We bought the rice cooker so we could make effortless rice! It does make great rice, but my only peeve is that it tends to bubble over even when you only have 1 cup of rice and water in the pot. If you do not place the cooker on top of a towel you will have a mess on your counter. I’m afraid to cook a larger amount, even though the maximum level is nearly to the top of the pot. It did work nicely to steam broccoli, though. I would like to recommend it, as Cuisinart does make a great product in general, but the fact that you do have to watch it makes the implied ease of use not so easy.