Steamers!

I like rice and so does the rest of the world in all it myriad forms and types and styles. It's good with just about anything, fits itself into darn near any meal, and it pretty much one of the easiest foods to prepare. Nevertheless if you aren't paying attention you can end up with a pot of scortched rice on your hands. It's not a reflection on the cook, as it is on a number of factors: the age of the rice, the quality of the pot, the variables in the ratios of rice to liquids, preparation style among others.

The answer to those problems seems to be adding a countertop rice cooker to my kitchen tool collection. Is it a necessary item? Seems to be, if those millions of happy rice cooker users are any indication. Someday I will break down and buy a steamer. I suppose that it would cut down the occasional problems I have with scorching a pilaf or undercooking a pot of steamed rice. They are ubiquitious tools found in millions of kitchens, they cook up a perfect pot of rice time after time, can be used to pull off any number of dishes other than rice, and help to free up valuable stovetop space when you are desperate to pull off a wok full of vegetable stirfry, a pot full of curry and a pan readying itself for a round of pot stickers all at the same time!

Cooks Talk!

Nice NY Times article on steamers!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/dining/01rice.html