Cuckoo 6-Cup Rice Cooker Review: Crazy Or Capable?

Cuckoo rice cookers are very popular in South Korea and Asia, but not so much in the Western hemisphere. If you are considering getting a Cuckoo rice cooker, then which models with a 6-cup capacity are available for the US market? We selected a flock of Cuckoo rice cookers with a 6-cup uncooked rice capacity (12 cups cooked rice) that are available online for this review.

Introduction

Cuckoo is a South Korean company that makes kitchen and home appliances. Cuckoo rice cookers are recognized for its quality and unique design in Korea and Asia.

Cuckoo Electronics America produces a collection of rice cookers that are available for the American market. These rice cookers are made to use AC 120V, 60Hz power outlets in the USA.

Please note that the standard cup capacity for rice cookers is based on an 180 ml measuring cup. This is less than a standard US measuring cup that can vary between 200 ml and 250 ml depending on location.

Cuckoo Electric 6-Cup Rice Cooker

CR-0631

Cuckoo CR-0631 6 Cup Rice Cooker 110V Pink

The Cuckoo CR-0631 is part of the general type, inexpensive analog rice cookers made by Cuckoo. It has a switch that toggles between Cook and Warm. This model has a rice cooking capacity of 6 cups of raw rice. It has a solid outer lid and a metal inner lid. Its steam vent has a small knob that can redirect the steam either to the left or to the right.

The inner pot of the CR-0631 rice cooker has a Teflon coating. The coating reduces food sticking and makes it easy to clean. Never use hard, sharp or abrasive materials when cooking and cleaning to protect the nonstick coating.

The outer lid cannot be removed, it can only open and close on its hinge. However, the shiny metal inner lid should be removed and cleaned after every use, otherwise it might become moldy. The inner lid is held by the rubber piece in the middle. Pull the inner lid out with the rubber piece and wash it. Remember to push the lid back into its place before cooking the next batch of rice.

The Cuckoo CR-0631 is only intended for cooking rice. It does not have a special menu setting for cooking other dishes such as stew or soup. It is only for cooking white or brown rice.

The CR-0631 does not have a delay timer. It is a simple cook/warm type electric rice cooker without any digital control panel.

A rice measuring cup (6-ounce/180mL), rice paddle as well as an instruction manual are included with the rice cooker. So far as we know, it does not have its own spatula holder.

The Cuckoo CR-0631 rice cooker seems to cook the rice well without burning it. Its warmer function also keeps the cooked rice warm without drying it out or turning it yellow (due to its close-fitting inner lid). Its directional steam vent is an interesting feature which we have not seen before. A possible disadvantage might be its simplicity: it has no delay timer or menu functions. If you only want to cook white or brown rice, then the Cuckoo CR-0631 is a good choice (shop now on Amazon).

CR-0631F

Cuckoo CR-0631F 6 Cup Rice Cooker 110v Pink

The Cuckoo CR-0631F has a nonstick coated inner cooking pot, LCD screen and control buttons (with English words). It is a digital rice cooker that uses fuzzy logic and offers six cooking settings such as GABA brown rice and slow cook. It also has a quick setting (turbo mode) for reducing the cooking time of rice when you are in a hurry or very hungry. The CR-0631F does not use pressure to cook rice. It is a non-pressure rice cooker with an electric heating plate.

The CR-0631F can hold a maximum of 6 cups (180mL cups) of raw rice. This gives you about 10 to 12 cups of cooked rice. Its minimum rice capacity is probably one cup.

The CR-0631F model has a warmer function that seems to work very well. It keeps the rice warm for 24 hours or longer without drying it out or turning it yellow. The control panel has a Keep Warm/Reheat button in the top left corner.

This model does not have a retractable power cord. The power cord is not removable either. The cord is permanently connected to the rice cooker. It runs on 110-120V AC power (60Hz).

Is white and pink the only color scheme? Well, the color scheme does not affect the taste of the rice in any way. Yet, if pink is not your color, then the Cuckoo CR-0632F model has a white/silver color that some people might prefer.

