How To Clean A Stainless Steel Rice Cooker?: Stainless steel rice cookers are an important item in almost every household with very high usage. So it is natural that it needs regular cleaning. This product is designed to give your kitchen a very special shine and it goes well with various colors of kitchen furniture. Also, this invention makes it quick and easy to cook rice according to the exact specifications you want, isn’t that amazing?
Not only is it a good investment, but it is also made up of stainless steel which means it doesn’t easily stain, rust, or corrode, unlike other rice cookers.
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That is the reason why these cookers last a longer period of time. Stainless steel makes your cooker resistant to fire, heat, and corrosion due to its low levels of chromium; and the bright and easily maintained surface provides a modern and attractive appearance with greater long-term value.
In addition to this, stainless steel cookers are way better than their metal cooker counterparts or alternatives.
The reason for this is that they are made of galvanized steel to increase durability. Products that have a galvanized coating usually appear to be extremely shiny and smooth.
This unrugged surface of the stainless steel cooker means that it is not porous, or in other words, it will not allow any food particle to seep through it.
In an attempt to increase its life and durability, you need to make sure that it gets cleaned up properly on a regular basis.
In order to increase the life and durability of your stainless steel rice cooker, it is imperative to clean it regularly.To make your cooker smell good rinse it once with a vinegar solution. Another amazing trick is to clean the cooker using baking soda and water paste. Just like the other steps, use a damp sponge pad or cotton cloth and wipe the outside and inside down for a hygienically fresh rice cooker in a negligible amount of time.
Before getting into the complete guide of how to clean your stainless steel rice cooker, let us first have a look at some precautions that need to be taken beforehand.
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Some precautions to keep in mind:
1) Make sure the appliance is switched off before putting on or taking off the parts and while cleaning.
2) In order to avoid the risk of an electric shock, do not immerse the cord, plug or the stainless steel cooker itself during the cleaning process.
3) Before you start to clean the cooker, make sure to let it cool down. This will avoid any chance of getting burned.
4) The base of a rice cooker plugs into an electrical outlet which reflects that it should be kept dry and should never be submerged in water or any other liquid. You need to make sure that the internal hot plate inside the base never gets wet.
Steps On How To Clean The Stainless Steel Cooker
Cleaning the individual removable parts of the cooker:
The best way to clean your stainless steel rice cooker is to clean every component individually.
(i) Sometimes after getting cooked rice is sticking to the surface of the inner pot, you can easily remove the inner part from the cooker and let it soak in water for a good amount of time. It is preferred that you soak it in warm soapy water for around 20 to 30 minutes. Warm water cleans better than cold water.
A sponge pad can be used to wipe the food particles off. However, in the case of any stubborn food particle, use a plastic spatula gently to remove it.
(ii) After you have cleaned the inner pot, wash any accommodating utensils that come with the cooker such as, condensation collector, steamer tray, ladle, and measuring cup. Although all these individual components of the stainless steel rice cooker are usually dishwasher-safe but for staying on the safer side, dip them in warm soapy water and rub them a little with a non-abrasive sponge pad to wipe off any dirt.
(iii) Finally, when you have washed all the removable parts of the rice cooker, it is essential to let them dry completely. Try to dry them with a towel or ultra-absorbent tissues. However, if the moisture still remains, let them dry on a drying rack before reassembling your rice cooker.
Cleaning The Lid Of The Rice Cooker:
It is a lot easier to wash a detachable lid. If you are lucky and have a rice cooker with a detachable lid, you can wash it alone by dipping it into warm, soapy water for a few minutes and using a sponge pad or brush to remove any excess dirt.
However, if the lid of your rice cooker is not detachable you can take a soft sponge pad and soak it in warm, soapy water. Now rub it gently on the lid and wipe the dirt off.
The last step is the most important one! Rinse the lid using a clean soft cloth with extreme care so that the water doesn’t leak into the cooker.
Cleaning The Rice Cooker From The Inside:
In an attempt to clean the inside of your stainless steel rice cooker, use a moist cotton cloth and wipe off any residual waste. Make sure the moisture dries out before putting it back in.
For the removal of hard and stubborn residual waste, use sandpaper or fine mesh steel only. If you attempt to remove it with a steel or metal utensil, you can accidentally scratch the surface of the rice cooker making it difficult to get it cleaned in the future and inhibiting its functionality.
Once the residue has become soft and easy to remove, wipe it off with a moist cloth and let it dry completely.
Cleaning The Outside Of The Rice Cooker:
It is very rare that the outside of the rice cooker gets food residue or stains on it but if it does, this article might come in handy!
All you have to do is use a damp and moist cloth to gently scrape the food residue on the exterior surface of the rice cooker. If you have a habit of using cleaning solutions, you can spray or pour it on a rag but not on the cooker directly! You have to do this step with utmost care in order to prevent the cleaning solution from going inside the cooker.
Moreover, if you feel that the cord is dirty, you can use a damp cloth to clean it very gently. This is the most sensitive and important part of the stainless steel rice cooker and if it gets damaged, the cooker will be of no use.
Now that you are done with the cleaning process, make sure to let all the components get completely dried before reassembling the rice cooker. You can even let them dry under the sunlight if you want to reuse it again soon.
Regular Maintenance Of Your Rice Cooker
Follow these steps as we are sure you want your rice cooker to work efficiently for a long period of time.
- Make sure to clean your stainless steel rice cooker after every use, in case if the food particles stay on the cooker till the next use, they will get baked and it will take forever to remove them. You can remove them with a wet sponge or cloth or use a wooden spoon or chopstick to gently scrape them.
- Professionals use soapy water or a mixture of water and vinegar to clean the inside. It really works wonders!
- The best way is to use your rice cooker on a flat, clean surface. Also, make sure that the cord doesn’t touch anything hot as it can lead to a disaster.
- Keep your cooker dry at all times when it is not being used.
- Invest in non-abrasive cleaners to make your cooker look like the best rice cooker.
- Let every part of the rice cooker get dried up completely before using it again.
- If hard stains are not coming out, you will need a detergent to remove them. However, always check the user’s manual of your rice cooker to see if the thing you are using on it is suitable to use or not.
- Another important thing to note is that the ceramic stoneware and lid might not be able to endure abrupt changes in temperature. Thereby, avoid filling the hot pot with cold water as it may break. This is because ceramic materials are porous and let water to seep through which can cause cracks and break the pot.
- Do not submerge the pot of your rice cooker in water.
Summary
Stainless steel rice cookers are an absolute game-changer when it comes to kitchen life. They make your life easy as you do not have to run after boiling pots of water to boil your rice. And if luckily, yours has a slow cooker setting, you can use it for a variety of other things rather than just cooking the rice.
For such an amazing product, however, comes a long list of maintenance tips. If your rice cooker is giving you all the advantages of a lifetime by just existing, the least you can do is take care of it by keeping it clean using the right methods.
Always make sure that water doesn’t touch any electrical part of the cooker, firstly because it ruins electrical components and secondly because it might lead to a shock or a short circuit.
Regular maintenance of the cooker will definitely give you an amazing experience and increase the longevity of the cooker too!
