Customer Reviews

Black & Decker HS2000 Flavor Scenter Steamer and Rice Cooker

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I used this while staying at a friend's house and found the following things:

1) It steams vegetable okay; 2) Does not do traditional rice well at all;

The rice that this steamer could do was stuff like Uncle Ben's or Minute Rice (parboiled rice).

If you eat rice a great deal then I would recommend buying a rice cooker like Tiger or Zojiruishi (sp?). Which are designed to handle the boiling and steaming of rice as its main function. Most of these lines also handle steaming vegetables as well. Further there is a warming function in a specialized rice cooker that this black and decker does not have.

The machine itself has the usual black and decker aesthetic of clean design and easy dial but it is not satisfactory in cooking rice. The results were inconsistant with regular rice (both long grain and Japanese short grain - did not have a chance to try Basmati).

If you are getting this just to steam vegetables it is fine. But if you are buying this as a rice cooker then spend the extra and get a specialized rice cooker.

If you are getting a rice cooker please note the following:

1) Never buy a cooker that uses an unlined Aluminium pan - it will make your rice taste off and the pan has a shorter life span because every time you scrub aluminium shears off (that's not dirt that's metal in the dish water. Teflon coated is fine and so is stainless steel.

2) The cooker should have a warming function - this is pretty standard;

3) Compact and tucks away easily - nicer models can be brought straight to the table since the power cord is retractable.

4) Evaluate the amount of usage you are going to get out of it before buying a model. There is no reason to get a Neuro-fuzzy logic $250+ rice cooker if it is only an occasional thing for you.

Skip this cooker for rice.

I love this steamer! I have used it for vegetables, rice, hard-boiled eggs, and making my own babyfood! I started out keeping it in a cabinet, but I found I use it so often, I moved it out onto my countertop. I have already recommended this product to several friends, and now I am buying one for someone as a gift. It makes perfect rice everytime. I love the timer. It comes with a wonderful guide for ideas and recommended cook-times. The herb/spice flavor scenter is an added bonus. This is the best purchase I have made for my kitchen in a long time, and my family is eating healthier now because of it.

I recently moved to a small studio apartment that has a galley with a fridge for a kitchen (there's no stove). Years ago I bought the first steamer that B&D put out and used it to death. I was happy to discover 7 years later that the current model holds up the reputation that preceeds it. Vegetables as well as rice come out perfectly. Fill it up and let it go until the timer tells you it's done.

With regards to a previous posting about it not being good for rice because it takes 50 minutes... well, it does exactly what your stove does when you are cooking conventional brown rice and certain varieties of white rice. Typically either of those 2 take 40 minutes for 5 cups (cooked) or so. If you want it in under 20 minutes, use Minute Rice. Also, how you like your rice makes a difference as well. I cook my white rice 35-40 minutes in the B&D steamer because I like it slightly firm. Cooking it 50 minutes can create wet and sometimes mushy rice if you aren't careful to use the recommended amount of water or slightly less.

Bottom line... this is a keeper, a real must have, especially for those summer days when you just don't want to fire up the stove. It's excellent for a bachelor, single person on the go, or a dorm room too.

I recently purchased the Black & Decker Flavor Scenter Steamer and I love it! I avoided cooking brown rice for a long time because it takes 30 minutes to cook on the stove. With the steamer it takes more time, but after 45 minutes I have fluffy rice. I love the fact that I don't need to stir the rice or worry about it sticking to the pan.

This is a really great product for people who are looking to watch their fat intake b/c the steamer has a drip tray that collects the fat and oil from the steamed food. I do have one complaint. Although it's called the Flavor Scenter Steamer, when I added bay leaves to the appropriate tray my rice in no way tasted like it was flavored with bay leaves.

I would highly recommend this product to anyone who is purchasing a steamer for the first time.

