about rice, then get the Zojirushi NS-TSC10 rice cooker.