Panasonic SR-DF101WST / SR-DF181WST

Disappointed Purchase – I had high expectations of the rice cooker after reading previous reviews. However, there are quite a few issues with the rice cooker... 1. It gets extremely messy, especially when I cook brown rice. Sticky liquid comes out of the vent on the top and drips everywhere. 2. It is hard to clean up the mess (sides and top lid). 3. Long cooking time - took over an hour to cook only 1 cup of brown rice.

4. Burnt rice at the bottom of the cooker. Regardless how much extra water I put in the cooker (I tried to follow the marking of the cooker, but more rice gets burnt).

My previous cooker that was $30 worked much better!

Not sure if it would be better if it was white rice instead. Haven't tried the porridge option yet but not looking forward to the potential mess it'll create.

Unsettling Material Safety Data Sheet - Pot is made from sumiflon – Would highly recommend against purchasing a rice cooker from Panasonic. I requested a copy of the material safety data sheet, which the company sent over. The inner pot is made from Sumiflon, which (as stated on the first page of the MSDS) may: "> damage fertility or the unborn child > cause damage to organs > cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure" Not sure if you're happy to risk these things over a $100 rice cooker! Show details

Dumps water everywhere – It occasionally cooks a reasonable batch of rice but... ❌Nearly always dumps water around the lid - often enough to overflow onto the bench. (This didn't happen the first few times used but now always) ❌ Often overcooks the bottom so it forms a crust. (This didn't happen the first few times used but now 2 out of 3 times) I have used for...… Read more

Jasmin Basmati Brown (This took about two hours to cook and was brown and crusty on the bottom)

Always with 1 cup and the correct amount of water according to the marks on the pan. Always pre-washed according to instructions. Always cleaned and checked condition of lid seal and vent seal after use. (IMHO the lid seal is obviously inadequate)

Other shortcomings... ⭕The volume marks impressed into the pan are extremely difficult to see. ⭕No progress indicator.

Given the amount of fiddling around and post clean up and the above problems, there is much less hassle cooking rice by the absorption method in a saucepan with a lid.

Great Size, Simply Good – Was gifted this rice cooker as a house warming gift, before the Panasonic I was using a rice cooker with a glass lid - which I didn't like. The rice in my previous rice cooker it would cook the rice, but unevenly, leaving you with some overly wet grains or dry slightly crunchy. In comes with Panasonic SRDF-181, a 10 cup rice cooker with Fuzzy… Read more

logic technology to cook rice with 1 touch of a button. With up to 5 hours of keeping warm and non-stick pan, the rice cooker should give you fresh and even cooking of each rice grain.

What's in the box? 1. Rice Cooker 2. Non stick bowl 3. Rice paddle 4. Steaming tray 5. Measuring cup for rice 6. Power cord

The rice cooker uses fuzzy logic much like how washing machines, air conditioners, facial pattern recognition and many more devices work. Fuzzy logic is an approach of mimicking human reasoning and thoughts. I won't bore you with the details but basically it allows the rice cooker to monitor the rice as it cooks and adjust its temperature and settings throughout the process.

I've cooked long grain rice, brown rice and a mix of basmati, quinoa, long grain and jasmine in this rice cooker. It has always come out perfectly, every time. the bowl also makes it easy to measure water to rice depending on what your making (white rice vs brown). In my old rice cooker, I had to use the finger method to measure the water correctly. The non stick pot is great so the rice would never stick to the bottom, just make sure you don't use metal as you will scratch it. I haven't used the steaming tray as I don't usually steam anything on top of the rice while its cooking. I also don't like to use the keeping warm feature (just something I grew up with not using) so I can't comment on the feature.

Pros - Easy measuring of water to rice with the measuring cup and metrics on the inside of the bowl - Fuzzy logic (perfectly cooked rice every time) - Up to 5 hours of 'keeping warm' - Easy preparation and simple interface

Cons - No sound (you have to check if the rice is done by checking the keep warm light is on) - Non-Detachable lid (water get stuck - I make sure to leave the lid open overnight for it to evaporate away) - When opening the lid a lot of water gets stuck on the sides of the rice cooker next to the bowl - make sure to wipe this

Overall, 4/5 for the rice cooker as it is simple and gives you perfectly cooked rice every time, there are some areas that could be improved such as a chime to notify when cooking is complete or a detachable lid for easier cleaning,

Small, 5-cup cooker - exactly what we need – My old cheapie rice cooker still works well. But I had a store credit valid for a limited time period, so was hunting for something I needed when I came across this Panasonic rice cooker. It was plasticky and light, with printed plastic buttons for 4 functions (steam, white rice, brown rice and porridge/soup) but hey! It could cook 1 cup of rice!… Read more ·  1

With my old cheapie 10-cup 1 “on” button cooker, the minimum was 2 cups leading to lots of leftover rice.

