Model sizes
Tiger JAZ-A10U or A18U: choose the batch range
The two U.S. Tiger JAZ-A rice cookers share a floral, single-switch design, a white-rice focus and a separate steamer basket. Their useful difference is the amount of uncooked rice each one is documented to handle. Pick around your ordinary batch first; maximum capacity is not free flexibility when the larger pot has a higher minimum.
Read the cup numbers as dry input
The manual specifies Tiger’s included 180 mL cup and says one uncooked cup yields roughly three cups cooked. It lists the JAZ-A10U from one to 5.5 supplied cups, while the JAZ-A18U spans three to ten. Do not substitute a U.S. measuring cup or interpret the 1.0-liter and 1.8-liter capacities as cooked output. Use the matching water scale inside the pan and follow the manual’s separate method for the rice or steaming task.
When the smaller A10U is the better fit
The 10U can cover a one-cup side and still reach 5.5 cups. That is the broader choice for portions that vary across the week, a smaller counter, or someone who wants the supplied basket without routinely making a large pot. Its listed footprint is about 10.2 by 9.7 inches and it weighs about 5.5 pounds. If the normal meal stays within its range, buying the larger 18U does not improve the simpler switch-based cooking routine.
When to move to the 18U
The 18U makes sense when three cups is a realistic minimum and the batch can rise to ten. That top range suits larger household meals or batch preparation, but the model is about 12 inches tall and 6.8 pounds. A one- or two-cup cook should instead use the 10U or choose another model whose exact instructions document that smaller amount. The 18U’s larger maximum cannot be transferred to the 10U when a single batch exceeds 5.5 cups.
The shared routine has shared limits
Both JAZ-A models are 120 V, 60 Hz heating-plate cookers with a physical start switch, automatic Keep Warm, a removable inner lid, a condensation collector and the included steamer basket. Neither product page nor operating instructions document a delayed-finish timer or a synchronized rice-plus-steam tray. Their aluminum pots use a fluorine/PTFE coating; Tiger’s U.S. material disclosure names both exact configurations under models with PFAS intentionally added for nonstick properties. Those disclosures should be treated narrowly, without health claims or assumptions about BPA.
For ordinary rice, the manual says to rinse separately, choose the water scale matching the dry supplied-cup amount, and let the lid remain closed for about 15 minutes after the switch pops up. Keep Warm follows cooking; Tiger says it should not be used for more than 12 hours. If brown rice, porridge, a clock-based dinner schedule, or a specific alternative cooking surface is essential, choose an exact model with that capability documented rather than treating the JAZ-A family name as a menu guarantee.