Best Steamer Pans (UK)

Steamer pans allow you to lock in flavours and nutrients, giving you healthier and better tasting food than you’d get from boiling.

They also make great use of the space on your hob, as you can stack steamer pans on top of each other and cook different ingredients in each tier.

We have an amazing collection of steamer pans for you in this article. Read on for our recommendations as well as an exploration of whether or not it’s worth investing in one.

Let’s look at some of the best steamer pans in the UK now, shall we?

 

 

How Steamer Pans Work

Steamer pans are usually made up of three layers. The first layer is basically a stockpot or a saucepan that can be used as such. The second and third layers look like saucepans too, but they have holes in the bottom of them. Steamer pans also come with a lid that fits on all three layers.

The way a steamer pan works is simple. You put water in the bottom layer and heat it on the hob. Once boiling, you put the other layers, with the holes in, on top of the bottom layer and then the lid on top.

The steam made in the bottom layer flows up through the holes and cooks whatever you decide to put in the layers.

You can use the different layers to steam different ingredients of a meal so you can actually use a steamer pan for your entire meal. Or you can only use one layer and enjoy perfectly steamed vegetables as a side dish.

Are Steamer Pans Versatile?

Many people think that steamer pans can only be used for vegetables. While steaming vegetables in a steaming pan makes them taste better and takes less time than boiling, steamers pans are way more versatile than this.

You can also use a steamer pan for cooking fish (salmon from a steamer tastes exceptional). You can also use a steamer for cooking meats. Although this is a rare practice, meats do taste amazing from a steamer.

However, the uses of steamer pan don’t stop there. You can also use a steamer pan to cook the following:

• Rice
• Lentils
• Shellfish
• Potatoes
• Pasta (including spaghetti)
• Chicken
• and more

Of course, we aren’t saying that a steamer pan provides a one-pot solution to all of your cooking problems, but they can do loads more than what most people think.

Plus, you can really vary the ingredients you use and how you use them too. For example, you can add ingredients to the water (bay leaves, for example) so the flavours flow up through the steamer.

You can also add individual flavours to each layer of the steamer and get incredible results that way. So, unlike boiling, you can add loads of flavour as you steam!

Plus, steamed vegetables and everything else we mentioned above tastes so much better anyway!

Why Do Steamed Foods Taste Better?

If you’ve ever had steamed vegetables, you may have noticed that they taste incredible compared to boiled, boring veg. But why is that?

Well, when you boil vegetables, you are soaking them in water, and this pulls out a lot of the nutrients in the veg.

Steaming doesn’t pull as much out of the vegetables and actually locks in more of the taste too. So what you’re tasting is actually the natural flavours of the food you’re steaming.

This is true of anything you steam and not just vegetables. Steaming locks in natural taste and doesn’t draw as much of the good nutrients of the food out. So, not only does steamed food taste better, it’s better for you too!

 

Do You Need a Steamer Pan? Is Buying One Worth It?

If you want to make really delicious food that harnesses the natural goodness in the ingredients then yes, a steamer pan is really worth it.

Steaming food locks in the natural flavour and the nutrients. These nutrients are lost when you boil food, because they are released into the water. This draws a lot of the nutrients out and makes food taste quite bland. Plus, you aren’t getting all of the goodness out of the food either.

So, steamer pans are really worth their money if you want better tasting food that is better for you.

Of course, many people think that steamer pans are just good for vegetables and they take up more space than a single saucepan.

So, steamer pans don’t really seem worth it because they are big and bulky and you can only use them for vegetables, right? Well, veg does taste great when steamed, but steamers are way more versatile than most of us give them credit for.

You can steam fish, chicken, pasta, rice, lentils and way more with a steamer pan. You can enjoy loads of different foods that are packed full of nutrients!

If you want to cook healthier meals, a steamer pan is a great addition to your kitchen. With simple ingredients, you can do a lot with a steamer.

You can cook vegetables in one layer of the steamer and then salmon in the other and create a very simple, very healthy, very delicious dish in no time at all.

