Steamer | The best of 2022

Eating healthy is an important goal, which often goes hand in hand with the need to diet, to give the right nutritional support to your workout, or even just to go through a healthy moment of "detox" from what is an incorrect eating routine.

Whatever your goal, specifically, in order to achieve the purpose of "eating clean" it is essential not only to purchase quality raw materials, but also the useful tools to cook them correctly, as in the case steam generators, which thanks to their delicate and light cooking method, serve above all to make foods more digestible, keeping the organoleptic properties of foods intact, without altering their taste.

Steamers are nothing more than convenient tools dishes, which allow food to be cooked through steam. Clearly, there are many models on the market, each with specific and very different technical characteristics. For this reason we have decided to draw up a buying guide with the main solutions on the market.

Below you will find a small selection that will be updated from time to time with the new solutions or with the products that we believe to be the best. Before moving on to the review, it is important to explain to you that we will start with cheap items and arrive at the top of the market range.

The best steamers

Bamboo steamer Kyonano Steel steamer Ventition Aigostar Fitfoodie Steamer Braun FS 5100

Kyonano bamboo steamer | The natural choice

Let's start from the basics or, rather, from tradition, with this bamboo steamer by Kyonano which, at least partially, refers to the design of traditional Chinese and Japanese steamers, with a wooden structure, capable of to keep most of the steam inside, and keeping the temperature constant thanks to the insulating properties of wood. Of these products, let's face it, the market abounds, but our choice fell on the Kyonano article, first of all, for the excellent capacity, since we are talking about 24 cm in diameter, which is an ideal size for most cookware. kitchen (on which the steamer is positioned, as it cannot generate steam by itself). In addition, this product is one of the very few to have been made with stainless steel reinforcements, which makes the steamer more durable and wear-resistant, as well as making the closures between the various compartments (including lid) more stable and safe. Free of preservatives, paints or perishable inserts (it's all bamboo and steel, with wooden pins and rattan joints), this steamer will allow you to cook in a healthy and natural way for just under 30 euros. Not bad!

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Steel steamer Ventition | Practical and resistant

On the same wavelength as the traditional bamboo steamer, the metal one is more expensive, but it is clearly a step forward, as well as being safer, and for obvious reasons. If the bamboo steamers, in fact, are to be placed on traditional pots filled with water, so that, once boiling, the steam spreads on the steamer above, the metal steamers are instead "all in one", because they already have of a base, complete with handles, which must be filled with water, and on which the remaining steel levels for cooking food fit perfectly and safely. In short, it is a stacked tower system of pots, whose refined processing makes the contact between the various levels airtight and safe, and not at risk of falling as, unfortunately, can happen with bamboo solutions. The options on the market, even in the case of steel steamers, are different, but we suggest you look at the Ventition proposal, made of 3-layer composite steel. This is a tall and spacious steamer that is easy to assemble and clean, made of solid 18/8 food grade stainless steel, sturdy and durable. It is certainly a more expensive purchase than the more typical bamboo wood solution, but unlike the latter, the steel steamer is not subject to wear, will last over the years, and will guarantee you a real "purchase for whole life ”.

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Aigostar Fitfoodie | Practical and convenient

Compact and convenient electric choice, but with enough space to allow the cooking of different foods at the same time, the Aigostar Fitfoodie is a steamer with three different cooking hobs, capable of also guaranteeing excellent performance thanks to its power of 800 W, which guarantees a rapid and constant formation of steam. We are talking, in fact, of an electric steamer, excellent for meat, fish, rice, seafood and even desserts and vegetables, also equipped with a convenient 60-minute front timer. Safe, well designed and not bulky, the Fitfoodie has a practical water level indicator, and 2 side water intakes for easy filling. It is also supplied with a set of transparent and stackable containers (which are the cooking vessels), each with a total capacity of 3 liters. Considering the final price of less than 30 euros, we would say it is a decent deal.

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Braun FS 5100 | The top choice

Top of the range, among the best sellers at the top of the category, the Braun FS 5100 is a steamer with all the trappings, capable of guaranteeing a performance worthy of the most other catering, thanks to some peculiarities and technical attention , which make it an efficient and also aesthetically appealing product. Capable of releasing a maximum power of 850 W, this steamer has been designed to ensure fast and uniform cooking of dishes, also thanks to the particular "Steam booster" technology, which guarantees the formation of steam useful for cooking, already within the first 45 seconds of switching on the appliance! This speeds up the cooking process, which is one of the main “problems” of steaming, making the choice of healthy cooking really convenient and sensible. As if that weren't enough, the Braun FS 5100 baskets have been optimized for minimal steam dispersion, and for cooking an entire meal all at once!

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How to choose the best steamers

After having examined in detail all the alternatives on the market, it is necessary to explain to you what are the characteristics for choosing the best steamers. We have therefore created a small list with the most important specifications, namely:

Capacity Cooking programs Maintenance Additional functions Accessories

Capacity

Let's start with the capacity, a factor based simply on the number of baskets and the consequent their capacity. The greater the capacity, the greater the steamed foods will be at the same time, and therefore you can prepare for more people or more courses. The small steam generators have two baskets with a capacity ranging from two to three liters, while the higher-end products can have three baskets with a capacity of six to nine liters. Large steamers are those that have a greater capacity than those just mentioned.

Cooking programs

The only discriminating factor of a steamer is the timer. There are no further cooking programs because the operation is quite simple: just insert the raw food inside the trays, fill the tank with water and then start the steamer. For this reason we advise you to select extremely cheap products or those with a timer function.

Maintenance

Maintenance is a very important factor, and it should be considered before making your purchase . Make sure that the chosen product is easy to clean and comfortable to use, especially for those who use it daily. In other words, it is necessary to consider ordinary maintenance, that is the time necessary for cleaning the compartments and the water tank. However, there are products that have accessories that are completely dishwasher safe, and therefore somehow reset manual washing times. Finally, it is also necessary to make sure that there are accessories that can be stored one in the other, so as to take up less space in your kitchen.

Additional functions

Electric steamers have some additional functions, such as in the case of aroma and spice infusers, auto shut-off, fast heating and water supply in the tank even when cooking food. Clearly, the greater the number of features, the greater the selling price, therefore we strongly recommend that you read up and carefully choose a steamer, in order to avoid wasting money.

Accessories

Accessories are very important because they can effectively reduce cooking times or increase the solutions offered by a simple steamer. There are many accessories, from additional trays or baskets, from recipe books or to specific containers for each food (sweets, rice, soups and so on).