Rice is perhaps the most frustrating staple food for me to cook. Due to the intricacies it’s incredibly easy to burn on the stove, and when done right doesn’t always taste great. This hassle has resulted in a wide range of rice cookers, with options starting at $10, and going up to $800. Among them are Toshiba’s TRCS02, which offers a considerable amount of features for under $100. However, given all these factors is TRCS02 worth it, or is it another budget option that falls short?
Toshiba TRCS02 Review Overview
Unboxing
Toshiba TRCS02 is another retail oriented product, meaning the packaging is going to be colorful, and full of information. It includes glam shots of the unit, clear images of the included accessories, plus key features highlighted for all to see.
The only downside to something like this is Amazon, and storefronts like it will try to ship the box as is in the mail. This is likely why our box was somewhat smushed in the delivery process.
Inside is some thin plastic holders, along with all the included accessories on top.
Accessories
Toshiba TRCS02 comes with a full user manual, spatula, soup ladle, 1 cup sized measuring cup, plus a power cord. None of the accessories particularly stand out, though I was surprised by the bone color for the spatula/soup ladle.
I also like that the power cord is a separate accessory. This allows me to easily replace if it breaks, purchase a longer one, or just remove cleaner storage.
Build Quality
Overall, I think Toshiba TRCS02 feels like a quality device. It has some weight, especially the inner cooking pot, along with a number of welcome design choices. For example, the handle catch on the back gives it a cleaner look.
It absolutely feels like a device that will last a while, provided it’s properly cared for.
Cleaning
Since cleaning is part of the initial set up process, let’s get this out of the way. There are essentially three components that need to be cleaned. A steam vent on top, a “removable movable cover,” and inner pot.
According to the manual, none of these components are dishwasher safe. Thankfully, none of them are particularly annoying to clean, though this will understandably be a concern for many potential buyers.
Set Up
Whomever designed Toshiba TRCS02 did a fantastic job. Everything that needs to be cleaned can either be removed with relatively no effort, or has an indicator telling owners what to do. For example, the top part has a small latch that has an arrow pointing to where you need to push to get it free.
Once everything is clean putting it back together is just as easy. I am not even joking, the removal, and reassembly process took a minute, maybe two on my first attempt. It’s just great to see a simple process without having to pull out the manual.
Cooking Process
While Toshiba TRCS02 aims to make the process easy, the amount of steps required will vary. For example, some forms of rice require a rinse cycle, whereas others do not. The only thing to keep in mind is the cooker is designed for up to 3 cups, ideally with the included cup (it’s less than the standard US cup measurement), and filling the inner pot up with water up to the amount of cups added.
Toshiba also notes there is a 1/3 distance between lines margin of error for water. That is a decent tolerance, though you’ll want to be pretty close to the lines if possible.
The final step is selecting mode. For white rice that is a simple press of the button. Everything else requires navigating via the menu button, and only porridge, and slow cook require adjusting the time if the default (90 minutes/3 hours) is not suitable for your meal.
Timer
One aspect of Toshiba TRCS02 I don’t care for is the built-in timer. This all started when I first used the machine, and wasn’t sure if pushing “White Rice” was enough. I found pushing start did nothing, and was confused why it sounded like the machine was working, yet the timer wasn’t decreasing.
For whatever reason it seems to decrease at 5 minute intervals until it reaches 10 minutes. At that point it decreases 1 minute at a time. The video above shows it in action at both times, plus some finished footage.
Please note, the strobing is likely not visible outside of the video. I say likely because it looks solid when I look at it, but someone more sensitive to these things might have a different experience.
In all it seems to run for the entire 50 minute cycle, so in the grand scheme of things it’s accurate, I’d just prefer getting a better gauge of the time since I cook alongside it.
Cooking Quality
To make this simple I went to my local Kroger, and purchased a bag of Gold Star Jasmine Rice. I wanted something that can easily be found elsewhere, to get an idea of how well it cooked the rice.
First I tried my $10 rice cooker, and it did an adequate job. The first time I cleaned the rice, the second time I did not, with both coming out about the same. The edges were a little crusty, the consistency was rather firm, though it ultimately tasted fine.
When I did the same with Toshiba TRCS02, I was delighted to see a better result. Right off the bat the consistency was a lot better. It was far more fluffy, none of the edges were burnt, and it tasted a lot better. I wouldn’t say it was the best rice I’ve ever tasted, though certainly better than my previous machine, my efforts on the stove, and a lot of local restaurants.
Warming
While Toshiba TRCS02 performed well immediately after finishing, I wanted to see how it handled keeping rice warm. Much to my surprise, it did shockingly well.
On one of my attempts I let it sit for 90 minutes with roughly a cups worth of rice inside. At that point it wasn’t burned, nor could I find any crusty parts. In fact, as near as I could tell the consistency was the same as before, and just as warm.
Toshiba TRCS02 Review Verdict
Toshiba did a fantastic job with TRCS02. Not only is the cooking process easy, or at least on par with entry level rice cookers, the end result was leagues better. I also love that warm works as expected, even under longer durations. It’s great to make my food, take my time to enjoy it, and not return to a worse product.
There are also some nice features we didn’t touch on, like setting it to cook at a specific time, or can be used to make a cake. In fact, the only real negatives are the timer, and not being dishwasher safe. So if those are not a deal breaker, it’s absolutely worth upgrading to Toshiba TRCS02.
Editor’s Note: Toshiba TRCS02 was provided to us for review purposes.
