Customer Reviews

Oster 5716 Programmable Digital Food Steamer, Black

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My last steamer was purchased during the Stone Age, so I was excited to obtain this new fancy, double-decker steamer from Oster. And yes, the updated technology is nice. I can program the starting time for cooking and cooking duration. Also, the nifty design of the machine allows for almost instant steaming. Finally, I occasionally find a use for two-tiered cooking when preparing a protein along with vegetables.

But there are a few things that you should know before acquiring this device. It is big...really big (even when maximally arranged for storage). Measure up your cabinet or counter space before you get this thing. My wife never uses the double-decker feature, so the size of this thing drives her completely insane. And unlike other reviewers, I found the cleaning of this thing to be a pain. Everything is fine and good if all you cook are vegetables. However, Oster - in their infinite wisdom - put all of these funky grooves on the cooking surface of the steamer bins, which collect hard to remove fat deposits that result from cooking chicken or fish. Furthermore, unlike the old Stone Age steamer, you have to clean the cooking bins AND the actual cooker. Washing the bins by hand makes me want to put my head through a wall, but I have finally made peace with the steamer by just using the dishwasher for the bins (albeit, using major dishwasher real estate in the process). Finally, despite the quick steaming action of the machine, the cooking times seem a little longer than my old school steamer.

So, if you strive peace and simplicity in your life, then get the old school type of steamer. If bells and whistles appeal to you - and like me - you eat tons of steamed food which justifies the use of the double-decker bins, then order the new fangled thing from Oster. Just know what you're getting into...

We needed to replace our aging, very basic steamer. Since we use it a lot, we wanted to get a good one. We looked at various rice steamers with a vegetable tray but the vegetable/food trays were pretty small and seemed to be an afterthought. Some of the food steamers were huge, and this would present a storage challenge. The Oster was promising and we bought it with the hopes it would work well. It has.

Oster makes several steamers that look similar, and there are numerous reviews of the different models here at Amazon. They are overwhelmingly positive. Folks interested in purchasing this item might want to look at the reviews for related models.

This steamer seems to be very well thought out and designed. A translucent window on the front lets you see the water reservoir level and there is a convenient filler hole that lets you add water while it is running. You can steam about 50 minutes before it needs refilling - long enough for rice and most vegetables. The digital timer is easy to use and works perfectly. There is a sleeve that holds the hot water near the heating element, so it takes only a few seconds to start up and doesn't waste energy heating the entire water reservoir.

Clean up is a snap. The reservoir in our previous steamer had lots of nooks and crannies where dirt could collect. The Oster's has very few and cleans with a simple wipe. There is a drip pan that collects water dripping back from the food, a very nice feature. The steamer bins are top-rack dishwasher safe.

Versatility is a big feature. The oval shape is great because you don't need to cut down longer items like asparagus and crab legs as much to get them to fit. One tray has dimples to set eggs in. The two trays can be stacked so more than one item can be steamed at a time. There is also a rice tray insert.

How does it work? Beautifully! Meats and vegetables are steamed evenly and, as those who use steamers know, taste great. Both white and brown rice are done to perfection. I was concerned that cooking times would need to be adjusted here at high altitude (Colorado), but the times recommended in the manual are pretty accurate for us. It is a versatile addition to our kitchen. I know that you can get steamer inserts for pots but I prefer not to waste burner space on my stove; the Oster perks away merrily while I prepare the rest of the meal.

So, overall, we're very happy with this purchase and for about $30 at Target it was quite a good value.

I'm a vegetarian, here some uses for it. [1] RICE I used to have a rice cooker but the rice always sticks and sorta "crusts" up. Initially I used this to cook rice. I discovered no matter what rice (even japanese rice) 1c water TO 1 cup rice. This is better than a rice cooker since the rice never burns or sticks on the bottom. You can let stuff sit in here and it never burns. [2] PANCAKES if you are trying to go fat free you can actually steam pancake mix in here, throw in some frozen blueberries or fruit and leave the butter n oil behind. [3] POTATOES whole potatoes taste good like "baked potatoes" [4] MASHED POTATOES get a bag of the Frozen breakfast style potatoes (tiny cubed kind) with onions and peppers... steam for an hour and it turns to mashed potatoes. All the brands of breakfast cubed potatoes have no added oil/fat and are cheap eats. [4] SWEET POTATOES steam up sweet potatoes, take off the skins then mash them into a container, put in the fridge overnight. make a shake in the blender: sweet potato, 1 heaping Tbs cinnanmon, and some fresh ginger (freeze it to save $) maybe a tablespoon or less (to taste) of ginger and blend with soymilk/milk, it will be like a pudding loaded with vit A/E, zero fat healty dessert - it will taste just like pumpkin pie. [5] STORE BOUGHT RICE MIXES: dirty rice, cajun style you know the ones, those work great in here.

I bought this steamer after reading reviews and needing a new one, after my 15 year old one finally broke, not the steamer itself, but the
plastic backet.(I Wish I could remember which brand that one was) Anyway after not even having it for one year, it will not do anything. It don't turn on or nothing, so I am not going to order another one like this one, but will try another brand and hopefully it lasts a little longer. Call me old fashioned but I think things should last a little longer than less than a year.

I use this steamer almost everyday. It steams vegetables better then anything out there. I have used it to cook rice and it it comes out perfect. I use it mostly for steamimg boneless,skinless chicken breasts. They are always juicy and full of flavor. I highly recommend this steamer to anyone who wants to eat healthy. It is very easy to clean up, and stores away nicely.

I purchased this as a replacement for a black and decker I have had since they were the rage one christmas.it still worked but I notice the bowl was cracking here and there. I like the size of the oster it seems to cook more uniformly. I like the digital timer, and the ability to steam two separate things. easy to clean , steams up fast too with that collar.Oster 5716 Programmable Digital Food Steamer, Black

Glad I invested the time & read the reviews for competitor products in this category, as I definitely made the right choice. This product works great & meets all my requirements.

Very nice unit...easy to set up and use....food comes out perfect...great for doing steamed chicken and veggies. Much better than my old unit that dried out food. It does take up much space and trays have to be cleaned in dishwasher. Great gift for a dieter or a steamed food lover.

After we received the steamer, the first thing we steamed was fresh green beans. Amazing. They were very good tasting much better than boiled. I've used the steamer several times. It is easy to use and easy to clean.

This food steamer does everything that one could possibly want to do when attempting to cut down/control the fat in the preparation of foods.It is very easy to use.The controls are straightforward.Overall, a very easy product and a welcome addition to any kitchen.P.Wormer