So, whether you want better-tasting meals or meals that are better for you, a steamer pan can provide it all.

 

How Do You Use a 3-Tier Pan Steamer?

Using a 3-tier pan steamer is really easy, and you have loads of options to make the most out of this cookware too.

To start with, you have the base. You can use the base to boil veg if you like. The lid that fits over the 3-tier steamer fits the base too. So, this can act as a saucepan all by itself.

When it comes to steaming, though, setting up a tier steamer is really simple. Just fill the base with water.

You don’t need a lot of water and can always add more during the steaming process. Bring this to the boil.

Then, add your veggies to the other tiers, and get to cooking. Keep the lid on the steamer throughout the cooking process, as this locks in the steam and flavour.

You can use both the tiers of the steamer at once or just one if you don’t have too many vegetables to steam.

A good rule of thumb for steamers (when you are using all of the tiers) is that the food that is going to take the longest should be in the tier nearest the water. This allows you to remove the food that steams faster without too much distribution.

For example, rice should be nearest the water as it takes about 20 minutes. While leafy greens and things like asparagus take between 5 and 7 minutes, so these should go in the top tier.

 

Bamboo vs. Stainless Steel Steamers

As you can see, all the steamers on our list are stainless steel. You may be considering buying a bamboo steamer rather than a metal one, though.

After all, bamboo steamers are nice and traditional and do a great job at steaming food. They also have more layers than a metal steamer, so you can cook different foods at once.

However, we would always choose stainless steel over bamboo for a few reasons.

Flavour

Bamboo steamers absorb water as they cook, which is great when it comes to steaming as this prevents condensation from landing on the food.

However, if you are cooking smelly foods, like fish, for example, the water absorbed into the bamboo can leave an odour that is difficult to remove. This odour can then leech out in other cooking processes.

Stainless steel steamers don’t hold onto any flavours, so if you do use one for cooking fish, a simple clean will get rid of any lingering odours and get the steamer ready for use again.

 

Longevity

Bamboo steamers can last a good few years of use, but they do not last as long as stainless steel. Wood does not react well to water and steam.

Over time, the bamboo will absorb a lot of moisture, and this can mean that joints in the woods begin to fail.

Stainless steel is not affected by water. It is resistant to rust and doesn’t absorb water, so while a bamboo steamer may last a few years, a stainless steel one can last well over 10 years of daily use.

 

Cleaning

To clean stainless steel steamers, you have plenty of options. You can chuck it in the dishwasher, wash it by hand, take it outside and power wash it, or even put it on the roof of your car the next time you go through a car wash.

Stainless steel is a really hardy material that can be washed in any way you usually wash your cookware.

Bamboo, on the other hand, is quite fragile. You shouldn’t soak a bamboo steamer in water for longer than five minutes. Some cleaning instructions for bamboo steamers say you shouldn’t even use warm water and don’t even get us started on washing up liquid!

You need to be ultra-careful when washing bamboo steamers, and this can make them frustrating to use.

 

Versatility

Bamboo steamers need to be used over the top of a saucepan, but a stainless-steel steamer has the saucepan built-in already.

This means you can use the saucepan part by itself or use one or two tiers, depending on how much you want to steam.

While an argument could be made that bamboo steamers are more versatile because they have more tiers to use, we feel that because stainless steel steamers already have the saucepan included in the design (and you don’t have to sacrifice one of your saucepans every time you use the steamer), this makes stainless steel steamers a bit more versatile in a modern kitchen.

We’re big fans of using traditional cookware in modern kitchens. However, in the case of steamers, we believe that stainless steel ones are the better option for most cooking tasks nowadays.

They are much easier to clean, last a lot longer, and offer more versatility when it comes to modern cooking practices.

 

Conclusion

We hope you found the perfect steamer pan for your needs on the list above. We love the Morphy Richards steamer pan, it’s nice and compact, yet you’re still able to cook a meal for a couple or small family in it.

If you liked this steamer pan article, you might want to check out our other cookware articles too. We have loads of the best cookware in the UK on here that is perfect for building the best cookware arsenal for even the most passionate cook.