Does a dishwasher safe rice cooker exist?

January 31, 2018 2:25 AM

I got a rice cooker that claimed to be dishwasher safe. It is apparently not. Is there actually one that is and won't break right away?

I got this Aroma rice cooker in-store at Target the other day. The box LITERALLY says it's dishwasher safe. The only reason I bought a rice cooker.

The insert - which I read because I'm one of those people - says the liner is NOT dishwasher safe, but other parts were. I gave it a chance in the dishwasher. Well, it's apparently not dishwasher safe as the box claimed. BOTH the top metal lid liner and the outside of the inner pot are all tarnished, white washed, rough, and awful after one run through the dishwasher. There are somehow literally fingerprints worn away - I assume from someone's finger oils from manufacturing?

Anyway:

Do actual dishwasher safe rice cooker parts exist?
Are they on a somewhat reliable, somewhat inexpensive model?

Literally hand washing creates an unreasonable amount of work and if this doesn't exist I would rather just stick to my dishwasher safe pot and watch it and time it, etc.

I'm seeing mixed things from Amazon reviews and the like about ones that claim to be dishwasher safe.

posted by Crystalinne to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

I have an Aroma Simply Stainless 14 cup and I wash the lid and pot in the dishwasher regularly. Sometimes I need to give it a scrub before it goes in the dishwasher to unstick rice on the bottom.
posted by persona au gratin at 2:54 AM on January 31, 2018

Are you sure the finish is ruined and that this isn't just a coating on top of the finish? I use... whatever the nicer Cascade pods are, and I put the nonstick liner of my cheap Aroma rice cooker (not the same model but similar price point) through the dishwasher all the time with no trouble. But if there was some stuff on it and it didn't clean it off properly--I'd try soaking the liner in vinegar and see if it cleans up and then see about what you're using for detergent.
posted by Sequence at 3:06 AM on January 31, 2018

Response by poster: Here's what happened. (sorry, photobucket) The inside finish is fine and I soaked before the dishwasher. But the outside is ruined and feels horrible. I don't feel comfortable having it anywhere near food, especially since the lid is the same. I use Cascade pods which have been fine for anything dishwasher safe.
posted by Crystalinne at 3:18 AM on January 31, 2018

Honestly, since it's the outside of the liner, I'd just keep using it and running it through the dishwasher. It looks like a cosmetic defect only.

I have a Panasonic multicooker (sr-tmj501, no longer sold), and the liner has been through frequent dishwasher trips with no ill effects. It looks to be similar to this current US model. The upgrade to various programs is totally worth it.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 3:38 AM on January 31, 2018

Oh! I somehow mis-parsed the "outside" bit. Well, in that case, I can't take a picture, and it doesn't look identical, but the outside of mine looks definitely grody but it's like two years old now and continues to work just fine. The thing is, they're aluminum. They oxidize. Aluminum oxide is ugly and I assume not good for cooking surfaces, but not dangerous. I dunno why the insert to yours says they aren't dishwasher-safe, but this model, which I'm sure also has aluminum parts, just says that discoloration may occur and is harmless. The fact that they still recommend hand-washing even in that manual suggests that people tend to complain when they oxidize and they're trying to disclaim responsibility for the cosmetic defect part.
posted by Sequence at 5:24 AM on January 31, 2018

So, I know you said no handwashing but we have a Zojirushi rice cooker and it literally takes 25 seconds to hand wash. The bowl is non-stick so no rice gets crusted on and the only other part to rinse is the top gasket which snaps in and out. Done. It would take you longer to load it in the dishwasher.

It is expensive but we've had ours for almost ten years, it gets used multiple times a week, and it's still as good as new.
posted by lydhre at 6:18 AM on January 31, 2018

Aluminum does not do well in the dishwasher. You may be able to clean it up with steel wool pad. I bought a cooker with a stainless steel liner and have not had any problems.
posted by tman99 at 6:18 AM on January 31, 2018

alright, so... try making a paste with a little bit of baking soda and water and see if the oxidation comes off easily with a little paper towel scrubbing... (basically, I wet the surface, sprinkle on some baking soda, and scrub with a damp paper towel.)

What I *think* I see in most of those images is the heat , most likely from the rice cooker itself tempering the container, which isn't quite oxidation but it does make every pan kind of a funky ick on its own as the metal takes the heat differently. I don't quite understand the fingerprint - unless that isn't a fingerprint .
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:34 AM on January 31, 2018

So, any aluminium will do that in the dishwasher. I did it to my favorite ice cream scoop a couple years ago, and it squicked me out about as much as it does you.

All rice cookers I've seen either have (1) aluminium parts, or (2) are nonstick. Either one of these disqualifies them for dishwasher safety. That said, the Instant Pot has a stainless cooking insert, and the company declares it as dishwasher-safe.
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 8:03 AM on January 31, 2018 [2 favorites]

Seconding the Instant Pot. The liner is dishwasher safe and it does a great job with white or brown rice. They have a 3 quart option if you don't want to 6 or 8 quart models.
posted by soelo at 8:19 AM on January 31, 2018 [4 favorites]

I have a rice cooker with an aluminum insert that's gone through the dishwasher several times. My experience is that the non-stick interior remained the same, but the outside surface tarnished. It didn't appear to affect the performance of the cooker. I wouldn't worry about it unless the inside is also tarnished. If the lid is also tarnished on the inside, I'd consider that a problem (especially if advertised as dishwasher-safe) and would request a return from the store. My rice cooker had a glass lid that didn't have that problem, and a stainless steel lid would also be fine.

My InstantPot has a stainless steel insert that is completely dishwasher safe and doesn't tarnish.
posted by Aleyn at 3:28 PM on January 31, 2018