Reviews Secura 3-Tier 6-Quart Stainless Steel Electric Food Cooker Rice Steamer, w/ Steam360 technology S-324

I love this Secura 3-Tier 6-Quart Stainless Steel Electric Food Cooker Rice Steamer product so much. I use it 3+ Times a day, why cook when you can steam. We have been surprised at how many uses we've found for this steamer. In addition to the normal steaming vegetables, fish, and chicken; cooking rice it's also very good for reheating leftovers.

Secura 3-Tier 6-Quart Stainless Steel Electric Food Steamer, w/ Steam360 technology S-324:
This "thing" made me think healthy :)

Much better than the microwave, because the food doesn't overcook so quickly and stays moist. A very cool advantage of this steamer, besides the stainless steel bowls, is that each basket gets its own steam - so e.g. the thai dumpling steam does not flavor the broccoli. Also the stainless steel bowls are easy to wash.

• Stainless steel steam basket preserves the original flavor of the food and nutrients, along with being safe to cook with.
• 3 tier 6 quart, removable steam basket(D: 8", H: 2.375"), easy to cook in and serve from, and is dishwasher safe for cleaning.
• Use hot or cold tap water, generates steam in less than 15 seconds, letting food to start cooking immediately, automatically shuts off if the water gets too low.
• Cooks variety of food in the three steam baskets at the same time without the undesirable mixing of flavors.
• Cooks entire meal within 30 minutes. Model # S-324.

The single best thing about this steamer is that there's no need to worry about plastics (even plastics marketed as BPA-free may leach chemicals that mimic estrogen). The Secura 3-Tier S-324 steam baskets are all made of stainless steel, the housing is stainless steel and the water tank is stainless steel! My previous food steamer, while still functioning, are all plastic, even the water reservoir.

I'm very happy that I finally found the right steamer for the right time! I have never had any steamers before except Sanyo rice cooker with slow cooking option. Frozen vegetables were steamed in my new microwave oven. And fish was baked in my electric oven. I tried to get some extra nutrients/vitamins from supplements.

Secura 3-Tier 6-Quart Stainless Steel Electric Food Cooker Rice Steamer, w/ Steam360 technology S-324 Pros:

• No plastics
• The insert pans are optional, so if you have items that are taller than 2.5", you can add another layer and leave out the pan.
• Heats up pretty quickly, and steams all three layers well.
• Simple operation (mechanical dial to set the steam duration).
• Easy to clean, including the water reservoir. The various parts are all stainless steel and can be cleaned easily in the dish washer or with some Bar Keepers Friend. If you don't use distilled water, the water reservoir will end up with scaling, but that can be cleaned easily by heating it with a little distilled white vinegar. There are no hidden or hard to reach bits where mold or nasty mysterious stuff can grow.
• Makes great rice.
• Automatic shutoff safety feature if it runs out of water.

Secura 3-Tier 6-Quart Stainless Steel Electric Food Cooker Rice Steamer, w/ Steam360 technology S-324 Cons:

• The stainless steel pans are pretty thin and looks cheap (definitely not nice 18/10 stainless steel).
• Some sort of machine oil coated all the stainless steel parts. Even after washing everything in hot water and soap, the first couple of times we ran the steamer, some sort of black, oily stuff dripped into the pans. I recommend running the steamer without anything in it a few times until this no longer happens.
• No advanced timer functions.
• Seems expensive for what it is.

Brown rice takes about 60-65 minutes; 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water. Vegetables take about 20-25 minutes (brocolli, carrots, potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes and sugar snap peas). Secura 3-Tier start steaming right away and the tree independent bowls are really great for not mixing flavors.

This Secura 3-Tier 6-Quart Stainless Steel Electric Food Cooker Rice Steamer, w/ Steam360 technology S-324 product earned 189 customer reviews and 84% are satisfied (as 01/02/2014). Overall I would recommend and I am pleased with this purchase.