I didn't actually purchase this steamer, my husband won it in a drawing. I'm glad he did - I love my steamer. I have tried using older model rice cooker and was never happy with the sticky rice or burnt veggies. Now I use the Taylor steamer so often that it is rarely put away.  I've found it cooks perfect Steel Cut Oats!  I use 1/4 cup steel cut oats and 2 cups of water for a generous single serving and leave it to steam for 45 minutes. The oats always turn out great and it's a much easier to clean up than when I've tried cooking the oats in a pan or crock pot.  I also use the steamer to make eggs. There are dimples in the trays for holding your egg in place. The eggs are always perfect, you would never know they were not boiled.   Making rice and veggies are also a breeze with this steamer.  Cleaning the steamer has never been a problem. It shuts off when it's low on water so nothing ever burns onto the trays.  It is a bit clunky when you try to put it away. They have designed it so one steamer tray will fit into the other to reduce the bulk when storing, but it does still take up a little more room than a toaster. As I stated earlier I use this steamer so often that I rarely have to worry about having room in the cupboard.  I should probably mention that I hate to cook. With the steamer you fill it with water, the desired food, turn the timer on and walk away till you hear a ding..... simple enough. The steamer is well made and durable. I've been using it for months with no problems.

donnaolm

Janesville, IA

Because it's versatile, diet, cheap, and tasty, I eat a LOT of rice.  I'm not really all that skilled in the kitchen and a rice cooker makes sure that my rice is perfect everytime.  When my old steamer/rice cooker (a 1970's model that I bought used and have had forever that I just adored) finally ceased to work at all a few weeks ago, I was worried about finding a suitable replacement.  I am SO happy with the Taylor Biggest Loser Steamer and Rice Cooker.  It is even better than my old model. I love that it has a timer.  My old one was the kind that is on if you plug it in and runs till till you unplug it or it runs out of water whichever happens first.  The Taylor also has the "when it runs dry it shuts itself off" fail safe feature.  I like that.  Just in case I get distracted and leave it on, it's not a hazard to the food or the house.  The timer is great.  I can set it for specific times for specific items (like the quantity of rice I usually make takes about 55 minutes, the carrots I make take about 30 minutes, etc).  It gives it a real "set it and forget it" factor.  No more checking in all the time to see if the food is done or not. In general I love the easyness of it.  It makes food no fail.  You can't burn anything.  It's hard to overcook anything.  It's easy to make things right.  Especially rice.  On the stove top, my rice is hit or miss, often ending up too sticky or too soft or too aldente or stuck to the bottom the pan, etc.  In the rice cooker, it's perfect every single time.  I'm certain even a child could cook food successfully in the steamer. The steamer has three tiers, and can run with one, two, or all three full at the same time.  I've not yet tried steaming more than two things at once, but I'm sure it would be fine.  You could really even do a whole meal that way, with salmon in one tier, a vegetable in one tier, and rice in the bottom.  (I may try that soon!)  I like that it's adjustable that way.  You can make food for two or for a big family all with the same steamer all at once. One feature I've seen on the Taylor that I haven't seen on any of the other steamers I looked at is the external ports for adding water.  You can fill it with water by removing the tiers and the drip cover and putting it directly in the reservoir, or you can fill it from the external port.  The port is great for adding more water when the unit is already on.  There is a see through place on the front of the machine that will let you keep an eye on the waterlevel without having to look inside it. Another thing the Taylor has that I didn't see on other models is  that the steamer trays have little places in them where you can hold whole eggs in their shells and steam them.  That's something I'd never do, but I can totally see it being cool if you did want to cook eggs that way The only thing I don't like about the Taylor is that the rice bowl that came with it is WAY too small for my use.  I kept the one from my old steamer and it fits in perfectly in the tray and is the right amount, but I guess you could use some other dish you might have laying around.   The booklet that comes with the steamer is great.  It gives you plenty of suggested cook times for different things that you might be steaming and quantities of rice you might be cooking.   The Taylor Biggest Loser Steamer and Rice is a super easy way to make great tasting fresh food with very little effort and no added fat.    

redstarr

Fort Smith, AR