Morphy Richards Intellisteam 48780 Food Steamer

I have used an ordinary pan steamer for years so I didn't really see how an electric one would be any great advantage...

But I was wrong...

This steamer consists of three separate compartments, all of which are separately programmable. You pour water into the base, put the drip tray on top, and then put the food containers on top of that. You put the food directly into the containers, programme in the cooking time (there are many pre-set cooking times such as 'fish' and 'rice') and then press 'start'. The machine steams the food in time order so that it all finishes cooking at the same time - and then it beeps to let you know that dinner is ready!

My first meal cooked in the steamer, on the day it arrived, was a what-have-I-got-in-the-fridge hotch-potch of basmati rice, corn on the cob, and already cooked beef mince in gravy (which I just wanted heating up). I assembled it in the various containers, set the times, and walked away. The instructions were easy enough to follow, and it was a novelty to sit down and watch TV knowing that dinner was being prepared!

Within half an hour it was all ready. The rice was cooked to fluffy perfection, the cobs were tender and the mince was bubbling hot. Unfortunately, I had not thought to cover the mince and so the condensation from the steam had thinned the gravy: I should have put tin foil over the container. It didn't matter to me because I'm a vegetarian: the mince was for my husband!

This steamer will cook all kinds of meat, fish, root vegetables, pasta, rice - even sausages! In fact, I think there's not much you can't steam. The recipe book included with it offers a menu for a week: Salmon and noodles, Glazed chicken wirh butternut squash, Stuffed red peppers with couscous, Chicken Tikka Masala with rice, Steamed halibut, Hoisin duck with egg noodles, lamb with baby potatoes, and even - ginger and banana sponge pudding with sticky toffee sauce!

I think my student son would find this a useful addition to his kitchen (but if you're reading this - no, you can't have it). You can pretty much put anything in there and it will cook it and have it ready for you within the hour. I like it very much and unlike a lot of kitchen equipment, I won't be putting it in the cupboard and forgetting about it. (But if I did want to put it in the cupboard, it has been designed to fit neatly inside a standard kitchen cupboard).

So why only 4 stars? Well, when using the containers to cook food, I've found it a bit awkward to get them out once the food is cooked, given that the contents are hot and the environment is hot and steamy. The containers sit well below the top rim of the steamer.
I was considering buying one of these for my elderly aunt because I thought it would be useful for her to cook a whole meal in one go - but I changed my mind. I think long detachable handles on the containers would have been useful. So for that reason, this otherwise excellent steamer has dropped a star.

But it's superb in every other way: build quality seems good and it's easy to clean (dishwasher safe). Right, I'm off to have some steamed veggies with baby potatoes, and my husband's having chicken....

Addendum: I've now cooked several meals in this steamer and I have to say, it is really excellent. If you've never had meals cooked in a steamer before, you're in for a treat because the food tastes 'clean' and light. I've cooked potatoes, chicken, sausages (pale but interesting!), all manner of vegetables (I tried to cook a whole courgette but got the timimg wrong and it was still rather hard - next time I'll give it ten more minutes), rices and pasta. All have turned out very well.

Another addendum! I've now had this steamer for over two years and it continues to work perfectly and make my life much easier! Nothing broken or malfunctioning, and it's still the best gadget in my kitchen. I would buy another one IMMEDIATELY if anything happened to this one. I love it :-)

I have used many steamers since i first started using a steamer in the 1960, some good and some not so good, The last one I Had was a Tefal that had a fast start vitamin button, When pressed it flooded the work surface with water Tefal said stop pressing the button, It is now in the scrapheap and I bought the morphy richards intellisteam, I was a bit sceptical about the claims it made but after using it for a month I can honestly say that it lives up to all its claims it is very good on the standard recommended settings and you have the option to add or take away minutes, The food will cook seperatly in its own compartments and comes out perfect , I have never had a steamer that is so easy to clean it does not have all the tiny holes that are the norm and are very difficult to clean. Overall this is the best steamer I have had the pleasure to use in the 40 years I have been steaming food and I would recommend anyone to try it even if you are an old hand or a novice steamer it is the simplest
to use and produces the best food.

The Intellisteam Steamer is incredibly easy to use and the food, especially vegetables, really does have a stronger flavour although, like a microwave, it obviously doesn't brown stuff like fish in the way you might like. I've been using a few weeks almost every day and haven't been tempted to return to pots and pans once.

The controls are more or less idiot proof, with a range of pre-set cooking times designed to enable cook to put a whole meal on in a couple of minutes without having to think. That's great for someone like me, whose cooking expertise barely extends beyond heating something that comes in a packet. Given that's where I'm coming from, I'm used to manufacturers underestimating cooking times and Morphy Richards are a little guilty here. It takes some experimenting to get your steamed spuds just right. But once you're there you can set the cooking times in for life so steaming quickly becomes hassle free.

It cooks rice particularly well.

I'm cooking for two and the Intellisteam Steamer is just right, but I suspect cooking for a family of four, say, might be a little more challenging as it's quite a small unit.