I hate to cook, I hate to clean up, it's all just awful... but since I'm not rich enough to eat out every meal, I've been learning to make stuff at home... this steamer, combined with my Geo Foreman Grill, makes up the front line in my arsenal of indispensable kitchen appliances. I'm not sure about the guy who reviewed the unit and said the fish fell through the "mesh"-- as you can clearly see from the picture, there is no metal; the food goes in the clear plastic chamber and there are tiny holes in the bottom for the steam to rise. The steamer comes with a simple cookbook-- really, more like guidelines for how much time for fresh and frozen vegetables, meats and other foods. It's just easy, and simple, and painless to set up and dump food in and when the bell rings, it's done and delicious. Nothin' to it!

This little steamer looks so simple and harmless, it's hard to believe that it has become my single favorite kitchen appliance. But it has. I use it 50 to 100 times a year. When a friend took my first one, I immediately bought another to replace it.

My hat is off to the people at Black & Decker (or their design consultant) who made this steamer so simple. Easy to use, easy to clean, reliable, does a great job, looks good, and doesn't cost too much. Makes pretty good rice (effortlessly) and excellent steamed foods such as veggies, dumplings, or Chinese-style steamed buns. If you are into healthy cooking and/or Asian cooking, you won't go wrong with this steamer.

This machine should basically be renamed or discontinued. After 3 months of trying to do rice or steaming something, it got shelved and then given away. If you're looking for a vegetable steamer, I can't say you'll be impressed or any more impressed than you should be at a pot of boiling water. I think I did fish once and the pieces that didn't fall through the mesh turned out something like noodles. I have since bought a Zojirushi rice cooker and couldn't be more happy -- perfect rice every time, simpler than making cold cereal. Unless you are feeding a very large family, I'd go for the 10 cup unit (I ambitiously bought the 20 cup model.)

The B&D rice cooker, this one and the smaller model which I also own, are truly great kitchen tools for very little money. Ours is used every day to steam all vegetables and to make great steamed basmati rice. We steam red potatoes as well. Used in the Megaheart.com kitchen for creating low sodium recipes. We couldn't work without it. D. Gazzaniga, Author "No Salt, Lowest Sodium Cookbook," from St. Martin's Press and chef . . .

I purchased this unit because it was inexpensive and is supposed to also be a rice cooker. I was disappointed to find it takes 50 minutes to cook rice; way too long, and I'm returning it. So, this might be a fine steamer (it takes up to 12-21 minutes to steam things), it should not be considered a suitable rice cooker for anyone who cooks in less than an hour.

I have owned my Black and Decker steamer for almost three years and I can say that I have been happy with it for that entire time. I have been most pleased with the quality of the machine itself (mine has never had a problem or malfunction), but there are several other features I appreciate too.

1. The manual that came with mine has a very extensive chart of various foods and how long each needs to cook in the steamer (this is most helpful!). I primarily use my steamer for vegetables such as asparagus, brussels sprouts, green beans, carrots, red potatoes, and corn on the cob. Although B&D boasts it as a possibility, I have never used my steamer for rice because I do not see how piles of rice would/could cook evenly! I have also never felt the need to try the fish recipe included in the manual because I didn't want my kitchen, or the plastic parts of this appliance to retain a "fishy" smell.

2. I also agree with the previous reviewer who states that this appliance is a snap to clean. In most cases all it needs is a thorough rinsing under very hot water and then a wipe down. When I first purchased this steamer I lived in the country and had fairly hard water (high mineral content) which caused a bit of a lime build up on the heating element of the steamer. My worries about this have proven to be needless as I have now owned it many years and these occasional mineral buildups on the heating element do eventually fall away as you wash it after use.

3. The model I have is the same in every way as the one being sold with the exception that mine comes with a stacking ring and another steamer basket so that you can actually steam two different foods at the same time. I paid nearly twice the price that Amazon is currently offering for a single basket steamer though, and if I were doing it all over again, I would opt for just the single basket model.

I highly recommend this purchase as a quality product at a great price with the added benefit of enabling you to eat more healthy foods.