Sauté-Then-Simmer STS®: What Is This Function and How Does It Work?

Fluffy steamed rice, hearty jambalaya, creamy risotto, melt-in-your-mouth carne asada—whichever recipe you choose to whip up, there’s a good chance an electric multicooker can ensure a delicious outcome.    

The Aroma Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker is one such appliance, but don’t let the name fool you. While it can help you make restaurant-quality rice, it’s also ideal for the easy preparation of healthy steamed meals, delicious one-pot dishes, and other stovetop favorites.  

What sets the Aroma Digital Rice & Grain Multicooker apart from other multicookers is our patented Sauté-Then-Simmer® (STS) function.

So, what Is Sauté-Then-Simmer®

Sauté-Then-Simmer does exactly what it says—it cooks food on a high heat setting (as you would in a sauté pan) and then automatically switches to a simmer once liquid is added. In fact, it’s the only rice cooker on the market that has this liquid-sensing ability.  

Why Sauté-Then-Simmer Is Great for Easy Home Cooking  

Many people want to cook healthy, home-cooked meals for themselves and their families, but simply don’t have the time or energy. After all, home cooking often leads to a messy kitchen with multiple dirty pots and pans to clean. The result? A few too many nights ordering takeout or sticking a frozen pizza in the oven.  

Sound familiar?  

Fortunately, Sauté-Then-Simmer offers an easy solution to the hassle of home cooking. With this function, all cooking for a meal can be done in ONE pot. Compare this to, say, using a pan to sauté your veggies, a pot to steam your potatoes, and another pot to simmer your soup. Instead of dirtying three pots/pans, you only dirty one, as Sauté-Then-Simmer offers all of these cooking functions in one device.   

Plus, you don’t have to constantly stir the ingredients, adjust the temperature, or keep track of the cook time. Just sauté the ingredients you’d like browned, add liquid, close the lid, and let the STS function handle the rest.  

Once you’ve enjoyed your delicious meal, all you have to do is wipe off and rinse the nonstick inner pot which, unlike stainless steel, doesn’t accumulate hard-to-clean stains. Home cooking just got a whole lot easier! 

How Does Sauté-Then-Simmer Work?  

Using the Sauté-Then-Simmer function is super easy. You can make healthy home-cooked meals, such as Wild Rice Pilaf with Italian Sausage, Lemon Parmesan Orzo, and Vegetarian Chili Mac, with the press of a button. Is anyone else’s mouth watering?  

While the directions for each recipe will vary slightly, the general instructions for the Sauté-Then-Simmer function are as follows: 

  • To begin, press the STS button to start heating the inner pot 
  • Add some oil, close the lid, and give the inner pot about five minutes to heat up.  
  • While your pot is heating up, chop any ingredients you’d like to sauté. 
  • Add the ingredients and, using a long-handled wooden spoon, sauté them to the desired level. 
  • Add the other called-for ingredients and liquid and close the lid. This will cause the cooker to automatically switch from sauté to simmer mode.  
  • Once the multicooker beeps, it will automatically switch over to KEEP WARM.  
  • Serve and enjoy!