I can't find it on their site now, but there was an Onion headline once "$175 Gadget Makes One Type Of Food".

What's up with a normal saucepan, doesn't have to be non-stick, small slosh of sunflower oil, sprinkle of salt, 1/2-mug of rice per person, skoosh it round and round in the oil, 1 mug of boiling water per person, bring back to boil, simmer for 10min or until all water has disappeared, job done? (That's for basmati - use a bit more water and time for brown rice, lots more for wild rice.)

Actually, while we're on, the rice recipes in Paul Prudhomme call for rice "preferably converted". I had a quick go at converting my rice, but it remained stubbornly secular despite my preaching. What, in US English, is "converted" rice?

Peter