Oster 5712 Electronic 2-Tier 6-Quart Food Steamer
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List Price: Our Price: $39.95 You Save: $5.04 (11%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $32.49 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Oster 5712 Electronic 2-Tier 6-Quart Food Steamer
Customer Review: Good value, works well, not perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
It has worked reliably for almost a year now. It does the job and has good capacity. Cleanup is easy, just use a soft brush and rinse. The one drawback is that the drip tray has no handle to grab so you must wait for the thing to cool down before a full tray can be removed or else you have to dump the hot, dirty water over the side. There really is no excuse for this. Don't the designers use this stuff?
The water tank is large enough for most cooking and reheating, but will run out if steaming more than around 45-60 minutes.
I am surprised that Oster does not offer accessories for this thing. I had to look all over town to find small fruit cups to use for poaching eggs. It seems to me that they are missing potential sales by not offering accessories.
Pros:
Electronic timer is simple and effective
Large capacity
Reliable (so far)
Easy cleanup
Pleasant looking appliance
Reasonably priced
Cons:
Lacking a handle for the drip tray
Water reservoir could be larger for big jobs
No accessories
Customer Review: A hit!
Summary: 5 Stars
So, my husband was mildly annoyed that I had ordered another "gadget" and I did my best to convince him that we really needed it because I wanted to cook more with steam. We have had it for about 11 months now and we used at least 4 times a week - he loves it as do I. It is ideal for reheating any type of food and fantastic for preparing ready made frozen meals - the food does not get burnt or tried out instead it stays moist. He loves popping some food into the steamer, setting the timer while he ocntinues to work in his office with no worry - it peeps when it is done and you really can't ruin it. I love steaming vegetables with it - anything from greens to potatoes - it works fabulous. I only made rice with it once yet and I think it takes longer as it would with a rice cooker. I don't make rice that much and now use a regular pot often as I make speciality rice that easily cooks. I definitley recommend this item it is also easy to clean. It does take up some space but for us it is worth it. I should mention that we do not have a microwave - we prefer this steamer by far.Customer Review: Nice little time saver
Summary: 5 Stars
All things considered, including the concerns about BPA that others have mentioned, I love this and use it fairly often, mostly for hard boiled eggs and for steaming vegetables. I read the reviews about hard to wash, mold in the water reservoir, etc, but I still like and use this for our family. I used to overcook veggies, so to have them come out with a desired doneness is a HUGE thumbs up at my house.
Also, I may be breaking the law with this, but I do not hand wash this steamer. All of the parts except the bottom electrical part fit in the top rack of my dishwasher and come out great. With every use, there are at least 4 pieces to wash, so the dishwasher makes it nice and easy. With these home improvement/time saver gadgets and appliances I think you just have to pick your battles about what you love and what you will tolerate to get meals prepared as quickly as possible without destroying all food value. I am replacing lots of plastic items in my kitchen with safer glassware, but this is one appliance that is a keeper in my mind.
Customer Review: Excellent, worth it's wait in gold.
Summary: 5 Stars
I use this product probably 6 times a week (being conservative, some weeks 7, some less)...and it is great.
Easy to use, easy to clean, stores right in the cupboard.
I love this machine, and I only have one negative comment about it...
The timer is digital and awesome, however, when it goes below 5 minutes, and you just want to add another minute, it jumps back up to 5 minutes. So if it's down to 1 minute left, and you hit add a minute, it goes to 5 minutes.
Other than that, I still plan on owning one of these after this one breaks down...
To clean easily, I just add vinegar into the machine after i've used it for about 7 days in a row, then let it run through a twenty minute cycle, and it clears away the scum that attachs to the burner in the center.
works great with everything I've cooked, chicken, fish, mostly veggies.
BUY THIS THING! I WILL AGAIN!
later all, take care,
jeff cummings
Customer Review: Only one complaint
Summary: 4 Stars
Just got this steamer and thought it was remarkable how much more flavour everything had. I made a Thai type of dinner with fresh local shrimp, frozen mixed veggies, and jasmine rice.
The device was also a no brainer to use and had a nice capacity.
My only disappointment was in trying to make rice using the two tier method. The only way this works is to steam the rice in the upper compartment and they tell you to steam it in the lower. The upper seems to work but takes a real lot longer. The rice tray fits into the lower compartment fine, but you can only put the lid on it and not the upper container as the ears on the rice container stick up too much to allow the upper compartment to fit on top. I guess the workaround is to try and find a container that will fit, but this seems to be a serious design fault unless they think that the rice would get contaminated by some drippings from above.....when you are going to serve the stuff all together anyway, dont see how that would matter.