Is google search bad? Click here to find ten reasons why it is bad and 10 reasons why you should still use it.
Yes, it is that bad.
Website of Nike? Website of Starbucks? Likely position number one.
Every product, category etc., e.g. what rice cooker should I buy? Is diseased by link and affiliate spam. There is a reason why people put +reddit on search terms.
Well first Zojirushi is unnecessarily expensive and difficult to clean. Only if you need its fancy options and like multiple varieties of rice would I recommend it. Reddit is no panacea to spam, these days.
But bonappetit.com is exactly an example of affiliate link spam. Even their budget option is awful.
What kind of answer are you expecting to get? Zojirushi is the answer you're going to get on the internet if you ask "what rice cooker should I buy" with no other qualifications because it's pretty universally agreed upon that it's the highest quality product.
Yeah Zojirushi is absolutely the right answer so the contrarian take in this comment is actually not what I would want in search result.
There are other good rice cookers like Cuckoo, and cheaper options like Tiger or Tatung, or really budget options like Aroma, but you pretty much can’t go wrong with Zojirushi if you can afford it.
This is a case of HN cynicism and contrarianism working against oneself.
I think part of the reason for this is that web site developers have got out of the habit of optimizing for search engines. I'm often surprised by how self-contained the requirements for a website are now, even among otherwise technically sophisticated clients. There'll be a beautiful site in React that absolutely sucks for SEO, but no-one will mind because a) it's unclear how big an audience there should be for the site, and b) the "all your hits come from search engines" was broken ten or more years ago by social network linking, so the question of how you get an audience seems much more arbitrary, and less connected to google.com.
But who is creating honest articles about which rice cookers you should buy?
BTW - the search you suggested gives you Reddit links first followed by other trusted sites trying to make an affiliate buck. There’s no spam on the first page.
To choose the best rice cooker, consider these factors:
Top Brands: Zojirushi is often considered the best brand, with Cuckoo and Tiger as close contenders. Aroma is considered a good budget brand 1.
Types:
Basic on/off rice cookers: These are good for simple white or brown rice cooking and are usually affordable and easy to use 2.
Considerations: When buying a rice cooker, also consider noise levels, especially from beeping alerts and fan operation 3.
Specific Recommendations:
Yum Asia Panda Mini Advanced Fuzzy Logic Ceramic Rice Cooker is recommended for versatility 4.
Yum Asia Bamboo rice cooker is considered the best overall 5.
Russell Hobbs large rice cooker is a good budget option 5.
For one to two people, you don't need a large rice cooker unless cost and space aren't a concern 6. Basic one-button models can be found for under $50, mid-range options around $100-$200, and high-end cookers for hundreds of dollars 6.
References
What is the best rice cooker brand ? : r/Cooking - Reddit www.reddit.com
The Ultimate Rice Cooker Guide: How to Choose the Right One for Your Needs www.expertreviewsbestricecooker.com
Best Rice Cooker UK | Posh Living Magazine posh.co.uk
Best rice cookers for making perfectly fluffy grains - BBC Good Food www.bbcgoodfood.com
The best rice cookers for gloriously fluffy grains at home www.theguardian.com
Do You Really Need A Rice Cooker? (The Answer Is Yes.) - HuffPost www.huffpost.com
Just tried plain old Kagi search, it came up with cooks illustrated (good source, paid) and consumer reports (decent source, paid), which I was surprised by until I remembered that I had these “pinned”, which means Kagi increases their rank. Third on the page was a condensed roundup of 8 listicles, 2 of which seemed decent (food and wine and some random blogger).
With no pins, bon appetit (decent) and nbc news (would be fine if it wasn’t littered with ads) were the top results. For NBC news, Kagi also marked the result with a red shield, indicating that it has too many ads/trackers.
Which really goes to show that Kagi is great if you’re really willing to shell out for better content. Having the ability to mark sources as trusted, or indicate that I’ve paid for premium sources makes a completely different side of the web searchable.
