Steamer Basket

Steaming vegetables before eating them is one of the healthiest ways to eat. When vegetables are steamed in a steamer basket, they do not lose their nutrients and vitamins, compared to the other ways they are cooked.  Steamer baskets have been used in some shape or form for centuries.

Even though there are different types of steaming baskets, the concept for all of them is the same, which is, using baskets with slots or bowls with holes, to steam the vegetables. In the Early days of the steamer basket, it was made out of bamboo or wood. Bamboo sticks were woven and made into a basket that had slits in them allowing the steam from the water cook the vegetables.

The wooden steamers were simply a bowl that had holes punched through them to allow the steam to pass through. As time went by steamer baskets were made out of other materials such as aluminum and then finally stainless steel. When people stopped using aluminum for cooking the aluminum steamer went out of fashion. Today if you were to go into a store the stainless steel steamer basket would be the easiest one to find. Every kitchen in the world probably has one.

The bamboo and wooden steamer baskets are still used widely even after all these centuries. There are chefs out there who still swear by the bamboo steamer basket. They believe that nothing can replace the special taste that only bamboo steamer baskets can give. But for most of us non-professional “chefs” using the stainless steel steamer basket makes more sense.

It is easier to use and after using, easier to clean, put it in the dish washer and it’s done. Steamers made out of bamboo and wood need to be cleaned thoroughly before and after using it. Bamboo steamers hold moisture better than metal a steamer which makes it a superior steaming vessel. There are a lot of slits and cracks in bamboo baskets where bacteria can grow, so simply tossing them in the washing machine is not a good idea.

So after using a bamboo steamer basket, it’s a good idea to run it under warm water and scrub it well with a brush. With stainless steel steamer baskets that is not a problem. People generally think of steamers as something that is only good for cooking raw food. But steamer baskets are an excellent way to reheat leftover food from the previous day and still retain the taste and freshness of the food. The food will taste much better than when it is cooked in the microwave.

In some countries aluminum steamers are still used, but the only advantage of aluminum steamers is that it heats up quicker and cools of faster than bamboo or even stainless steel steamer baskets. In European cooking steaming is generally done to vegetables and in oriental cooking it’s done to seafood or meat. Either way steaming your food using steamer baskets is the healthiest way you can eat your food.