Sometimes buyers of household appliances completely ignore the instruction with the rules of using the device, believing that they will easily understand everything and without reading unnecessary pieces of paper. Such self-confidence can be costly - for example, not knowing how to use a steam cooker, you risk not only to spoil the dish, but also to get a hot steam burn. After all, even this simple device has its own characteristics, which must be taken into account during its operation.

Operating principle

The steamer works on a very simple principle. In the lower part of the device there is a housing with a heating element and a water tank, and on top of it there are baskets for cooking food. During the operation of the device, the water in the tank boils, and the hot steam released during boiling rises to the top, evenly heating the food.

Using this device is not only simple enough, but also very useful for health, because steaming allows you to store the maximum amount of vitamins in foods.

Preparation for work

Before you get busy preparing delicious and useful steam dishes, you need to learn how to use the steamer so that during operation this device is completely safe for you and your household members. To do this, you need to choose the right place for installing the device and do not forget to pour water into its reservoir.

When choosing where the working steamer will stand, be sure to consider the following rules:

1. The surface on which the device is located must be flat and firm.
2. To install the steam cooker, it is best to use a table or a wide table top, next to which there is an electrical outlet.
3. The steamer should be located far from the edge, and its cord should not hang down so that you can not accidentally touch the device and knock it over to the floor.
4. Make sure that the steamer does not stand under the hanging shelves, kitchen cabinets or close to the wallpaper - hot steam can damage these surfaces.

After determining the location, pour filtered or bottled water in a special steamer tank.

Tap water is best not to use, because during boiling, it forms scum, which can damage the heating element over time.

When pouring water, make sure that its level is above the minimum permissible mark on the vessel wall, but does not exceed the maximum value. A standard steamer with a full tank is able to work for 45 minutes. Using this value and the table with the cooking time, you can roughly calculate the amount of liquid you need.

Steam cooking technique

Now your device is ready for use and you can go directly to the steaming process. If you need to cook only one dish, no difficulties are foreseen - just set the bowl on the steamer case and choose the right time. And here is how to use a steam cooker, if for one cycle you want to cook several different products, for example, cauliflower, chicken and potatoes in a uniform?

In this case, you will need several pallets at once. It is better to prepare different products in separate containers, especially if their cooking speed does not match. To determine the time required for cooking different dishes, you can use the following table:

For products located in the upper trays, the cooking time may differ from the indicated in the table by 5-10 minutes upwards.

The use of a double boiler in the process of preparing several dishes will be convenient if you place the pallets in such a way that there are products at the top that are cooked the fastest. After their readiness, you can remove the tray, and then turn on the steamer again to continue cooking the remaining dishes.

Please note that during cooking, the condensate, soaked in the smell and taste of the top products, will constantly flow down, falling into the lower trays. For this reason, one should not prepare dishes that are incompatible in taste for one cycle.

Care of the steam cooker

To ensure that the equipment has served you for a long time, do not forget about the rules of care:

• After each use, wash the steamer trays and the water tank, and then wipe dry.
• To clean the grease from the bottom of the steam trays covered with holes, use a brush.
• Do not use abrasives to clean the steamer.
• If there is scum on the heating element, remove it by pouring 400 grams of vinegar into the tank at a concentration of 5%, and top up with water to the maximum mark. Install one tray and turn on the steamer for 10 minutes, then rinse the tank well.

Follow these recommendations, and this indispensable assistant will long delight you and your home with delicious and healthy steam dishes.

Video: choose a steamer