I just meant that I found this set of reviews to be informative and accurate. It had information that I couldn’t find online elsewhere which is really my main criteria. Generally I’ll skip anything from nbc because of the ads but in this case I read it to form an opinion and the article seemed alright.
If you enter a question into Kagi, by default, you get a 'Quick Answer' (https://help.kagi.com/kagi/getting-started/index.html#quick-...) on the top (an AI-generated text answer before the search result). In this case, it tells me which factors to consider and some that are considered to be the best depending on the use case (all sources the AI used for the answer are linked below the answer).
Followed by Listicles (a short-form writing that uses a list as its thematic structure). All just one entrance, in this case, Best rice cooker 2024: Top tried and tested models for perfect results
expertreviews.com
9 Best Rice Cookers | The Strategist - New York Magazine
nymag.com
The 8 Best Rice Cookers of 2025, Tested and Approved - The Spruce Eats
thespruceeats.com
6 Best Rice Cookers 2025 Reviewed - Food Network
foodnetwork.com
Best rice cookers 2025, tested for perfect grains - The Independent
independent.co.uk
29 Rice cooker meals ideas | rice cooker recipes, cooking recipes...
de.pinterest.com
43 Crockpot ideas | cooking recipes, rice cooker recipes, cooker...
de.pinterest.com
Followed by Quick Peek (questions with hidden answers that you can display).
Followed by normal search results again: ryukoch.com, reddit/r/Coooking, expertreviewsbestricecooker.com, tiktok, and then many more 'normal' websites.
This search reminded me that I have yet to configure my Kagi account to ignore tiktok.
Kagi Ultimate user here. Assuming you meant typing it into their search (and not e.g. Assistant), here's what I get on top of the result page:
Quick Answer
To choose the best rice cooker, consider these factors:
Capacity: Rice cookers range from small (1-2 cups) to large (6-8 cups or even 10-cup models) [1][2]. Keep in mind that one cup of uncooked rice yields about two cups cooked [2].
Budget: Basic one-button models can be found for under $50, mid-range options around $100-$200, and high-end cookers can cost more [3].
Features: Many rice cookers include a steaming insert [4]. Some have settings for different types of rice [5][1].
Brand Recommendations:
Zojirushi: Often considered the best brand, but pricier [6][7]. The Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy 5.5-Cup Rice Cooker is considered best overall [8].
Cuckoo & Tiger: These are the next best brands after Zojirushi [6].
Aroma: Considered the best budget brand [6]. The Aroma ARC-914SBD Digital Rice Cooker is a good option [9].
Toshiba: The Toshiba Small Rice Cooker stands out for innovative features that cater to a variety of cooking needs [5].
References
[1] Five Best Rice Cookers In 2023. More than half of the... | Medium medium.com
[2] Which Rice Cooker Should You Buy? - HomeCookingTech.com www.homecookingtech.com
[3] Do You Really Need A Rice Cooker? (The Answer Is Yes.) - HuffPost www.huffpost.com
[4] The 8 Best Rice Cookers of 2025, Tested and Approved www.thespruceeats.com
[5] The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Perfect Rice Cooker | Medium medium.com
[6] What is the best rice cooker brand ? : r/Cooking - Reddit www.reddit.com
[7] What are actually good rice cookers? I feel like all the ... - Reddit www.reddit.com
[8] 6 Best Rice Cookers of 2025, Tested and Reviewed - Food Network www.foodnetwork.com
[9] 9 Best Rice Cookers | The Strategist - New York Magazine nymag.com
Beyond that are the actual search results. The top ones are the same as in References section of quick answer, but the order is different: [6] [7] [3] [5] [1] [8] [9] [4] [2].
It should be noted that individual search results on Kagi are likely to be skewed depending on the user because it gives you so many dials to score specific domains up or down. E.g. my setup gives a boost to Reddit while downscoring Quora and outright blocking Instagram and Pinterest.
Yes, it is that bad.
Website of Nike? Website of Starbucks? Likely position number one.
Every product, category etc., e.g. what rice cooker should I buy? Is diseased by link and affiliate spam. There is a reason why people put +reddit on search terms.