Quite fancy a food steamer but not sure whether to go for a hob top one with a pan or an electric one.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

Get an electric one so you have more space on the hob for the occasional very big meal.

We just bought one in stainless steel (to match kitchen) from Argos.

It works.

cheers johndoh, got a link to that one?

No, was a few years ago, Tefal I think. Three-tier.

We’ve used a number of steamers over the years, great bits of kit, but we don’t tend to use more than one layer much.
So when we needed a new one, we got a Tefal 8-1 rice cooker/steamer/slow cooker jobby, the xmas before last & have used it almost constantly since. Much more versatile than a pure steamer, though obviously doesn’t have the ability to steamer as much as a classic one.

The electric ones are fantastic for making light fluffy rice but are not very energy efficient. I used have one but then realised it’s just like boiling a kettle for 10/20/30/40 mins depending on what you create.
The chances are that you’re cooking other stuff at the same time, so why not steam over the potatoes/pasta/rice you are cooking?

The multi-feature ones above sounds much better than a regular steamer (which will probably be exiled to the cupboard after a year or so).

Btw we bought ours for steaming vegetables for baby gloop. It does get used still though, but normally only when the hob is full.

Wife has a plastic one for the microwave – boiling water and 3 mins – job done.

We just use colanders and seives on top of other pans. Pretty efficient. Main problem is always that they stuff cooks quicker than you think. Also means we have a load of sieves and colanders handy. Stick the pan lids on top of the colanders as well.

just get down your local chinese supermarket (like http://www.waiyeehong.com/) and get a few bamboo steamers they are all you will ever need, one billion chinese cant all be wrong

Just use a 2-tier stainless hob one from Tesco, have only done veg in it so far (and reheating cold rice once which worked pretty well), it’s handy having a couple of tiers IMO. Given veg does quickly (well under 10 mins for most stuff) I guess an electric one wouldn’t be too expensive to run, not sure about for other food that needs a lot longer though.

Bamboo cheap and work well

I’ve an electric one that is never used so its gathering dust in the garage. Its a Tefal Steam Cuisine. Used it quite often at first but had to store it in the garage as we haven’t got the space on our worktops to keep it out all the time so its been forgotten about. Should take along with a load of other stuff to a carboot sale and raise a few quid for bike bits.

We just use colanders and seives on top of other pans

This. I’ve yet to discover what problem this creates, that an electric steamer would solve.

How do you trap the steam in that way (without having magically flush-fitting sieves and pans, which is basically what a manual steamer is)?

Stove top is the way to go. Its just like getting another pan out the cupboard rather than having to assemble a stupid plastic thing.

This. I’ve yet to discover what problem this creates, that an electric steamer would solve.

The problem of not having enough space on your hob when cooking a big family meal?

Pyrex bowl in the microwave, tiny bit of boiling water, clingfilm over the top with a few holes poked in it. OR more water, no clingfilm, then use the veg water after to make gravy.

The problem of not having enough space on your hob when cooking a big family meal?

I usually steam veg on top of a pan that’s boiling something else, like pasta or potatoes. A pan lid over the veg traps the steam very nicely.

In a colander?

I have one of these:

Just stick it in a large saucepan – brilliant gadget, use it everyday.

About £10 from John Lewis.