I really didn’t need to purchase a new steamer. My four year old
Sunbeam steamer was still steaming along but it was however missing one very important thing. It was only one story and I wanted a stackable steamer so I could cook different types of food at the same time. For years I looked and looked at Target, Sears, Bed Bath and Beyond for accessories that would allow me to upgrade my Sunbeam but to no avail.
This is why I ended up spending $29.99 for the
Oster 5712 steamer. It comes standard with two stackable steaming bowls, a rice bowl, lid, and of course the steaming unit itself.
Assembling the device is pretty straight forward, but may require a brief scan over the included instructional manual for this steamer works considerably different than my Sunbeam one.
With the Sunbeam steamer, I would fill the bottom portion of the steamer with water. When turned on a pump would suck the water through a little hole in the bottom of the steamer and then spray out the steam through a little mushroom looking spout from the center of the steamer. The steam would pulsate as it cooked.
The
Oster 5712 however is completely the opposite. Like the Sunbeam you fill the bottom portion of the steamer with water (or you can pour it in through hole on the side that is clearly marked as to when you should stop pouring water in to avoid overfilling it). When turned on however, there is no pump. There’s a heating element in the center and a plastic circular piece that fits around it. I have never operated the unit without cooking any food to see what exactly happens, but I believe that the heating element boils the water that is trapped inside the circular piece so fast that steam is created. In fact, the
Oster 5712 is marketed that it can create steam in 35 seconds which it has done so far. Because this heating element is constantly generating high heat and the water within the circular piece gets easily replaced by the remaining water in the base, the steam is constant. The steam doesn’t pulsate. This allows food to cook more evenly and faster.
The
Oster 5712 can also steam rice by using its included rice bowl. Simply fill water and rice in the bowl using the same measurements you would if you were cooking it on the stove and turn on the steamer for about 20 minutes.
Additionally, one of the steaming bowls has indentations for steaming eggs. Simply stands eggs up on their end and steam until desired hardness. I normally put my little egg timer into the steamer along with the eggs and check back every five minutes or so to make sure I don’t get my eggs too hard boiled.
The real power of the
Oster 5712 comes when you use both steaming bowls at the same time. The smaller one fits first on the bottom followed by the bigger bowl. (The bowls stack on one another, there is no need for an extra accessory in order to use the stacking feature). In the bottom bowl you should put the food that is going to take the longest to steam such as meat. The top you can use to steam veggies or rice if you use the included rice bowl.
But if you have patience enough you can cook meat, rice, and veggies at the same time. I’ve found that the rice bowl doesn’t take up the entire space in the larger steamer bowl. So what I do is I put my meat in the smaller bowl and put it on the bottom. Then, I stack the larger steamer bowl on top and put in the rice bowl, rice and water. Then, I push the rice bowl as tightly as I can against the side of the steamer bowl. This leaves about a half inch gap between the rice bowl and the side of the steamer bowl. I fill this space up with sliced raw veggies such as zucchini, carrots, summer squash, asparagus, etc. This way I have a complete meal – meat, rice, and veggies – all being cooked at the same time with little supervision. And there is even less to clean up, which makes my wife happy.
Speaking of cleanup – it should be a cinch. You can hand-wash or dish-wash all parts except for the base. That should just be wiped clean with a damp cloth. The unit collapses quite well with the small steamer bowl fitting into the larger one and the rice bowl fitting into the small steam bowl. The lid goes on top. Easy storage.
Overall the
Oster 5712 has been a great replacement to my old Sunbeam steamer. The Oster is bigger, can steam more, can create steam fast and the food comes out looking and tasting great. If you are looking for a new steamer – I highly recommend this one.
