The Breville steamer arrived today and I think I’m going to love it.
There are, of course, huge differences, besides the price. The hole in the right side is where water can be added. On the small Black & Decker steamer I had, in order to add more water, I had to either pour it over whatever was steaming or removing the basket of hot food and pour additional water in. I’m not complaining because the Black & Decker steamer cost way, way less than this one and it served me well for many years.
The new one also has the window on the left side where I can see how much water remains.
There are two steamer pans, with lids, or I can take those lids off and put the main lid back on.
My 8″ steamer basket also fits perfectly. This is something I’ve had for a while .. it doesn’t come with the Breville but works with with it.
Steamed food is steamed food and it isn’t rocket science so it doesn’t actually matter to me so much if my steamer is from Walmart or if it’s a Breville so I’m not saying anyone needs to buy one of these to have excellent steamed foods. If I had been able to get a new Black & Decker steamer, if it lasted as long as my last one did, it would have been fine for as long as I’ll be cooking but, I do think this new one will be used more than the Black & Decker would be.
I don’t use the microwave. I just don’t like it. Never have. We have one in the laundry room and Vince uses it from time to time. For leftovers, I’ll either heat things up on the stove or in the steamer. I heat and reheat all my tamales in the steamer. I heat leftover meats in the steamer. I prefer leftover ham, turkey, brisket heated in the steamer. I can put a regular pan (no holes in the bottom) and with the steam, it will be moist and juicy.
Today we’re not using it because nothing I’m cooking needs to be steamed but I have a ham out to bake tomorrow. I think I’ll steam asparagus and brussels sprouts to go with the ham.
Nelle Coursey says
Nice!
dezertsuz says
That really does look convenient. I like the water level and the place to add water without messing up the cooking, and the pots and lids seem versatile.
Judy H says
You mentioned heating up leftovers – we’ve been using our air fryer to heat up quite a few things lately. If you haven’t tried it, you should! The steamer looks nice!
Judy Laquidara says
There are some things we reheat in the air fryer but I find it dries some things out pretty quickly. With the steamer, I can place the leftovers in a serving bowl and stick it in the steamer and then that bowl can go into the dishwasher, where mostly I have to use dishes that are more oven proof for the air fryer and most of those don’t go in the dishwasher.
One thing I love heating up in the air fryer is potatoes – any kind of potatoes.
And, we almost always need humidity in the house so using the steamer has a dual purpose.