The Cuckoo CR-0631F (and the CR-0632F) is not an expensive rice cooker when you consider its features: fuzzy logic computer, six menu settings, excellent keep warm mode and turbo cooking function (buy on Amazon).

Cuckoo Heating Plate Pressure 6-Cup Rice Cooker

CRP-N0681F

Cuckoo CRP-N0681F 6 Cup Rice Cooker 110v Red

The Cuckoo CRP-N0681F uses an electric heating plate pressure system to cook white rice, brown rice, cake and even stews. It has a maximum rice cooking capacity of 6 cups dry rice (makes 12 cups of cooked rice).

The inner cooking pot has an X-wall marble coating that provides a nonstick surface. The marble is not really marble stone. It seems to be some kind of ceramic nonstick coating.

The outer lid cannot be removed, but the inner lid can be pulled off and cleaned. Do this after cooking and before you cook a new batch of rice.

The CRP-N0681F has a control panel with English words as well as a voice guide in three languages: English, Korean and Chinese. You can watch this video below on how to change and set the voice guide languages.

We do not know all the available menu settings, but here are a few: glutinous rice, mixed rice, sushi rice, GABA brown rice, nutritious rice, beans, bread and porridge. You may use the multi-cook mode to cook vegetables or meat dishes (it has no steamer basket). There also seems to be an automatic steam cleaning setting which sanitizes the inner pot and inner lid with steam.

The cooking pot, rice measuring cup, spatula and operating instruction manual (in English, Korean and Chinese) are included with the rice cooker.

CRP-P0609S

Cuckoo CRP-P0609S 6-Cup Electric Heating Plate Pressure Rice Cooker

The Cuckoo CRP-P0609S has 12 menu selections that include options for cooking glutinous (white), mixed, brown or GABA rice. It uses an electric heating plate combined with pressure-cooking to produce fully cooked rice, soup or porridge. It seems like you can select a high pressure level for cooking sticky rice and a lower level for cooking fluffy rice.

It has a voice navigation system in three languages: English, Chinese and Korean. The default language is Korean. The process of changing the voice navigation to English is not easy to explain, although it is possible to do so.

We did notice that owners complained about the lid mechanism: it does not have a slowly opening hinge. If you press the button to open the lid, then the lid tends to snap open instead of opening slowly. Cuckoo should have added a slow hinge lid on this rice cooker even though it is a less expensive model. Nevertheless, if you know that the lid opens very quickly, then you can keep your hand on it and solve this minor problem (shop now on Amazon).

Cuckoo Twin Pressure 6-Cup Rice Cooker

CRP-RT0609FB

Cuckoo CRP-RT0609FB

The CRP-RT0609FB is a 6-cup Cuckoo rice cooker model that uses an electric heating plate to cook the rice. The key feature of the CRP-RT0609FB is the twin pressure function. You can select either high pressure-cooking or non-pressure cooking by simply turning a knob on the lid of the rice cooker. You can use the high pressure mode for cooking sticky rice or soft grains. The non-pressure setting is good for cooking tender and flavorful white, sushi or jasmine rice.

The CRP-RT0609FB has 12 menu settings such as:

  • Auto Clean
  • Baby food
  • GABA
  • Glutinous (for white rice)
  • High Pressure
  • Mixed Rice
  • Non Pressure
  • Porridge
  • Reheat
  • Scorched Rice
  • Turbo
  • Warm

The stainless steel inner cooking pot is coated with the nonstick X-wall diamond coating for better durability against heat, pressure and steam. The inner lid has a dual layer gasket to create a tight seal. The steam pressure release valve releases steam automatically after the cooking process is done. Use the auto steam cleaning function to sanitize the interior of the rice cooker.

The Cuckoo CRP-RT0609FB twin pressure heating plate rice cooker and warmer might not cook rice as fast or as perfect as one of the Cuckoo induction heating pressure rice cookers. Be that as it may, the CRP-RT0609FB still makes great rice at a more reasonable price (buy on Amazon).

