The invention of the automatic rice cooker in 1955 revolutionized rice cooking, thanks to Fumiko Minami’s dedication and research in perfecting the ideal recipe. Initial attempts by other companies in the 1920s were failures, as their electric rice cookers couldn’t automatically switch off when rice was done. Through innovative techniques using a double boiler and timed evaporation, Toshiba finally created a successful automatic rice cooker that turned off after exactly 20 minutes. Salesmanship tactics, such as demonstrating the ease of preparing traditional dishes with the cooker, helped popularize the appliance, leading to Toshiba selling over 200,000 units a month within a year. The success and localization of automatic rice cookers spread globally, offering different settings for various rice dishes worldwide.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/toshiba-rice-cooker