民以食為天。煮飯方式的發展，不但紀錄了人類飲食文明的歷史，從設計史的角度看，更象徵著社會應用器具的進步。為了探討台灣的產品發展史，本研究選擇與生活密切相關的炊煮器具，作為個案主題。雖然，台灣仍缺乏記錄產品發展的專門書籍，然而，報紙報導及相關廣告，卻意外地詳細記載台灣社會的變遷及相關產品的發展信息。本研究的資料，主要取自中央日報與聯合報的報導及其所刊登的廣告，使用文本分析研究方法，收集自1960年至2007年1月，分析有關電氣化炊飯器的報導及廣告文本，以探索該項產品在台灣的發展歷程。文本的選擇，以與產品設計相關的造形與功能為主，利用Microsoft Access 2003，以編年史的方法，建立產品資料庫，接著以文本分析來整理資料，並以KJ法歸納炊飯器功能的發展方向。結果發現，台灣的電氣化炊飯器發展，可概分為五個階段, 其造形受日本產品及室內裝潢的影響很大，同時，也隨著時代的產品美學發展、生產技術的進步及配合室內環境，加上數位產品普及的影響，消費者對家電產品美的觀點，越來越講究簡潔、流線的趨勢。更特別的是，消失於日本的電鍋，在台灣卻能一直保持不變的造形及結構，屹立於市場將近50年，說明了各地區產品除了主流發展之外，必有超乎流行的固有概念維繫著產品形式的穩定，而保有個別市場的特色。至於，對炊飯器功能的影響，本研究則整理出有六個發展方向，依出現次數的多寡，分別有：炊煮功能的加強、加熱功能的加強、炊飯器的便利性設計、鍋體新材料的開發、節能省電的裝置，及確保安全炊煮的裝置。這些產品功能的演進，無不直接、間接受到日本產品發展的影響，也顯示了產品的發展除了創造外，也有著其背後的根源。

To the people foodstuff is all-important. The evolution of the usage of rice cookers, from the angle of design history, not only recorded the dietary history of humans but also represented the progress of appliances in the oriental societies. Rice cooking is an essential part of the daily lives for the Orientals; therefore, this study used rice cookers as an example to discuss the evolutionary history of Taiwan products. Although there are not many specialized books recording product development here in Taiwan, newspapers, reports and the advertisements had taken down the development of products and changes of Taiwanese society in detail. The records of important matters regarding the evolution of rice cookers are from the advertisements of two Chinese newspapers: the oldest Central Daily News and the influential United Daily News. We collected reports and advertisements related to rice cookers from the above two newspapers dated from January 1960 to January 2007 as the database. Our focus was to investigate the models and functions of rice cookers used during this period of time, and to establish a data bank with Microsoft Access 2003. The data were set up, analyzed, and explained in a chronological order; the text-analysis method was applied to develop relevance of the information; and the KJ method was then used to organize the information regarding the evolution of rice cookers. The results found that the product form of rice cookers in Taiwan was influenced by Japanese products and interior designs. Moreover, with the aesthetic development, and the improvement of manufacture techniques, and under the influences of interior decoration, and the pervasion of digital products, consumers’ aesthetic appreciation for appliances changes with time, they tend to prefer clear and simple streamline design. The most special point is that, in terms of the model and structure of rice cookers, the first generation product has remained unchanged for nearly 50 years. This shows that, in order to keep the unique characteristic of each individual market, the development of products in different areas may be influenced not only by the mainstream but also some old concepts beyond fashion trend. As for the influences on the functions of rice cookers, the conclusions include 6 major directions (arranged by the descending order of frequency): improvement of cooking function, improvement of heating function, convenient design for usage, development of new materials, saving of electricity, and safety facility. These products are related to Japan’s product development either directly or indirectly, which indicates that the development of products needs not only innovation but also origin.