Hamilton Beach - 5.5-Quart Digital Steamer - Silver

This steamer does what it states, it all worked well for 20 minutes, after 20 minutes it starts leaking water on the opposite side of the control pannel, drip,drip,drip, makes a mess of the table countertop, I tried several times, the last time I placed the entire unit in a large frying pan to catch the water, it is just to messy, maybe this steamer is defective

I do not have anything to compare this steamer to since this is the first time for me to use a steamer. I find it more compact than a crock pot and just as easy to use. I am a little concerned about the quality of the materials used to make it though. The two tiers and inserts are of a thin plastic. I will have to see how long this appliance will last. There are a lot of good healthy choices to cook in this steamer and with the two tiers you are able to make a whole meal. It really is a help for a small family or a single person because it makes it easier to portion out and not cook more than is necessary. So in that aspect it saves you on grocery money! What I do not care for is the clean up. There are indentions on the inserts that take time to clean thoroughly, especially if you are washing by hand. The times given seem to be accurate cooking times in the instruction manual. All you do is add water to the retainer, put whatever you want to eat in the tier, season it, put cover on and set timer. You are good to go and everything comes out tender. I have had to adjust my thinking as far as what with or how to season. I kept wanting to add broths or other liquids but I guess that is the point of the “steam”er. I am pleased with this helpful meal preparer!

This is a very nice machine. I really like the trays in the “bowls” as they have holes to hold eggs and ridges for other things. The trays are removable so that you can stand ears of corn upright to cook. I had a little trouble trying to program the timer, but it works really well. I made hard boiled eggs and it was set for twenty minutes, when that time was up, it continued into another cycle and continued cooking. I believe it would've kept going through cycles of time until it was turned off. This may have been because I had the issue with programming and was a user issue rather than the machine malfunctioning. It does make a dinging sound when it's plugged in and when it gets turned on. I believe it also made the sound when it was turned off, however, the book says it also makes the sound when unplugged, but it didn't. I would recommend this unit if you do a lot of steaming. It is a healthy alternative when cooking. It is versatile in the manner that you can use one bowl or both and it also has a rice bowl included. It is aesthetically pleasing. It would certainly go with any décor if you were to leave it on the counter. All in all, I really like this steamer and I believe it will get a lot of use in my home. Try it out for yourself!

I used this steamer for about a month on a daily basis, it works great so far. I have GERD (Gastro esophageal reflux disease), which require low fat, easy digest food. Steamed vegetables is a good choice, so I use steamer to cook for about ten years. During this period of time, I used at least a dozen steamers, both electric or stove top, this one is the best. First, it is very easy to use, no need to read manual. All operations are straight forward with common sense. It is light weighted, very easy to clean after cooking. Hand wash is enough, so I never try to clean it in a dish washer. Second, although it looks small, but can handle lots of food, I love carrots and egg plants. It can cook one pound carrots and two large eggplants and four extra-large eggs together. It will take about 30 minutes to cook them thoroughly. This steamer will take about five minutes to get full steam, which it is almost the quickest in all steamers. Third, the water amount is calculate accurately, max level for about 40 minutes of cooking, which enough for most vegetables or rice. If longer time needed, water can be added at anytime during cooking. One thing to mention is the calcium deposits on heating area. If you have a hard water, this will happen, the best way is to invest a water softener machine for your house, both benefit your health and the machine. Or, you can use white vinegar to wipe it out easily. Overall, I am very satisfied with this steamer, and will use is for a long period of time. I will update my review for liabilities if possible. You can't be wrong by choosing this product. It is the best friend for people with GERD like myself.

Hamilton Beach 5.5-Quart Digital Steamer Before you get started remember to season your food or not, I found tossing veggies in a bowl before placing into steamer is better, season your fish or chicken breast before placing into steamer, I think it is better to remove your cooked food from steamer to plate without taking containers off of the steamer. When it's time to clean up if you don't want a mess I suggest you take an empty plate or bowl to sit your containers into remember there are holes at the bottom of each container except for the rice bowl. This steamer really cooks well I used it for veggies and fish; If you are cooking for a family of 4, I suggest cooking only your veggies using both containers or placing a total of 4 pieces of fish in both containers. This steamer will work perfect for two person meal or if you have to cook for more people I suggest you try using it as I did (steamed all veggie or steam all fish) Perfect for dorm use giving the option to have a healthy meal at least 4 or more times during a course of a week, you can study while your food is cooking all you may have to do is add water, cleanup is easy and its small enough to store away. I'll take this over microwave food any day.