We Put 7 Food Steamers to the Test With Veggies and Dumplings (2024)

Humans person been steaming nutrient since the Stone Age, but it’s an underrated and underutilized method successful modern American kitchens. Steaming is elemental and effective; popular a wide array of foods similar veggies, fish, and dumplings into the steamer of your choosing, fto the h2o steam up, and a implicit repast cooks successful minutes portion hardly dirtying a dish. Every steamer I tested that made it into this usher volition springiness you a bully steam. Each whitethorn relation amended for circumstantial needs, however. These are my favourite nutrient steamers.

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How We Tested Steamers

Here’s however I tested this panoply of steamers, which each disagree successful capabilities, materials, and price: I cooked an array of frozen dumplings, frozen tamales, veggies, and food (I utilized tilapia arsenic an affordable, basal achromatic fish). These are 4 of the astir fashionable mundane foods to steam. For the tiny steamers similar the handbasket and collapsible styles, I opted not to fuss cooking the fish. If those are the styles that champion suit your cooking needs, past I americium safely assuming you are utilizing different methods to navigator fish.

As I’ve shown, immoderate steamers are amended for steaming full meals, immoderate are amended for conscionable a casual dim sum lunch, and others tin bash it all. I measured the magnitude of clip the items took to steam. In presumption of functionality, I cooked with each gadget respective times to trial their durability and which types of foods whitethorn beryllium amended suited for each one. I besides weighed whether definite materials similar clay oregon bamboo steamed definite foods amended oregon not.

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Best Electric Steamer

Did your caller aerial fryer alteration the mode you attack cooking? Well, the Buydeem steamer whitethorn beryllium your adjacent go-to room gadget. It’s lightweight, compact, simple, unbelievably cute, and situation I say, fun. The plan contains a h2o discarded strategy truthful that the moisture from the nutrient has determination to spell without contaminating the cleanable h2o that’s getting acceptable to steam up. The h2o inlet makes it convenient to refill the steamer basin without having to determination the full basal to the faucet. Each portion is lightweight, making it casual to cleanable and determination around.

This steamer is designed to springiness you the enactment of doubling it successful size with its multitiered design, which is peculiarly utile for steaming aggregate items that person antithetic navigator times; you enactment the longer-cooking items connected the bottommost tier and conscionable instrumentality the apical tier disconnected erstwhile that 1 is ready. Like astir steamers, the apical tier tin instrumentality somewhat longer to navigator than the bottommost tier, since the bottommost is person to the vigor source. You get the bent of this; pork buns usually instrumentality longer than dumplings, truthful those spell connected the bottommost tier, and you excavation into the dumplings connected the apical tier portion the pork buns connected the bottommost decorativeness cooking. I acceptable 10 crockery dumplings comfortably connected 1 tier.

Another Good Electric Option

Cuisinart is simply a reliable marque for room gear, and that stands existent erstwhile it comes to its CookFresh Digital Glass Steamer. The basal of the steamer is lightweight, which counteracts the steaming crockery itself, made of a thick, weighted glass. The stainless alloy steaming tray sits nicely into the crockery and contains due ventilation holes to let for the steam to rise. You tin besides steam your nutrient without the tray, which gives you much room. When you’re done with your steaming session, you tin transportation the solid crockery consecutive to the array for serving. While this steamer works well, it’s connected the clunkier side, and unless you’re steaming aggregate times a week, it volition apt consciousness excessively ample to support connected your countertop. That said, it truly comes successful useful if you privation a complete, homemade repast but aren’t successful the temper to bash the cooking yourself. I cooked 2 pieces of tilapia with a serving of veggies connected the tray and was separately capable to acceptable 15 crockery dumplings.

The 1-liter h2o basin detaches from the basal for casual filling. To commencement steaming, you indispensable tightly screw the headdress connected the basin and flip it implicit to fastener it into the base. It leaked precise somewhat for me, though not successful immoderate important way. While immoderate level of condensation is inevitable portion steaming, having your nutrient wholly surrounded successful solid is going to summation condensation compared to bamboo, for example. The interface of the CookFresh Digital Steamer could not beryllium simpler. You crook the knob to the mounting that corresponds with immoderate you’re cooking and property Start. There’s besides a fastener if each you privation to bash is reheat, and you tin input a customized navigator time. It’s the astir rectangular steamer connected this list, truthful this is simply a bully lucifer if you program to navigator agelong pieces of macromolecule similar food that mightiness not easy compression into a circular oregon quadrate steaming tray.

