Tiger JPK-G Review: Pressure IH Rice, 20 Menus, and the Only Rice Cooker We Sell That Bakes Bread

Last updated: 27 October 2026

The Tiger JPK-G is Tiger's top rice cooker in Australia and one of two pressure IH cookers we stock. Induction heats the whole inner pot, pressure lifts the boil above 100°C for softer, sweeter rice, and the menu list runs to twenty — including bread fermentation, bread baking and cake, which no other rice cooker we sell offers. It is made in Japan.

This review works through what the cooker does, how long each menu takes, what pressure changes, how the bread and cake menus work, what living with a locking lid is like, and who should buy the 5.5-cup JPK-G10A or the 10-cup JPK-G18A. Every figure below comes from the Tiger operating instructions supplied with the Australian model.

1. Who the JPK-G is for

The JPK-G is a pressure IH cooker: microcomputer control, induction heating of the whole inner pot, and a sealed lid that lets the cooker raise pressure during the cycle. The Tiger JPW-G below it has the same induction heating and most of the same menus without the pressure, and that is the comparison that matters inside the Tiger range: the JPK-G costs more, and the question is whether pressure and the extra menus are worth it to you.

It is, for two kinds of household. The first eats Japanese short-grain rice most nights and cares about texture — pressure is how Japanese makers get the soft, springy grain their top models are known for. The second wants one appliance that also bakes: the bread and cake menus are real, and nothing else we stock has them. If you want pressure for rice alone and would never bake in a rice cooker, the Zojirushi NW-YAQ is the other pressure IH cooker we stock, with fewer menus and a higher price; if rice texture is not the point, the JPW-G does nearly everything else for less.

2. Functions and cooking times

Twenty menus: fourteen for rice and grains, six for other foods. Times are Tiger's guideline figures at 230–240 V and 23°C room and water temperature, cooked without soaking, measured to the end of steaming. A full pot runs toward the top of each range. The Pressure column shows which rice menus cook under pressure — Sushi, Sweet and the porridge menus do not.

Three things to read from the table. First, the express menu is the fastest white rice of any programmed cooker we stock — 15 to 23 minutes — but only for up to 2 cups on the G10A or 3 on the G18A; cook more and you are on Quick or Plain. Second, brown rice at 68 to 79 minutes is 15 to 30 minutes quicker than Tiger's non-pressure models. Third, Brown GABA is a four-and-a-half-hour cycle: plan it for the afternoon, or use the timer. For how the JPK-G compares with every other model we stock, see the full cooking time table.

3. What pressure changes

In a sealed pot, water boils above 100°C. The grain cooks through faster at that temperature and the starch at the centre gelatinises more completely, which is what gives pressure-cooked rice its softer, more elastic bite. Tiger applies pressure on the white, long-grain, mixed and brown menus and leaves it off for sushi rice, sweet rice and porridge, where a firmer grain or an open pot is wanted.

White rice. Plain is the standard. Premium doubles the soaking time and heats longer, for a sweeter, stickier result — it is the menu for Japanese short-grain rice when you have the time, and it adds about 15 minutes. Eco uses 3 to 14 per cent less power for a slightly firmer grain. Quick and the express menu skip the soak and come out slightly harder than Plain; the manual says so, and in our experience the express menu is closer to what a conventional cooker produces.

Brown rice. Pressure brings the Brown menu to 68 to 79 minutes on the G10A. Brown GABA holds the rice warm for hours first to germinate it, then cooks it — a noticeably softer result, at the cost of a four-and-a-half-hour cycle.

The measuring cup is 180 ml — about 150 g of rice — not a metric cup, and one level cup cooks about two restaurant-sized bowls. Water lines inside the pot are marked for each menu; fill to the line for the menu you chose, on a flat surface, and adjust to taste.

4. Bread, cake and the other-food menus

This is what separates the JPK-G from every other rice cooker we sell. Bread Fermentation proves dough in the warm, closed pot; Bread Bake then bakes it, so a loaf can be made start to finish without an oven. Cake bakes a sponge in the inner pot. The manual carries the procedures and its own recipes for each, and the quantities are sized to the pot, so follow them the first time rather than scaling a recipe from elsewhere.

Quick Cook (1 to 30 minutes), Soup (5 to 180 minutes) and Slow Cook (30 minutes to 6 hours) cover the rest. The manual is firm on one point: cook other foods only on these three menus, never on a rice menu, because thick or starchy food on a pressurised rice cycle can block the vent and spray contents when the lid opens. If a dish needs longer, the cooker allows up to three top-up heating runs after the cycle ends.

