When shopping for a rice cooker there are certain things that our customers look for and surprisingly, the rice cooking functions aren’t the only important things on people’s minds.
Although Zojirushi has a great reputation for quality and durability, here at Yum Asia, we sometimes received e-mails from customers who expressed concern about the Sumiflon inner bowl and asking if there were any alternatives.
A lot of people, for various reasons, like to avoid Teflon – mostly due to PTFE (most Teflon/similar materials have been PFOA free since 2015). While it is very arguably on average slightly more durable than a ceramic coating at the moment, a lot of people are concerned about its safety. When overheated, it is thought that in certain extreme circumstances the PTFE coatings can break down and release toxic gases. Although Zojirushi inner bowls use Sumiflon which is thought to be far more stable than Teflon we took their concerns on board.
When we were designing and developing our own brand Sakura rice cooker, we took customers concerns about inner bowl material to heart and made the decision to include a ceramic coated inner bowl that was multi-layered and extremely hard wearing.
What Exactly Does Ceramic Coated Mean?
Ceramic is a much newer material in the world of non-stick and it’s widely considered to be the safest and most environmentally friendly option. Ceramic coatings are free of PTFE, PFOA and BPA. As ceramic coating technology has developed over the last few years, the thicker the coating, the more hard-wearing the inner bowl is. So we made sure that our Sakura ceramic inner bowl has a 2mm thick coating with give (5) durable layers which ensured that it was extremely hard-wearing and would last a long time.
When many people think of ceramic, they think of pottery. However, as technology has advanced, manufacturers have been able to develop hard-wearing ceramic coatings which enable products like our Sakura rice cooker to have a ceramic inner bowl while still being very easy to clean, a safer cooking profile but still having non-stick properties.
The ceramic inner bowl of the Sakura is carefully layered which specific material which allow heat from the 3D heating process to be conducted through the inner bowl for an even distribution of heat and also allows the heat to be retained so it keeps your food hotter for longer. This is where the modern ceramic coatings have a huge advantage over the older, clay/pottery ceramic – traditional clay/pottery ceramic takes a long time to heat up and the heat distribution can be very uneven. The modern ceramic coated inner bowls have all the advantages of traditional clay/pottery ceramic but none of the disadvantages!
Benefits Of Cooking With A Sakura And It’s Ceramic Coated Inner Bowl
Sakura’s ceramic coated inner bowl helps it withstand wear and corrosion from acidic foods like tomatoes. As mentioned above, the ceramic coating allows for an even distribution of heat and also allows the heat to be retained so it keeps your food hotter for longer. Ceramic coatings also prevent staining from food and won’t absorb food flavours.
Sakura’s ceramic coated inner bowl is very easy to clean. It simply needs a wipe with a soft sponge, or if you have cooked a curry or other strong smelling food, you can just soak with a little bit of washing up liquid and then wash normally by hand. You are never left with burned on food messes.
Sakura is one of the few rice cookers on the UK and European market with a ceramic coated inner bowl, particularly at this affordable price point. Click here to buy or learn more about Yum Asia’s Sakura – Sakura product page
