Topic: Steamers

[Mr Smith]

Anyone out there use a steamer for cooking veg, just been watching a programme about the best ways to preserve the vitamin contents in the veg and it seems that steamer comes out OK obviously not the old pressure cookers, :)

[grannyjanny]

I've got the prestige cook & steam. I really like it. The base is an electric frying pan with a thermostat on it & 2 tiers for steaming.. Had it 2 years now & no problems.

[betula]

I have a steamer 2 tiers and just pop some water in the base and lid on,pop it on the hob and it steams the veg lovely.also do new spuds this way.

You can get these for about £10

[Digeroo]

My daughter got me into steaming some years ago.  I started with a stainless steel one and then moved onto electric.  I am somewhat scatterbrained and when my husband was in hospital for 7 weeks it was much easier with a timer.  So I put all the veg in one basket.  Potatoes and carrots go at the bottom and brocolli goes stem down at the top.  I have a mark on it so that I can get it all done perfectly.  And thats it - perfect veg.  Carrots in particular are delicious.   I am onto my second electric steamer  The first one was a budget one.  Most of them are oval but I like the round ones as I put my plates on top to warm.  Only probem has been calcification but they are easy to clean it off.

Actually prefer runner beans and beetroot boiled but for everything else its the steamer.  

Now it is used daily I would not do without it.

[shirlton]

We have a stainless steel one from wikinsons. Does the job

[Mimi]

Stainless steel one here too.  The flavour of steamed veggies is far superior to boiled.  I do most veggies in it but cant stand the flavour of steamed potatoes for some reason  ???

[Greenqueen]

Why not the old pressure cooker?  are all the nutrients lost?

Mmmm I love my pressure cooker :)

Greenqueen.

[PurpleHeather]

I have a saucepan set which included a holey bottomed saucepan to use as a steamer. It gets used often, the spuds go in the bottom with the water and the veg goes on the top. The steaming takes slightly longer than boiling and I find a well fitting lid without venting holes to let any steam out is essential. You need less water for the spuds too which come out half steamed and half boiled. The water which is left goes to make the gravey so nothing is lost.

If you have a stainless steel collander, you can invert that over a pan of boiling water with foil over the top as a lid, to find out if you like steamed veg before buying something which will end up as another kitchen gadget on the shelf.

For cabbage, shred it very finely and stir fry it without any oil in a wok, add water a little at a time, just enough to stop it burning.

[kymrob]

i have eletric steamer have used them for years, i  cook every thing from veg to eggs and rice! would never go back! ;D

[manicscousers]

got an electric one and a 'pan' one, we need them both when we have visitors,  :)

[gwynnethmary]

I have a steamer 2 tiers and just pop some water in the base and lid on,pop it on the hob and it steams the veg lovely.also do new spuds this way.

You can get these for about £10

Likewise- wouldn't be without it!

[Sparkly]

I put a metal colinder on top of the pan with a lid on  ;D

[hippydave]

i use a stainless steel one and put the pots in the water to cook and the veg in the top 2 tires cook all my veg this way ;)

[froglets]

I have the small one from Lakeland with an extra basket.  You can get cheaper ones but I am very short of space in my kitchen so I went for this.  I use it all the time for greens and to heat up meals as I don't have a microwave.

[Paulines7]

i use a stainless steel one and put the pots in the water to cook and the veg in the top 2 tires cook all my veg this way ;)

I cook like this too and would never go back to cooking vegetables in water.  I also steam new potatoes especially the salad varieties such as pink fir apple.

[kt.]

We have had our a 3 tier electric one from Argos for 4 years at least.  Gets used mostly for sunday lunch and Xmas dinner.  Saves the hassle of draining veg after cooking too.  One electric socket against 3 gas rings - got to be saving on energy bills too. ;)

[Si D]

We've one of those cheapo two tier stainless jobs, but ours has an Eastern wickerwork basket thing for doing Chinese steaming.  It's great - the steam seams to 'soak' into the wood work such that as soon as you touch it it takes the skin off of your finger tips.  So, no matter how crap the food tastes you don't notice because of the pain from your hands.

[landimad]

We have a metal one and its great.
Just one thing to remember, only use wooden utensils with metal pans otherwise there is a metal taste left in the food you have cooked.

[macmac]

We've got a 3 tier steamer and with the exception of beans (don't know why ?)we steam most veg.Theyre clean,take one plug ,easy to wash up and the veg tastes really good.I'd buy one that the tiers stack inside each other ,we used to have on that didn't and it took up loads of room.Also took speed things up I boil a kettle to fill it so it heats up quicker. ;)
Did someone mention eggs? how do you steam them ?

[Mr Smith]

Thanks for the replies  folks, :)