The best tool for cooking with steam

The best tool for cooking with steam

Hannah Crowley Executive Editor, ATK Reviews

Steaming is such an easy and streamlined way to cook. It’s such a welcome change after a long winter of roasts, braises, and stews. Luckily, our new review of steamer baskets is out now.

Steam gently coaxes food to a perfect, moist doneness and lets the ingredients shine. You only need to heat a couple inches of water, so it’s fast too. It’s the best method for a fresh dish like Buttery Spring Vegetables or staples like Perfect Poached Chicken Breasts and Easy-Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs.

We covered collapsible steaming baskets made from metal and silicone. Bamboo steamers are great too. They’re multi-layered, so they can fit more food, but they require more storage space. We’ve broken them into a separate review accordingly.

We used each collapsible steamer basket to cook eggs, broccoli, chicken breasts, and dumplings. The best models made us feel safe and secure while working around boiling water, and they fit lots of food in an even layer. To see if they would hold up over time, we even opened and closed each basket 365 times, washed them over and over, and dropped them from counter height.

In the end, one model impressed us. Our longtime favorite from OXO won again, delivering a sturdy, safe, and durable design.

Read our full review of collapsible steamer baskets.

Silicone steamer baskets were precariously floppy and squished the food during use. We preferred metal baskets with firm, broad interiors. Telescoping handles helped us remove food safely.