Russell Hobbs Classic White Food Steamer - an essential piece of kitchen kit (Russell Hobbs Classic White Food Steamer)

Member Name: Mioliere

Product:	Russell Hobbs Classic White Food Steamer
Date:	28/07/08 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Healthier, cleaner, tastier cooking; easy to clean and easy to operate

Disadvantages: None - apart from the danger of steam

I paid £24.99 for my Russell Hobbs Classic White Food Steamer early in 2007 and I would not be without it. It is very easy to use and simplicity itself to clean. I did wonder if it would become one of those gadgets that would be more trouble than it was worth and end up in the back of the cupboard, as these things usually do. However, the results are so good that it is well worth the little extra effort cleaning it afterwards. After all, whichever method you choose to cook, you still have the clearing up to do.

The Russell Hobbs Classic is a nice-looking piece of kit for the kitchen; using it means I can cook vegetables in particular to perfection and none of the goodness or flavour is lost. If you like your vegetables slightly 'al dente' steaming them is the perfect way to achieve this. The steam is kept within the steamer, keeping the food nice and moist. It has a timer and, when you first fill the water reservoir it will give you around 40 to 45 minutes of steam time - should you need longer than this then you can refill the reservoir.

It is not necessary to add any seasonings to the food in the steamer; I never do add salt when I am cooking anyway, preferring people to help themselves at the table if they require.

The Russell Hobbs Classic has three baskets, a rice bowl, a divider so that you can cook more than one thing in the same basket, and a lid. I can cook things like carrots in the bottom tier - closest to the element - then later add, say, cabbage which needs less cooking time, to the next tier - it doesn't take long to get used to the timings for everything. However many baskets you use at one time, though, always make sure the lid is on and that you have stacked the numbered baskets in the right order to maximise the benefits.

The steamer cooks perfect fish and chicken, too; the meat doesn't dry out and shrink - just stays tender and succulent.

I find the steamer is very easy to clean just by washing the baskets as you would any other dishes.

A few words of warning, though; use oven gloves when handling the steamer and be very careful when you remove the lid because the steam will suddenly escape and you could be burned. Make sure it is kept well out of the way of children when it is in operation - a trailing flex could result in a dreadful accident. Apart from that, which is just common sense, really, I thoroughly recommend steaming food as opposed to boiling it - the results are clean, healthier and tastier.

Summary: Highly recommended and great value for money.