Best Ceramic Steamer

Donabe is the past Japanese trade of creating clay pots. Based successful Japan’s Iga portion for astir 200 years, Nagatani-en is the oldest-known donabe institution inactive operating. Cooking with this intricate handmade portion of pottery takes a small much attraction and attraction than the plug-and-play electrical versions above, but if you’re superior astir taking your steaming chops to a caller level, this is simply a large choice. One of the superior properties of donabe is that it gets highly hot, which is wherefore it is large for cooking nutrient evenly. The clay utilized to marque the cookware is porous, which gives it its precocious vigor retention and precocious absorption ability.

I kept my investigating accordant and cooked different 2 pieces of tilapia with a serving of veggies (mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and spinach). It was a small choky connected the steaming dish, but erstwhile the veggies started to shrivel it acceptable nicely and took little than 15 minutes to cook. Everything came retired incredibly moist and flavorful. (I utilized conscionable immoderate basal seasoning.) The handles connected the mushi nabe donabe are not arsenic large arsenic they astir apt should be, particularly considering however blistery they become. So you request to beryllium highly cautious erstwhile removing the lid. Like a formed robust skillet, a donabe is meant to beryllium seasoned anterior to your archetypal use, and it develops quality arsenic you usage it. Instructions are provided truthful that you tin attraction for the donabe properly. Even though donabe are known for cooking implicit a flame, they are besides oven-safe. They are suitable for state stovetops lone and cannot beryllium utilized connected electrical oregon induction stoves. They are not microwave- oregon dishwasher-safe.

Best Ceramic Steamer Set

If you're looking for a ceramic steamer that’s little fragile and easier to usage than donabe, this is the champion option. The assortment of materials utilized to plan this product—a ceramic exterior and bamboo inserts—makes it 1 of the best. This steamer comes arsenic a acceptable successful 3 sizes (1.2L, 2.3L, and 4L), implicit with a finished ceramic pot, a matching lid with steaming holes, and a bamboo steaming handbasket that has a terra-cotta base. The steaming handbasket fits astir flush onto the pot, arsenic does the lid connected the basket.

The terra-cotta basal connected the steaming handbasket makes this a unsocial merchandise among steamers. Terra-cotta has adjacent stronger absorption properties than bamboo, helping get escaped of adjacent much excess moisture. Terra-cotta assists successful the steaming process successful a quasi-water-circulation system. The h2o that it absorbs ends up evaporating backmost successful with the remainder of the steam. But the precocious absorption is 1 of the negatives that I recovered astir steaming with terra-cotta: It tin make rather the stink. When I cooked tilapia successful this steamer, it came retired fantastic, but past I was smelling tilapia for weeks. The food stench would not travel retired nary substance however galore times I washed the basket. Like donabe, this ceramic cookware is designed to beryllium seasoned earlier utilizing it. It’s besides astir apt champion to debar cooking colorful foods similar reddish curries due to the fact that of the anticipation of it staining. Jia says if you cleanable it instantly past you shouldn’t person a problem, but I wouldn’t bash it if you privation to support the cookware looking pearly and white, due to the fact that the sleek look is 1 of the champion things astir this product.

Best Bamboo Steamer Set

The Concord Bamboo Steamer acceptable comes with a metallic pot, a metallic lid, and a 10-inch bamboo steamer basket. All of these pieces acceptable flush with 1 another. The circular signifier and walls of the bamboo steamer marque it harder to acceptable arsenic overmuch nutrient successful there, but I was capable to acceptable 2 pieces of tilapia level successful the 10-inch steamer with veggies and a furniture of spinach (same nonstop repast arsenic I prepared successful the donabe), which eliminates the request for parchment steaming papers (the Concord steamer provides a battalion of these). It came retired conscionable arsenic bully arsenic preparing it successful the donabe. A 10-inch bamboo steamer similar this 1 volition acceptable 8 crockery dumplings comfortably connected the steaming paper.

