Is the Elite Gourmet Rice Cooker Worth It?
Worth it, if you want simple over fancy
Why cheap rice cookers let you down over time
You've stood over a stovetop pot of rice, lid rattling, steam fogging the window, and you still don't know if it's done or turning to mush. That's the whole reason a machine like the Elite Gourmet ERC006SS exists, to take that guessing off your hands. But here's what I'd want to know first, before trusting a thirty dollar appliance with dinner: what happens to the inside of that pot after a hundred rounds of rice, and does it survive a metal spoon.
How the Elite Gourmet's stainless pot actually works
Every basic rice cooker works the same simple way underneath: a thermostat sits under the pot and reads temperature, not time. While there's still water in the rice, the pot stays right around boiling. The second the free water cooks off, the temperature spikes, the thermostat trips, and the cooker clicks over to keep warm on its own. That part is standard, and it's why set it and forget it is an honest claim here, at least for the basic timing. This is the bit the listing buries: most cookers at this price line the pot with a nonstick aluminum coating, and coatings wear. Scratch one with a metal spoon or run it through a few years of use and it starts flaking into your food. The ERC006SS swaps that for a plain stainless steel inner pot. Nothing to scratch off, nothing to flake, and it takes a metal spatula without flinching. The trade is that stainless doesn't have the natural release of nonstick, so rice can catch at the bottom if you skip the rinse, and the care label says hand wash, not dishwasher. The sink is where this either works or doesn't: a few minutes of scrubbing, or none at all if you rinse your rice first. Add a tempered glass lid so you can watch it work, cool touch handles, and a six cup cooked capacity, and you've got a machine built to do one job without drama, not to double as a slow cooker.
So you're not really buying a rice cooker, you're buying a pot that won't degrade, plus one switch that does the thinking a stovetop can't. If you want fewer moving parts and nothing to flake into dinner, that trade is worth it. If you want elaborate presets and a nonstick pot that releases rice like glass, this isn't that machine.
Who the Elite Gourmet rice cooker is for, and who should skip it
Worth it if
- you want one button and no guesswork
- you'd rather scrub a stainless pot than replace a flaking nonstick one
- you're cooking for one to four people
- you want a straightforward gift for a first apartment
Skip it if
- you want built in presets for steaming, baking or slow cooking
- you need more than six cups of cooked rice at once
- you want a pot that releases rice without rinsing first
Not for cooks who want built in presets, a nonstick pot, or a machine that doubles as more than a rice cooker.
The Elite Gourmet rice cooker verdict
If you're the kind of cook who wants to measure, press one button, and walk away, this is a quiet yes, it'll earn its cupboard space fast. If you're after a rice cooker that also steams vegetables, bakes a cake, or lives in the dishwasher, save your money for something with more presets and a nonstick pot. It's a plain tool for a plain job, and it doesn't ask much of you.
That stovetop guessing game is gone the moment you press start: no more lid lifting, no more standing over a pot deciding if it's ready. Day one looks like this, rice in, water to the line, lid down, and you walk away to do something else while it works. There's a small satisfaction in a thirty dollar machine doing exactly what it says, no more and no less.
Amazon shoppers rate it 4 out of 5 across 1,724 ratings. That is their number, not ours.
Before you go
Is elite gourmet rice cooker good?
Yes, for straightforward rice cooking it works well: it switches to keep warm on its own and the stainless pot won't flake like a worn nonstick one.
How to use elite gourmet 6 cup rice cooker?
Measure rice with the included cup, rinse it, add water to the matching line, close the lid and press start; it switches to keep warm automatically once done.
Is Elite Gourmet a good brand?
Yes, for simple, single-purpose kitchen appliances at accessible prices; it's not the brand to pick for feature-heavy, multi-function machines.
By the numbers
earn an unconditional yes at full priceOut of 266 kitchen products we have reviewed. This one is a yes with a condition attached.
other reviews field the same questionIs Elite Gourmet a good brand?
comes up across our kitchen coverage, not just here — one of the things worth settling before you choose.
Verdict datasetQuestion indexCC BY 4.0
Full spec sheet
| Brand | Elite Gourmet |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 6 cups |
| Product Dimensions | 7.5"D x 9.5"W x 7.5"H |
| Power Source | Corded Electric |
| Product Care Instructions | Hand Wash |
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