The steamer is a versatile device in which you can cook almost any food. But it should also be said that some foods are not recommended to be cooked with steam.
Steam is not recommended for cooking pasta and legumes (dried beans, lentils, peas), for example. These products require immersion in water. In modern steamers there is a special bowl for preparing cereals, in which you can also cook pasta. But it will take too long to boil the beans, even with such a bowl; at the same time, beans cooked in an ordinary saucepan will be no different from those cooked in a double boiler (with immersion in water).
It is not recommended to cook certain types of mushrooms and offal in a double boiler, since it is desirable that during the cooking process as many soluble substances as possible are washed out of them, which can only be achieved by boiling in several waters.
In the multilevel steamer, you can cook several dishes at the same time. Food that takes more time to cook should be placed on the lowest shelf and quicker foods on the top.
If there is only one tray in the steamer, then when several dishes are cooked at the same time, the flavors will mix. If this is undesirable, it is best to cook food separately.
You can put food in a double boiler when the water boils in a special container. The water level should be 2-3 cm below the perforated bottom of the food basket.
For each level of the double boiler, food is placed in one layer. If the ingredients to be added are different in size and cannot be cut into the same slices, then the smaller ones are better placed on top.
The larger the vegetables, the less substances they lose during cooking.
Condensation and juice dripping from food into the drip tray can be used to make sauces.
Adding wine, herbs, or lemon peel to boiling water will add a special flavor to the steamer dish. But salt and spices are best added to ready-made foods when they are removed from the steamer.
Remember that if you fill all levels of the steamer at the same time, it will take longer to cook food.
Since it is difficult to indicate the exact time of cooking food for steam (it depends on the volume and quality of food, as well as on the power of the steamer), it is necessary to periodically check their readiness and prevent overcooking.
To avoid scalding your hands with the steam, you should use oven mitts.