Standard accessories included an inner non-stick pot with 2 sets of embossed marks for white and brown rice, a plastic measuring cup, a plastic steamer basket and a plastic rice ladle.

It does its job I.e. cook rice automatically, but the cons are that: - it seems a little slower than my old cheapie - there is no separate, removable “dew” or condensation collector - no external “park” for the rice ladle - it is silent on completion I.e. no beep sound when rice is cooked. (My old cheapie didn’t signal it had completed cooking, but the loud “tock” of the “on” button disengaging could be heard across the room!)

Overall though, the fact that it can cook 1 cup of rice when I need a small amount and it cost me only $25 in real money trumps all the cons!

Cooks various rice to perfection! No mess, simple and easy to use – Had this rice cooker for 2 years now. Cooks rice to perfection. No mess, Never sticks to the bottom. SImple and easy to use. Show details ·  1

First time using a rice cooker, so easy! – I've never owned a rice cooker and have always cooked my rice the white guy way, in a pot, lots of water, and constantly stirring it. I bought this read through the instructions and just cooked two cups of rice with the recommended amount of water, turned it on to the white rice setting and done! Overall it only took maybe 25 minutes but I wasn't… Read more ·  1

monitoring it too closely due to its keep warm function.

When I was ready to serve dinner I fluffed up the rice and it was so light and fluffy with minimal moisture, it was some of the tastiest rice I've had! I don't think I can ever go back to my sauce pan.

I'd recommend this to anyone who is on the fence about a rice cooker, I know I certainly was but it's worth every penny.

Perfect rice cooker – Have used for 3 years and more, super fluffy rice with its fuzzy technology, takes roughly half an hour to cook a cup of rice, the non-stick coating is starting to wear out at this point, will look to purchase same one if needed and available Show details ·  1

Disappointing – No timer, burns the rice, takes way longer than instructions state. Much better, and CHEAPER rice cookers are available. Thought I'd be safe with Panasonic, but unfortunately I was completely wrong. Rubbish. Show details

Designed obsolescence - Spare parts incredibly expensive – The Panasonic SR-DF181 has been a great cooker. However, the pan has developed three micro holes that seep out water, I am so glad I did not get electrocuted or burned. When I requested a quote for a new pan, I was quoted $97.58 plus shipping! Show details

Excellent and durable 8 cup rice cooker – We've been using the Panasonic SR DF181 (not the new WST) as my review is on the old 3 years old model and our rice cooker has worked perfectly and boils excellent rice, the ratio for white rice is 1 cup to 1 cup of water at max 8 cups as that is all that we need for a sitting and/or any of our rice cooking dishes needs. This is an excellent product and cooks very well. Show details ·  1

Reliably that lasts and delivers great rice every time – I bought this cooker in 2021 and it is now 2024. It has had regular use and is rock solid reliable. I takes 10-15min to cook white rice in quick mode or 30-40min in regular. Brown rice always takes 2 hours. It lets out a little steam as you would expect but never dribbles water. Rice is always cooked very well. I would like to have marked it down half a star because it does not have a beep when finished option but half stars are not an option. Show details ·  1

Detachable lid needed – Since it doesn't have a detachable lid and the whole thing is attached to the body, condensation sets in and after removing the pot, it has to be left on its side for the water to drain from the lid. It would be really convenient for people to have a removable lid, where one can wash, dry and put the lid on and keep it away. This has to be left open for a few hours, before the lid can be closed. Other than that the features are all excellent.

Horrible – I bought the SRCN108WST Panasonic rice cooker and it took 42 minutes to cook one cup of white rice. How could anyone review that product with five stars? Normal cup of white rice takes 13 minutes. Very disappointed. Shock that Panansonic will produce such product Show details

Disappointing – I was given this for the brown rice option. Unfortunately, I only ever cook 1 cup of rice so it's too big. I was unsure how much water per cup of brown rice. According to the manual it sort of appeared that it was 1 1/2 cups but online I saw recommendations of 2 cups and 2 1/2 cups. Then someone said use the scale inside the pan. This worked out… Read more

to be 2 1/2 cups. However, after two whole hours of cooking, the rice was soggy and burnt on the bottom. I could have cooked it much better and much much quicker on the stove. It's unfortunate there is no audio cue for when it's ready. It means you have to keep an eye on the cooker which sort of defeats the purpose of having an automatic cooker.

