Steam a Little Dream for Me

Description :
The Oster 10-Cup Rice Cooker is for more than just rice. The steamer can be used for a wide variety of foods such as fish, eggs, vegetables and meats. With its double tier feature, it takes up a small amount of space on your countertop. The water for steam goes in the base of the machine, with a plastic sleeve protecting the heat element. A drip tray is placed on the base prior to cooking. The machine has a 6.1 qt capacity with a large bowl of 3.8 quarts and a smaller bowl of 2.3 quarts, which can be used together. The machine also has a 10-cup rice bowl, which fits into the large bowl. The machine comes with a list of foods you can try in the steamer and how long you should cook each. The Oster Steamer has a digital LCD control panel with ‘on/off,’ ‘program setting,’ ‘up’ and ‘down’ timer buttons. The main reason to use a steamer is for quicker cooking and healthier food.

Features
Instant steam
Drip-guard
95 minute timer
12 hr delay timer
Auto-shut off
Auto-warm
See-through reservoir
2-tier bowls
Rice bowl
Picture code timer

The Ins and Outs of Using the Oster 10-Cup Rice Cooker
The Oster steamer is relatively easy to use, once you get the hang of it.

First, you fill the base to the line with water. If you do this through the reservoir spout, it could take forever. I generally take off the tier and drip guard to pour the water directly into the base. The reservoir has a see through area to see when the water is getting low while cooking. The drip guard catches the condensation of the food, keeping the base free of not so clean water. Therefore, your food is steamed with only the clean water you put into the base.

The smaller bowl goes under the larger bowl and they fit snug together. The first time I steamed, I actually cooked with the larger bowl on the bottom. This was a huge disaster as the bowls do not fit together this way and cause gaps making it easy to get burned. If you are steaming only one thing you can choose either bowl to use depending on the size of your order. If you are steaming more than one item the one with the longer cook time goes in the bottom bowl. I find this a little frustrating because normally the longer item is also the larger of the two and it squeezes into the smaller bowl, while the smaller item is roomy in the larger bowl. The rice bowl is removable from the larger bowl and useable for things like rice and eggs.

Seasoning before steaming is a no-no. I have tried it, despite the directions saying no to -the base water ends up dirty and you cannot really taste the seasoning, which gets steamed off.

There is a picture/timer code on the steamer (showing things like vegetable and fish) so you quickly know how long items should take. When you hit start the steam begins so your food immediately starts to cook. The steamer is also programmable so you can go to work, or wherever, and come back to a nice warm meal. The warming feature keeps food warm while the rest of the meal is cooking or you are waiting for guests. The warming function does not overcook the food. The up to 12 hour start delay and automatic shut off are both convenient and safe features. I find the warming function convenient, but think it is unsafe. A couple examples: 1) You did not realize errands after work would take so long, meanwhile your steamer keeps going on the warm setting and runs out of water. I have been fortunate to catch this error after a small amount of time, but cannot imagine the disaster if I did not. It would be nice if this model was improved to have the automatic shut off function kick in when the steamer is out of water. 2) My husband and I have already removed the tiers and served the meal, but we forgot to unplug the base. We are sitting eating dinner when the warming function kicks in and steam explodes into the air.

Once the food is ready, you should be VERY careful in setting the machine to off and taking off the lid. Every time I cook with this machine I get burned, unless I keep my hands in oven mitts. My husband never gets burned using his bare hands. Maybe I am just accident prone, but you should be EXTRA careful. Also, you should serve the food directly from the steamer so you do not end up with water on the floor (each bowl has vents on its underside for the steam to cook the food).

What we have tried to steam: Mac and cheese in rice bowl, all vegetables (broccoli, green beans, carrots, potatoes to name a few), flounder, lobster, rice and eggs in rice bowl, beef.

What foods came out the best: All vegetables, lobster, eggs, rice (The flounder was too moist, the beef tasted like water, the Mac and cheese was surprisingly dry).

Reheating leftovers are a breeze in this steamer. The vegetables especially come out moist, tender, and delicious.

This machine has the easiest cleanup of all my appliances. I wipe the base dry and quickly rinse the rest of the steamer in soapy water. It is also dishwasher safe, except for the base.

I know it may sound like this steamer has some problems, but the truth is you have to be careful with any steamer. Steam burns, you have to take the necessary precautions to deal with it. Steaming is quicker than boiling or baking. The food taste great and is healthier than frying or microwaving. If you are going to steam, this is the machine to do it in.