18
Using the steamer
Preparation
1.
Put the base unit on a firm, level, heat-resistant surface, close to a power socket, and out of reach of children.
2.
Steam will be escape, so don’t put it near curtains, under shelves or cupboards, or near anything that might be
damaged by the escaping stream.
3.
Shorten the mains lead by winding excess lead round the cord storage area underneath the base unit.
4.
Have dinner plates or a tray handy to put the baskets on afterwards, as they’ll drip. This would be a good time to
set out serving spoons, tongs etc. for emtying the baskets. Check the location of the oven gloves (or have a cloth
to hand).
5.
Fit the steam tube round the element.
6.
Boil 1 L. of water in a kettle.
Filling the reservoir
7.
Fill the reservoir to the MAX mark with the boiling water. This will give up to 40 minutes steam, top up the reservoir
every 20 minutes or so.
8.
Don’t add anything to the water. Seasonings, marinades, etc. may damage the surfaces of the reservoir and
element.
Topping up
9.
If you intend to steam for more than 40 minutes, top up the reservoir every 20 minutes or so, or when the water
level sinks to about half.
- Use boiling water.
- Pour it slowly into the reservoir via the base unit handles.
- Keep an eye on the water level indicator – don’t let it get above MAX.
- Pour slowly to avoid splashing.
The juice tray
The juice tray protects the reservoir and the heater from juices produced by cooking the food. If these get into the water
in the reservoir, they may damage the element and the surfaces of the reservoir.
Filling the baskets
10.
Put the juice tray on top of the reservoir, and then for:
- 1 basket
fit the bottom basket (the smallest) on top of the juice tray and then put food into the basket.
- 2 baskets put the second basket on top of the bottom basket, so the rim on its underside fits inside the wall of
the bottom basket and then fill it.
- 3 baskets put the third basket (the biggest) on top of the second basket, so the rim on its underside fits inside
the wall of the second basket and then fill it.
11.
To allow the steam to circulate, you should pack the food loosely in the baskets. Whenever possible use single
layers of food and leave spaces between the pieces. When layering food in a basket, leave spaces between the
pieces in each layer.
12.
For uniform cooking you should try to cut all pieces of food in a basket to roughly the same size. Put longer pieces
of food with long cooking times nearest to the reservoir. Put smaller pieces of food with short cooking times
furthest from the reservoir. Don’t worry too much about overcooking – steaming is a relatively gentle cooking
method and a few minutes extra generally won’t matter. Don’t overcook fish – it‘ll chew like rubber and taste like
cardboard.
NB : Juices from the upper basket(s) will drip into the basket(s) below. Don’t put delicate flavours below strong
flavours, or vegetables beneath greasy foods.
Steaming
13.
Put the lid on top, so that its rim fits outside the wall of the topmost basket.
14.
Plug the base unit into the power socket, switch the socket on, if switchable, and turn the timer to the required time
(up to 60 minutes).
15.
The Power-on light at the bottom of the water level indicator will come on and will remain on until the timer returns
to 0
16.
When the timer returns to 0, steaming has finished, the steamer will switch itself off, and the power-on light will go
off. The timer is clockwork, not electronic, so it may tick for a bit after steaming has finished.
