All About Steamer Baskets

Your steam dream for foods that are lean and mean

Good old boiled veggies are enough to make anyone swear off even corn and string beans. Steamed vegetables not only have more nutrition they taste better and have a much better texture. Oh and meats cooked in steamer baskets are juicy, lean and healthy.

Steamer basket types

A good looking and practical style of steamer basket is the traditional bamboo steamer. Bamboo is an amazingly strong natural composite that is used to build everything from scaffolding to high performance bicycle frames. As a steamer the material performs very well.

The fiber of the bamboo holds moisture, this makes bamboo superior to stainless or aluminum baskets. You can also use bamboo steamers in skillets, woks or in the microwave. Many of them also come with steamer basket recipes.

Aluminum steamer baskets heat up quicker and cool faster than bamboo baskets. Keep in mind though that they can have an effect on highly acidic foods. This effect can cause off flavors and discoloration.

Stainless steel may not have some of the performance characteristics of either aluminum or bamboo but it does not have as many problematic qualities either. It cools quicker than bamboo, cleans easier and is non reactive unlike the aluminum steamers.

There are also electric food steamer baskets that cook rice as well as vegetables and meat.

Why use a steamer?

Europeans cooking tends to use steamers more for vegetables while Chinese cuisine tend to use them mainly for meats. Now though we are free from constricting traditions and may steam either. Steamers work well for the health conscience because neither the cooking of veggies or meat requires the use of added fat or oils.

Other positive characteristics include vegetables that retain more vibrant colors. Boiling a yam or sweat potato can leach not only the vibrant color and vitamins it can also ruin the flavor and texture of this wonderful tuber. Steamed green beans almost seem like a different vegetable than those gray-green tired old beans from my childhood. One also wonders if all of those broccoli haters, including a former President that shall remain unnamed, would think otherwise had they had them properly steamed.

Meats that are steamed tend to remain moist and tender because the cooking process does not evaporate the natural juices. Steaming also eliminates the need to add oil to meats that already contain plenty of fat. You will want to pay closer attention to temperatures and seasoning when steaming meats.

More information on steamer baskets