I bought this food steamer for college knowing that I am limited to cooking in the dorms and of my limited cooking skills. This was a great addition because I could steam any sorts of food that I want, although I did have to wait some time for it to cook, but relatively it's easy to use and easy to clean.

LisaThai

USA

My steamer was a wedding gift. We used the product quite often probably twice a week. We used it most for steaming vegetables mainly broccoli, asparagus and cauliflower. We did use it for rice a couple times but when using brown rice we had to add more water during the cooking time. The see through water gauge allows you monitor it so you know if it runs out. It steamed very well and allowed extra space on the stove top for other things. Recently it stopped working. It would indicate that it needed more water when it was completely full. We sadly threw it out and have gone back to the traditional steamer pot.

MeganChuggMacbeth

West Jordan, UT

This steamer is very easy to use. I figured out hte whole thing without even having to read the instruction manual. I think the best part about the steamer for me is the timer function... so I can just turn out the steamer at a preset time and come back to it later without having to worry about coming back so my food would get overcooked. I don't usually cook rice on it, but I have tried it once, and the rice came out nice and fluffy! I just steam vegetables on the steamer, but I"m sure there's plenty of other food you can stick into this steamer because it offers a convient alternative to cooking. And plus, steamed food is very healthy for you. It can cook anything and is a must have for all houoseholds. I used to steam veggies in the microwave, but this is a better alternative. The microwave zaps out all the nutrients in my food.

minuitfleur

Riverside, CA

I do not use this steamer much to cook rice. I have a few times and the rice was just fine, but I mostly use this Blackand Decker Steamer to steam vegetables. It does a great job at steaming the vegetables. It is easy to fill with water and the timer makes cooking your food very easy. The oval design takes up less room than the steamer I replaced. This is my second steamer, as my first Black and Decker Steamer finally quit steaming after using it on a weekly basis for about ten years. I think I liked my old steamer just a little better because there were handles on the bowls, which made it easier to remove from the steamer and the materials seemed to be of a better quality, but overall this is a suitable replacement from a brand name that I have had years of experience with and that I trust.

coachmac7013

Sand Springs, OK

Let me first state that I do not use this to cook rice. It just didn't work out for me, I'm very particular about my rice. But, I use it regularly to steam veggies for dinner. In this area, it works great! It has handy instructions for any vegetables you are likely to steam, it tells you how much water and everything. That's great because I am not much of a cook, so I wouldn't know! It has a great capacity for all the veggies I need to feed a family of three. WITH leftovers. My vegetables always come up just right. For the rice, it was hit and miss - hence why I only use it for hte veggies. Now, I will use it to cook flavored rice (with onions, and seasoning) since I don't want my more expensive fuzzy logic rice cooker to smell. Easy to clean, easy to store. Great little steamer!

bribaile

Cayce, SC

I had steam 2 B & D in the past - they gave my mother to encourage her and she decided to steam vegetables loved him. Recently gave me a second to my father and his wife, as my father found that diabetes and encouraged them to use it and love for all types of cuisine that can be done with a steamer - and ordered a new me. dissatisfied with the quality and description of steam and BD I compared my two older models. The steam is good and the oval shape is easier to use, but if you water so that the add on the side for this purpose run - you must first lift the upper hot n is not a safe and empty the wells, because if stopped working from the addition of additional steam! I would also like to model more tour, and I'm glad I use it on people who are encouraged to spray, because they are durable and easy to use, were.

Sauerdl8

Belleville, NJ

Ok, this is the first time I've had to give a less that wonderful review, but this product just did not work for me or mine! As far as rice is concerned it's ok, but it's just as easy to just cook it in a pan on the stove and the steamer didn't make any better rice than that, and the pan would be easier to clean! This machine really does not hold a lot, so it's not that great for a family, so you have to do more than one batch and dump it into another container and try to keep it warm etc., which ofcourse makes for more clean up. Because you have to do more than one batch, it makes you have to pay attention so you can get another going and get your meal done when you need it. I'm sorry, maybe this would work for a single person, maybe two that don't eat much between the two, but not for a family! I donated mine!

Ijazzzzz

Fairbanks, AK

I love my Black & Decker Handy Steamer & Rice Cooker.  I use it daily and have no idea how I ever steamed vegetables without it.  When I first started using it, I had trouble getting water into the small spout on the side of the steamer.  My first few attempts ended up with water everywhere.  Now I use a measuring cup and there's been no further problem.  Once you fill the water, add the vegetables, simply set the timer (instruction booklet tells gives you timings for various veggies) and that's it.  The steamer does all the rest.  Vegetables are nicely steamed and much healthier than other cooking methods.  The times comes with an auto shut off, so you don't have to worry if you forget and don't hear the buzzer. You do have to be careful when you remove the baskets.  It is quite easy to get burned.  Overall the design seems a step back from the previous ones - difficult to remove the hot baskets; water is hard to pour into small spout; oval shape is cute, but seems to use a lot more water than the older models.  

DragonTongue

Denton, TX

This Black & Decker steamer does an adequate job at steaming our vegetables (we use it for nothing else). We have never used it for rice as we use a dedicated rice cooker for that. It has some design issues we dislike relative to other steamers, but as a steamer, and for its price, it is still a good option. This steamer steams as you would expect, it is not a complicated matter. It does a good job at distributing the steam so placement is not an issue. Water is easy to add through the side spout. It is also as simple as you'd expect, the timer going for up to 75 minutes, but make sure you add enough water (I have never steamed for that long, so perhaps caution should be taken if somehow the water runs dry.) Excluding the white basket for rice, there are four parts, each of which needs cleaning when done. This leads to my complaints, but none of which are very bad, just things I would have preferred had been better. The basket in which you place your vegetables or whatever you are cooking is technically two parts connected. I do not believe they separate as I have not pried hard enough to find out, but I find things like brocolli get stuck inbetween the mesh and the side and is relatively harder to clean versus a previous steamer I had. Otherwise, everything else needs cleaning as typical. It would be nice if there were less parts to wash when done, but my last steamer was the same. Other areas for improvement, but not important still include: the very short non-retractable cord and heat absorbing plastic can be quite hot to handle (better side handles would have been preferred.) Overall, the shortcomings are expected at this price range and for such a simple product, so I couldn't expect more. But there could be a better product, so I would certainly look at all your options when purchasing a steamer, they will all likely do what they were made for well; but if you can get a better designed one for a similar price, you might as well take it.

humdoogie

Seattle, WA

I have owned the Black and Decker Handy Steamer and Rice Cooker for almost a year now and it has been a great addition to our kitchen.  I am not a huge broccoli eater but when it is steamed I really enjoy it.  Plus,  my one year old will eat it when it is steamed.  This does a great job of cooking the white rice.  I have only tried brown rice once and it didn't turn out that great  but it totally could have just been me doing something wrong.  The clean up of this appliance is really easy.  I usually just hurry and wash it in the sink after we are done using it.  I have never tried to cook any type of fish or anything in mine but it would be good I am sure. It is really great that this steamer comes with two trays.  It is really easy to add another tray quickly if you have two things cooking that take different amounts of time.  I am so glad that I received this for a Christmas gift last year and it has really helped us to eat more healthy. I have owned one other steamer and it was so complicated my husband and I couldn't even get it turned on.  This one is great...fill the water, add your food and turn the timer and you are done.

SR26

Ogden, UT