The stainless alloy cookware doubles arsenic an all-purpose cookware that you tin usage without the steaming baskets. The handles are what marque this cookware basal out; they’re made of heat-resistant faux-wood silicone that keeps them brushed and comparatively chill to the touch. The acceptable comes with a acceptable of parchment steaming liners and bamboo tongs. There’s thing rather similar steaming with bamboo. A bamboo steamer doesn’t sorb vigor arsenic overmuch arsenic metal, truthful you tin prime it up straight with your hands and service your repast close successful the bamboo for a accepted experience. The bamboo besides absorbs excess moisture truthful you’re truly getting a prime steam. I consciousness similar you tin adjacent sensation the flavors of the wood erstwhile you navigator with bamboo.

Best Budget Steamer

I similar Joseph Joseph’s steaming handbasket amended than the emblematic stainless alloy options. This 1 is made of hard silicone worldly that’s much pleasant to usage and overmuch easier to cleanable than the stainless alloy baskets. The “petals” that fold successful and retired to grow the steamer are a overmuch sturdier plan than the metallic versions, which often consciousness flimsy and cheaply made. Three silicone legs connected the bottommost springiness ample abstraction for the h2o to bash its happening underneath. The plan excels astatine steaming veggies successful the astir businesslike mode possible. The trickiest portion of steaming baskets is getting them retired of the cookware erstwhile your nutrient is finished and each the pieces are inactive hot. The Joseph Joseph Bloom handbasket has a well-designed hook successful the middle, making it casual to gaffe a fork successful and assistance the handbasket out.

Obviously you tin steam immoderate tin acceptable successful the basket—say, 2 tamales oregon 8 crockery dumplings comfortably—but veggies are the go-to erstwhile it comes to steamer baskets. It results successful a well-steamed batch of veggies truthful flavorful you’ll hardly request immoderate seasoning. Steaming macromolecule successful present oregon immoderate basket-style steamer would beryllium a small awkward. There are a fewer cheaper options connected the market, but astatine conscionable $9, the thoughtful design, versatility, and casual clean-up of the Joseph Joseph steamer marque it our apical prime for those connected a budget.

Best Steamer for Tiny Kitchens

If you unrecorded successful an offensively tiny NYC flat with lone a kitchenette and hardly immoderate cabinetry, Crate & Barrel’s Collapsible Steamer and Colander whitethorn beryllium the move. When you archetypal look astatine it, this happening seems similar it’s conscionable a colander, and essentially, it is. However, it works beauteous good arsenic a makeshift steamer for definite foods. At a diameter of 9.5 inches, the basal is beauteous small, truthful if you’re steaming nutrient items that won’t navigator decently if they’re stacked oregon piled connected each other, similar dumplings, you’re lone going to nett 1 tiny serving. I was capable to acceptable 7 crockery dumplings into the steamer comfortably. I enactment a portion of steaming insubstantial connected the bottommost truthful the dumplings wouldn’t instrumentality to the stainless alloy basal erstwhile they heated up. For veggies, which you tin heap up successful a steamer, you won’t person immoderate problems fitting a hearty amount. While the hybrid plan doesn’t marque for an perfect steamer, I was amazed astatine however good it worked to get a satisfactory steam connected my food.

It’s made of a bully operation of metal, which makes up the sturdy basal and handles, and malleable silicone, which lets the full happening flop into itself for storage. It’s conscionable astir an inch heavy erstwhile afloat collapsed, truthful this plan is the eventual abstraction saver. To usage it arsenic a steamer, you nestle the handbasket into a larger pot. Where this merchandise falls abbreviated is that the lid of your cookware apt volition not beryllium decently connected apical of the steamer. The steamer’s handles beryllium connected the articulator of the pot, wherever they forestall the lid from forming a choky seal. Steam volition flight done the gap, and this makes the steaming process instrumentality longer than it different would. It besides conscionable makes the full assembly consciousness a spot shaky. But we person already established that this merchandise is conscionable a makeshift steamer, truthful you cognize what you’re getting yourself into. You besides request to marque definite your cookware is large capable to clasp the basket, but besides sized to let the handles to perch properly. It’s besides tricky to instrumentality the steamer disconnected of the pot; the metallic handles beryllium straight connected the pot, truthful you request to usage mitts and beryllium careful. All successful all, you volition get a decent steam.