Steaming
Hello my fellow vegweb foodies!
I find myself steaming veggies more and more these day, and, as a side-effect, I'm also starting to notice the limitations of my aluminum steaming basket. For one, its size is rather small, making it impossible to cook more than one (admittedly large-ish) serving at a time. It also requires putting in the veggies at carefully timed intervals in order to avoid having them turn into a soggy mess, and the basket is also somewhat awkward to handle, especially when removing it from the pot.
So, I found myself thinking that it might be time to invest into something more involved. I would love something that takes care of all my problems without introducing new ones (e.g. I was looking at some of the offerings on amazon, and an electric steamer featured there seemed well suited to my needs, but then I found out that the plastic trays contained BPA).
There seem to be a lot of options out there; bamboo steamers, electric steamers, etc.
Could anyone help me narrow it down a bit, or perhaps recommend their steaming product of choice? I am especially interested in hearing about how bamboo steamers compare with aluminum ones.
Many thanks! :)
I have a metal steamer basket that works fine. I put it in a deep pot that it can open up but not let the veggies into the water. To drain use a lid or colander.
I do also have a bamboo steamer and it works wonders for making seitan. I have yet to use it for veggies as it has a smell to it when steamed. Maybe its just mine but they seem quite shallow and do not hold much more than I can fit into my 5 Quart pot with steamer basket.
Eons ago (seriously like 15 years) I had an electric steamer. It sucked. I got rid of it and have yet to contemplate them again. But be aware that was eons ago!
Oh! I also have a large pot that came with a steamer basket that sits at the top third of the pot. I havent really used it as I prefer my Circulon pots to that one but its a consideration to look into. It probably holds a quart or more.
I have a metal steamer basket that works fine. I put it in a deep pot that it can open up but not let the veggies into the water. To drain use a lid or colander.
I do also have a bamboo steamer and it works wonders for making seitan. I have yet to use it for veggies as it has a smell to it when steamed. Maybe its just mine but they seem quite shallow and do not hold much more than I can fit into my 5 Quart pot with steamer basket.
Eons ago (seriously like 15 years) I had an electric steamer. It sucked. I got rid of it and have yet to contemplate them again. But be aware that was eons ago!
Oh! I also have a large pot that came with a steamer basket that sits at the top third of the pot. I havent really used it as I prefer my Circulon pots to that one but its a consideration to look into. It probably holds a quart or more.
Thanks for your input! :) Hmm, so maybe the aluminium steamer basket is as good as it gets...
Somewhat off-topic, but I am intrigued by your mentioning of steamed seitan. I usually make mine by boiling (veganomicon recipe), but it's a lot of work, especially preparing the soup broth ahead of time. How exactly do you make yours? Is there a recipe out there? And why do you use the bamboo steamer instead of the metal one?
Just put the metal basket in a deeper pot, it should work a bit better with the extra room upwards.
Seitan can be simmered, boiled, dry baked, moist baked, fried or steamed. I have been using the basic steamed seitan recipe from Fatfree Vegan's Blog for Seitan Scaloppine. For me, the best steamer for the job is my bamboo one as it holds all the seitan cutlets above enough water to simmer for 25 minutes. My large pot with a pasta insert would not have enough water in the bottom for the time and my smaller basket in that big stock pot would not hold all the seitan. So it was just me finding which tool worked the best at the job at hand. I probably could have cobbled together something using the pasta insert, metal basket and steamer tray all at once but why make that much dirty dishes when the bamboo will work fine?