Customer Reviews

Black & Decker Divided Food Steamer

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I'd toyed around for years with the idea of purchasing a steamer as an upgrade to my Joyce Chen microwave steamer, and after reading reviews on Epinions and Amazon, decided on the Black and Decker HS900.

This steamer is capable of handling numerous varieties of fresh vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, potatoes, spinach, squash, carrots...), frozen vegetables, seafood and fish (fresh or frozen), chicken and frankfurters, rice (white and brown short, medium, and long grain), and other foods (eggs, apples, pears, prunes). Being vegetarian, I've used mine exclusively for fresh vegetables and rice. I've used it to make divine mashed cauliflower as a replacement for white potatoes, steamed sweet potatoes, and plan on trying some of the steamed fruits (baked apples).

About cooking rice: my favorite feature of the HS900 is the ability to perfectly cook all kinds of rice (white, brown and parboiled, short, medium, and long grain) with minimal fuss; you simply add water to the Reservoir, add your uncooked rice and additional water to the rice bowl, set the timer and walk away. In the past, I attempted to use a regular rice cooker, and was forever frustrated by the foamy, slimy, starchy mess that inevitably erupted as the rice cooked. However, not once have I had that problem with the HS900, even when I don't prerinse to remove excess starch. The rice always comes out perfectly tender and fluffy (try checking for doneness at the shortest recommended time).

One of the neat features of the HS900 is the Flavor Scenter Tray. By adding fresh or dried herbs, your vegetables are infused with flavor without adding extra salt. Recommended spices include thyme, cilantro, basil, dill, curry, and tarragon. In addition, under the steaming instructions, there are suggested spices paired with the appropriate food (dill for carrots, caraway seed for cabbage, etc.). You can also add extra flavor by using lemon juice, broth, or white wine to the water in the reservoir (when cooking rice, you add the broth directly to the uncooked rice). It's not recommended to use beer, red wine, oil, extracts, or fruit juices in the Reservoir, as they might stain (one of my complaints is that the plastic discolors very easily).

There are few parts to assemble, only the base, steaming bowl, drip tray, rice bowl, and a cover. Cleaning is generally simple: allow the bowl to cool, wash with hot soapy water, dry (do not immerse the base). According to the directions, the bowls, cover, divider and drip tray are dishwasher safe, but I continue to hand wash mine. Depending on your water, you may want to use filtered water to avoid chalky buildup on the heating element (if buildup occurs, simply fill the Reservoir with white vinegar and run the steamer without the bowls for 20 minutes).

One last word of advice: when the unit is in use, try to position it so that the steam is not directed at the underside of your cabinets. There are four powerful steam vents on the cover, and I can only imagine that repeated close-range steamblasting of woodwork might result in deterioration. Also, this may seem obvious, but always use potholders when removing the cover, and flip it towards you to shield yourself from escaping steam. My initial carelessness resulted in some painful minor steam burns!

I had this unit for about a year. When it worked, it worked great! But,the internals rusted which caused a wire to break. This resulted in me getting shocked(big time) and knocked to the floor. They use a tin mounting plate for the wires-go figure. We were very carefull about cleaning this, too(as it says not to submerse the base). So, we were extremely pleased with it until it tried to kill me. We will try a different steamer next time. BEWARE THE SHOCK HAZARD!

This steamer is literally the most used small appliance in my kitchen. My favorite steamer recipe: steamed red potatoes and carrots tossed with 2T parsley, 1/2t rosemary, and 1/2t thyme sauteed in 2T butter. I use it for asparagus, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, and all sorts of stuff. When I'm cooking vegetables, I just don't enjoy results as consistent as the steamer when I'm using the microwave or the stovetop.

Although I can do as good a job with rice by other means, I still prefer using the steamer. It frees up the microwave to reheat something, and the cleanup is a breeze since there is only one bowl that really gets dirty. However, the timer on my steamer does run a tad slow. I have to shorten the booklet's cooking times by 10% or so.

This little item is great.
I cook a lot of rice so I though why not get a rice cooker? Turns out, I steam just about everything now. I am still trying to perfect the flavoring part and trying to find a good steamer book. But for the most part I love this rice cooker.

The instruction book tells you how much water and time to use for just about anything you'd want to have steamed, from vegetable to rice to meats.

And the price is really great too. When I was first looking at steamers, I though I'd have to spend close to $100 to get a decent one. Well no! $30.. How nice?

I read reviews of a similar model (still B&D) and there seemed to be strong disagreement over how well this cooks rice. Granted, people who eat steamed rice everyday may be better served by a proper rice cooker, but for my household, this is absolutely capable (we eat steamed rice approx 4-5 times a month).

For other foods, it's worked great. I was a little skeptical about how often I would use it, since I have a metal basket steamer insert, but now that I have a very limited space on my range, this appliance is one of my biggest helpers. I never boil any sort of vegetable anymore, since I can steam them more easily and, of course, they retain more vitamins. I'd say I use the steamer 4 or more time a week, so it's never packed away.

I haven't tried out the flavor/scenter apparatus yet, though.

One note: the recommended steaming times in the users' manual may be a little too long for your preference. As always, watch and check the first couple of times you use it.

All in all, I have been surprisingly pleased with this.

I absolutely agree that this should be a gift idea on everyone's shower/wedding/birthday lists. Just wanted to add that I consider the flavor steamer essential -- it's anything but a gimmick. People can never figure out how I added bay leaf flavor to my asparagus, or thyme flavor to the green beans. It's a clever way to add some variety to vegetables, especially if kids are eating them (but don't want to see any spices and herbs on the veggies themselves). Also, I can add something to the water (like wine), put one flavor in the steamer screen, and add another spice or herb to the bowl with the veggies. Creates nice complex layers of flavor.

I have owned different generations of the Black & Decker (Flavor Scenter) Steamer Plus for over 11 years. In fact, I always own two of them--one to steam veggies, and one to steam rice. While the steamers are cooking my veggies and rice, I pop the main course (meat or fish) on the grill, or in the oven, for the easiest dinner prep ever. I love the Black & Decker steamer so much that it is my standby gift for wedding and new home gifts. Only once has the rice not cooked to my satisfaction, for a reason I could never ascertain. My original steamer (that did not have the flavor scenter) lasted for 8 years before giving up. I haven't found the flavor scenter to be anything more than a gimmick, but perhaps I haven't used it properly. I love the fact that you just put the food in the steamer and let the steamer do all of the work.

My wife and I have found this steamer to be exactly what we are looking for in our food preparation. It is easy to operate, with no extra features that complicate matters. It is consistent in its steaming of vegetables, rice, artichokes, and whatever else we decide to steam. We have tried more expensive models of steamers and feel that this model gives the best value of any we have tried.

This little unit is very versatile, you can use it to steam anything.

This is a great steamer. It doesn't take up too much counter space. It cooks great. I chose it based on my needs and budget and would make the same decision again.