What it is not: the JPK-G has no steaming basket. The JAX-S is the Tiger that steams over rice.

5. Keep Warm, Reheat and the timers

The cooker switches to Keep Warm automatically when rice finishes and shows the elapsed hours up to 24, after which the display blinks. The manual's advice is to keep white rice only, not less than 1 cup on the G10A or 2 cups on the G18A, and not beyond 24 hours; the grain and mixed menus are marked "serve soon". A Reheat function brings kept-warm rice back to serving temperature, and is not for use when the pot is more than half full. Our own habit: keep warm as briefly as you can, fluff the rice when it finishes, and refrigerate what you will not eat.

Two preset timers, Timer 1 and Timer 2, each store a finish time, so breakfast rice and dinner rice can be set once and reused. A separate Soak Timer adds 10 to 60 minutes of soaking before a cycle, in 10-minute steps — the manual route to softer rice without switching to Premium. The timer is not available on the Quick, express, Mixed and Sweet menus. A lithium battery keeps the clock and presets when the cooker is unplugged; it wears out with use and is replaced by a service agent.

6. Living with a pressure cooker

The lid locks. While pressure is applied the lid will not open; this is by design. You cannot stir or add ingredients mid-cycle, and after cooking you wait for the pressure to clear before pressing the open button. Steam releases under pressure, so keep hands and faces away from the vent, and follow the manual's steps when opening the lid.

It makes noises. The manual lists them: a fan, a buzz from the induction coil, a hiss as the pot boils, and clicking as the pressure adjusts. None of them is a fault.

The gasket. Pressure cookers seal with a rubber gasket, and on many brands it is a routine replacement. In our experience the JPK-G's rarely needs replacing. The lid gasket and inner lid gasket are not removable, so they are cleaned in place.

Power cuts. If the power drops out mid-cycle, cooking resumes when it returns, and a set timer continues.

7. Drawbacks — who should not buy it

• Nothing is dishwasher safe. The inner pot, inner lid and steam cap are hand wash only. The manual is explicit.
• Weight. 5.4 kg for the G10A and 6.6 kg for the G18A — the heaviest Tiger we stock.
• The express menu has a cup limit. 15 to 23 minutes is for 2 cups or fewer on the G10A. A full pot on Plain is 42 to 54 minutes, about the same as any micom cooker.
• Price. It costs more than the JPW-G, which has the same induction heating, the same ceramic pot idea and most of the same rice menus. If you will not use pressure or bake, the JPW-G is the better buy.
• The lid lock takes getting used to. It will not open the moment the melody plays.

8. 5.5 cups or 10 cups?

Decide by the smallest amount you cook, not the largest. The G10A cooks from half a cup; the G18A needs 2 cups before it cooks properly, and its express menu runs to 3 cups rather than 2. For one or two people, or a family that cooks 2 to 3 cups a night, the G10A is the right size. Choose the G18A if you regularly cook 5 cups or more.

Allow for the lid opening above the cooker and for steam at the vent; neither size fits under a standard overhead cupboard with the lid up.

9. Cleaning, self-cleaning and parts

After every use: wash the inner pot, inner lid and steam cap by hand with a soft sponge, and wipe the inside of the outer lid. Nothing goes in the dishwasher. The inner lid and steam cap detach for washing; the gaskets stay on the lid and are wiped clean. The inner pot is ceramic-coated — the manual describes a fluorocarbon coating with ceramic material — and like any coating it wears with use, which the manual says is harmless. The pot is a replaceable part.

Self Clean. One press runs a steam cycle through the pot and lid parts to clear odours — useful after soup, bread or a long Keep Warm, and after the first few uses, when a new cooker can smell of resin.

10. Frequently asked questions

11. Verdict

Buy the JPK-G for pressure-cooked rice with the deepest menu list we sell. Pressure gives the soft, springy grain that Japanese short-grain rice is meant to have, brings brown rice down to just over an hour, and the express menu is the fastest programmed white rice we stock for a small batch. The bread and cake menus are a real bonus for a household without an oven, or one that wants to try.

Skip it if you want IH rice quality without pressure, where the JPW-G does nearly everything for less; or if rice texture is the whole point and the menus do not matter, where the Zojirushi NW-YAQ is the alternative. Between the two sizes, the G10A suits most households; the G18A is for families cooking 5 cups or more.

Tiger JPK-G10A — 5.5 cups · Tiger JPK-G18A — 10 cups

We're here to help

If you would like to discuss whether the JPK-G suits you, contact us any time, or visit us in Chatswood, Sydney to see it beside the other models.

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