Choice recommended disaster – I researched through Choice and chose this recommended rice cooker. I was replacing my previous excellent Panasonic rice cooker. I thought I’d done something wrong when after 90 minutes the brown rice was still not cooked. But alas when researching this forum I see I’m not alone. Even white rice is taking an hour. No beep to announce end of cooking is annoying too. I could not be more disappointed. Show details

I don't like it – I bought it 2 weeks ago... the rice cooked so well but So much water stocked at the lid so i need to put paper towel inside to dry while cooking and no alarm if cooked... Show details

Was great until coating started to come off – I have had this for 18 months. In the past I have always bought cheaper rice cooker and replaced a couple of years later when Teflon coating starts to wear away. I really have like it and would have given it a better score except for the durability of the coating. In this price range I would have expected it to last longer. Show details

Terrible – So many reason why terrible: 1. Slow to cook (cooking brown rice takes 2hrs). 2. No alarm to tell you when its done. 3. So much water and scum collects at the lid and the 4 corners of cooker. 4. Thus, making it very difficult to clean. 5. Sometimes it switched to keep warm even when its not done.

Best rice cooker ever – I bought this rice cooker after having had cheap, $20 rice cookers for 30+ years that lasted a year or so, burning the rice each time and flaking off the non-stick coating. This rice cooker is undoubtedly the best I have had because it does not heat the rice/water to boiling point and nor does it overcook or burn the rice. Yes, it takes 30 minutes for white or brown rice, but it is worth waiting an extra ten minutes to get perfect rice. Show details ·  1

Terribly Slow – I purchased this rice cooker as our last one died. I really wish the store still had my old rice cooker in stock as this one is so slow. It can take over an hour for white rice & there is no alarm to let you know when its done. Sometimes it flicks over to keep warm even before its finished cooking. It really hasn't made cooking rice easy at all, i might as well cook it on the stove & stand there & watch like we used to. Show details

Great rice... but SO slow! – While, admittedly, the eventual result is excellently cooked rice, it takes over 2 hours to cook brown rice (seriously!). Plus it has no alarm to alert you when it’s finished cooking which means you can’t just set & forget & wait for the ‘beep’ so have keep checking it. Disappointed really especially for the cost. My old “cheapie” didn’t cook quite as well but it was/is super quick & ‘pings’ when it’s ready. Show details

Nice compact versatile cooker – My last rice cooker only had one button - the on button. It was simple and I liked it that way. I was worried all the modern ones will come with hundreds of functions and buttons and requires a IT degree to use. But this one is compact, simple, and versatile. It still has the single button to turn on but it also has the ability to cook other… Read more

food.

The steam function works extremely well. A little bit limited in the amount of water you can put into the 101 version but should be sufficient for a small dish even if it is frozen to start with.

The white rice function works pretty good. It is not as fast as my last rice cooker. And I get a consistent small burning spot towards the front of the heating plate. I just use the included cup to measure the rice and use the indicator inside the pot for water level. And the rice comes out nice and fluffy without any fuss. Works very consistently with long and medium grain rice. Haven't tried short grain.

I haven't used the brown rice function as I know from previous experience that it can be difficult and takes some tweeking with each type of brown rice to get exactly to each personal preference.

The soup function works pretty good too but it really depends on what you are making. It can probably cook a little bit longer for congee (Chinese porridge) and a little bit shorter for soup. But I guess it is very difficult to make a cooker simple to use with minimal buttons and settings while making it work for a wide range of products. I think this is a good compromise.

The cooker is easy to clean. The pot is not as non-stick as some other brand but as long as you don't burn your food onto the pot then it should be easy to get off. It even comes with carry handles on the bottom so it is very portable (it's an Asian thing).

The only thing I struggle with is the small handles on the steamer tray which makes it hard to take out especially when it is hot. Otherwise, it is a great little cooker at this size and price range.

Rice Cooked easy – Been using this rice cooker for 2 years and it hasn't failed me to date to cook plain white rice. It has been consistent and up to standards compared to the asian rice cooker my family had back home. It keeps the rice nice and fluffy. The water line is there for a standard but if you know rice, different types (jasmine, basmati, japanese) have… Read more

different ways of preparation and water ratios (how many washes, colour of water etc).

I've used this to cook brown rice once (i've avoided cooking brown rice since I had a bad experience with my $10 ricer cooker) and was surprised on how it was completely different from my previous experience. It actually made brown rice edible. Only issue with cooking brown rice is that it takes longer (like 2 hours or something) but made it perfectly.

It has a porridge setting that I have yet to try but not anytime soon.

