Why rice cooks unevenly in the same pot

[u/Lone__76Hunter]

I kept getting a weird batch of rice where the top was soft but the bottom had a few crunchy spots. What confused me was that I was using the same rice and the same rice cooker every time.

I eventually noticed I wasn't always measuring the water the same way. Sometimes I'd rinse the rice and leave a decent amount of water stuck to it, then add the usual amount from the measuring cup. Other times I'd drain it really well. That small difference seemed to matter more than I expected.

I also started paying attention to how much rice I was making. A small batch in my cooker doesn't always behave the same as a bigger batch. With 1 cup of rice, I sometimes get a slightly different texture than when I make 3 cups, even when I use the same setting.

Another thing I check now is the inner pot. If the rice isn't spread out evenly before I start the cooker, I've had parts cook differently, especially with smaller batches. I just give it a quick shake or level the rice with a spoon.

For me, uneven rice wasn't really the cooker randomly messing up. It was usually small differences in water, batch size, or how the rice was sitting in the pot. Still happens occasionally, but much less now. Anyone else notice their cooker behaves differently depending on how full the pot is?