Steam Heat
A vegetable steamer is a kitchen appliance that cooks vegetables by way of steam. Water is filled into the lower of the two chambers that typically make up this sort of domestic device. This water is then brought to a boil by an internal heating agent which then creates steam. As the steam rises, it moves into the upper chamber where you will have obviously placed your raw vegetables, cooking them at a somewhat slower pace than in a microwave or a pot of boiling water, yet still with a certain amount of immediacy needed today.
Benefits
As with any food steaming equipment, the process in which the vegetables are cooked actually has some very key advantages. Where boiling has the tendency to slightly diminish the true flavor, alter the overall texture and leech many of the nutrients from your raw vegetables, steaming essentially retains these qualities of your food. And with a greater emphasis on health and nutrition these days, a steamer is often the right choice for preparing your five servings per day. There's also another advantage, though not really key, to using a steamer as oppose to simply a pot of boiling water--when you steam two different types of vegetables in the same unit at the same time, their flavors don't mix, since there isn't an element, such as water, to drawing anything out of the veggie that is then left to be absorbed into the other.
Your Choice
Choosing the right steamer depends on your lifestyle. There's a great deal of convenience in the standard electric model. It's a self-contained unit with a timing device, frequently dishwasher-safe and usually comes with a number of recipes to help you truly enjoy your purchase. The only real drawback is storage. If this isn't a problem for you, an electric steamer may just be the best option. However, many people discover they don't really need a steamer that's entirely its own unit, and opt for the basket insert. This works just as well as the electric model, but costs a lot less and is far easier to store.
Tags: electric model, your vegetables