CRP-LHTR0609F

Cuckoo CRP-LHTR0609F Induction Heating Twin Pressure 6 Cup Rice Cooker White

The Cuckoo CRP-LHTR0609F is a twin pressure rice cooker that uses induction heating to cook the rice or food. There are two sizes available: a 6-cup uncooked rice and a 10 cup uncooked rice model (CRP-LHTR1009F).

The CRP-LHTR0609F is made in Korea. The control panel has an LED display with buttons that are marked in Korean and English. Furthermore, this model has voice navigation in English, Chinese and Korean.

The CRP-LHTR0609F has many menu options for cooking things like sticky white rice, sticky multi grain, scorched rice, veggie rice and GABA rice. The twin pressure option allows you to cook with high pressure or no pressure at all.

The stainless steel inner cooking pot is coated with an X-wall Black Shine nonstick coating. The inner lid cover can be easily detached for cleaning.

An interesting feature of this Cuckoo induction heating twin pressure rice cooker is the open cooking function. This allows you to interrupt the cooking process to add ingredients into the cooking pot. This is how it works:

  • Press the large button that says Open Cooking on the front of the control panel.
  • Wait and listen for the voice navigation to tell you when it is safe to open the lid.
  • Open the lid and add the extra ingredients or toppings.
  • Close the lid and let the cooking process finish.

The Cuckoo CRP-LHTR0609F induction heating twin pressure rice cooker gets high marks for its overall design, safety and performance as a high quality rice cooker. However, this model is only for the serious rice eater that is willing to spend a lot of money to get a very tasty bowl of rice (check price on Amazon).

Cuckoo Induction Heating Pressure 6-Cup Rice Cooker

CRP-DHSR0609FD

Cuckoo CRP-DHSR0609FD Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker 6 Cups Dark Grey

This induction heating pressure rice cooker from Cuckoo has 14 cooking functions. The rice cooking functions include glutinous rice, mixed rice, brown rice and GABA rice. The other cooking options are for things like porridge, multi cooking, fermenting bread, baking bread and black bean rice.

There are buttons for the keep warm/reheat, preset, auto clean, pressure-cook and high heat functions. Voice navigation is available in three languages: English, Chinese, Korean. The inner bowl has a nonstick X-wall diamond-coated surface.

In brief, the Cuckoo CRP-DHSR0609FD is a high quality IH pressure rice cooker that offers a lot of cooking functions, probably too many for the average rice eater. It makes amazing rice, yet its expensive price and the multitude of functions will discourage most people from getting it (check price on Amazon).

CRP-JHSR0609F

Cuckoo CRP-JHSR0609F 6-Cup IH Pressure Rice Cooker

So, the CRP-JHSR0609F is another one of those expensive Cuckoo induction pressure rice cooker models. It is available in either a 6-cup or a 10-cup rice capacity size with a curved X-wall nonstick coated stainless steel inner pot. It is capable of both high pressure and low pressure-cooking and steaming.

It looks very impressive with its white LCD text, brown body, stainless steel and black color scheme. The control panel has both English and Korean text with 14 cooking functions and voice navigation for Korean, English and Chinese.

Is the Cuckoo CRP-JHSR0609F worth its large price tag? If you are a rice lover and an experienced rice eater, then it might be worth the money. Otherwise, cut your teeth on a less expensive model (check price on Amazon).

Conclusion

Should you get a Cuckoo rice cooker instead of a Zojirushi NP-NWC induction heating pressure rice cooker? Is it a crazy idea or are these Cuckoo rice cookers very competent?

There is no easy answer. Zojirushi is much better known in the USA than Cuckoo. Zojirushi operating manuals are probably easier to understand with better translations.

If you speak Korean or have some Korean heritage, then it makes much more sense to buy one of these appliances. However, I can already hear a few clucking noises when confronted with the retail prices and warranties of these Cuckoo rice cookers. Nonetheless, if you are feeling a bit cuckoo and are willing to take a calculated risk, then the quality and capability of these South Korean rice cookers might just surprise you.