Only qualms with this machine is that the top heating element can't be removed so when cleaning the rice cooker, I have to use paper towels to dry and clean it which I find wasteful than cleaning in the sink and air drying. Also, if you buy the 10 cup one, there is a minimum cups of rice is 2 cups to be cooked.

Japanese rice cookers still are the best but this rice cooker is top notch as well for those who are looking for a consistent quality of white rice without all the hassle of preparation.

Waste of time I – I was tossing up between buying a cheap rice cooker or the Panasonic thinking you get whatwhat you pay for. My first attempt was a failure ,I was hoping to have rice for tea. After two hours the rice was still hard. I tried again the following day and had the same result I followed all the instructions for white rice. I am taking it back to the Good Guys.  Show details

Bought for Brown Rice – ... but found the brown rice setting didn’t work very well. Used the ordinary rice setting instead but not very happy with that either. Perhaps I wasn’t very impressed with this rice cooker because I usually make only a single serve of rice - one third of a cup - for myself, and presume it would be handy for people who cooked larger quantities. I… Read more

have an induction cook top with a timer, and that makes perfect brown and white rice and wonder to myself why I bought this rice cooker.

Works great – I have had a lot of rice cookers over the past 20 years and find that with each of them you need to adjust the amount of water slightly for different rices. Slightly less water for medium rice, stated amount for jasmine and more water for long and basmati rice. This rice cooker consistently cooks nice fluffy rice with no bottom crust and keeps… Read more

rice fresh on the keep warm cycle. I have no issues with cleaning when making up to 3 cups white rice. It has two white rice functions, a longer cook which the instructions state takes 38 mins for 3 cups and a quick cook 30 mins. I have been trying to time this to verify but as the rice cooker does not beep when cooking time finishes I have never accurately measured this. With this rice cooker, I am folllowing the instructions and not washing the rice in the rice pan but a separate pan as this is probably why all my other teflon pans deteriorated.

Reliable rice cooker – We were looking for a small rice cooker just for my partner and myself and a lot of the rice cookers in the market are too big, for big families. I finally found this one and we are very happy. It's effective, it doesn't take too long to cook, it doesn't take up too much space in the kitchen, and It's cute.  Show details

Good but not the best rice cooker – I bought this rice cooker eight months ago and have used it everyday. So far the cooker worked fine for different purposes i.e. making sticky rice, porridge or steaming vegetables. However I found the cleaning work for this cooker is hard and there is no water drainage for water coming out of the cooker. This is a big miss as it's a common thing to have, even with cheaper rice cookers available on the market  Show details

Very happy with it! – This is a really great model, large enough to cook a lot of rice in it. It's got great features, like being able to cook the rice in advance and keep it warm (except for brown rice). Different functions, cooking/steaming/porridge/soup. One button operation, very easy to use, it starts and stops automatically. It takes a few goes to determine… Read more

the quantity of water needed for each type of rice, which determines the final cooking degree of the different types of rice.

It's best to test/try it and then, when you're happy with how the rice is cooked, choose the water/rice quantity on the table on page 5 of the booklet.

It states on the manual to watch out for the steam coming out of the top vent, and at first it's best to lay a folded paper towel with a whole in the middle to avoid spilling water to run down the sides of the unit, but this is only until correct water amount is worked out.

No end or cooking sound, it only shows the cooking stage/end by the lights on the front panel.

All in all, a very handy rice cooker.

A good choice – Bought after using a cheap rice cooker for several years and am quite happy with it, though I have only used it to cook Jasmine rice so far + Does an excellent job cooking rice. No burnt or sticky rice (this is a *major* plus) + Easy to clean pan due to above point + Has a simple user interface that is more powerful than cheaper Rice Cookers … Read more

+ Cooks different types of Rice

+ Good price for a computer controlled cooker

- Opaque lid prevents inspection of food without opening lid

- A little bit awkward to clean seal as it is not removable

- Mechanical relay makes a noticeable noise when turning on and off every few seconds. Not overly loud but still a little bit annoying

- Manual not very good, but once you learn how to use the unit this will not be a problem

- Overly-discrete steam vent may cause burns if you don't know not to put your hand above it

I would recommend this unit to anyone looking for a good, solid Rice Cooker though I can't comment on it's long term reliability yet. A few small changes by the manufacturer would make this unit superb

A great choice! – Bought this cooker 2 months ago. I have no complaints so far. It's very easy to use and clean. I usually eat brown rice and it cook them very well. The steam function works well too but you need to use timer as it only automatically stops when running out of water. 5 cups are enough for 3 to 4 people.  Show details

The number 1 appliances brand for me. Even our refrigerator is from them. Very sturdy! Show reply