To allow the steam to circulate:
a) Pack food loosely in the Baskets (2).
b) Whenever possible, use single layers of food.
c) Leave spaces between the pieces.
d) When layering food in a Basket (2), leave spaces between the pieces in each layer.
For uniform cooking:
a) Try to cut all pieces of food in a Basket (2) to roughly the same size.
b) Put larger pieces, or food with long cooking times, close to the reservoir.
c) Put smaller pieces, or food with short cooking times, further from the reservoir.
d) Don’t worry much about overcooking – steaming is a relatively gentle cooking method and a few
minutes extra generally won’t matter
NB: Juices from the upper Basket (2) will drip into the Drip Pan (4) below. Don’t put delicate flavours
below strong flavours, or vegetables beneath greasy foods.
Steaming
1. Put the Lid (1) on top, so that its rim fits outside the wall of the topmost Basket (2).
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. 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.
Over 40 minutes
If you intend to steam for more than 40 minutes:
a) either keep an eye on the water level and/or the timer, and top up the reservoir with boiling water
at about the half way mark.
b) or set the timer for half the steaming time, then the bell will alert you to top up the reservoir.
Whole chicken
To steam a bulky item, such as a whole chicken, go to 10 (a) above, then:
a) Sit the chicken in the bottom Basket (2).
b) Look at the base inside the second Basket (2).
c) Press the retaining clips in towards the centre of the base.
d) Lift the base out.
e) Fit the second Basket (2) on top of the first.
f)
Fit the Lid (1) to the second Basket (2).
NB: Don’t remove the base from the bottom Basket (2). Putting food in the juice tray is not a good
idea.
Boiling dry
•
Don’t worry – we thought of this and fitted a thermostat.
•
It’s still not a good idea, as you lose control of the cooking process, but it needn’t be a disaster.
•
If the event of a boil-dry occurre the thermostat will cut off the power to the element, but the power-
on light will remain on.
•
The thermostat will cycle on and off until you remember to add water, or until the timer returns
to 0 and switches off.
5
ENGLISH
USC-180 Inst 6/16/08 5:13 PM Page 5
