Steaming!

I ABSOLUTELY love this book - I am now on to my second copy as the first one I had disintegrated from being used so much! It is full of easy, tasty recipes which are great and there is a lot of information and detailed cooking times for just about every foodstuff! It is a really useful and practical book - I'd read some comments on the quality of the paper and the fact that there are no photos of the recipes but for me that means I can really get full use of it without worrying that the book might spoil - see the first line of my review!

The book arrived really quickly and when I opened the parcel I was surprised that it was quite small and made of low-quality gray paper. It immediately put me off reading but I decided not to judge it until I try out some of the recipes. And you know what? They are really great! Most of them are fairly simple and do not require too many sophisticated ingredients which is a plus when you try to cook on a budget. The author covers various types of dishes, including breakfast items, meats, vegetables and desserts. I have tried a couple of them and the authors steaming times recommendations are rather accurate, the dishes are really good. To be honest, some of the recipes are really exciting and out-of-the-box - have you ever thought of preparing a CAKE in your steamer? I haven't. Although this book is great in general, I would recommend it to people who actually own an electrical steamer as opposed to am attachment to a pot- most of the recipes call for steaming various products at the same time and it wouldn't be feasable unless you have two or three tires to separate the ingredients. On the other hand, if you don't have one, there is no harm buying this book first as the author gives some advice on how to choose some good equipment.

This is an excellent little book with lots of tips and recipes. Some people will not be pleased with the fact that it doesn't have colour (or any) photographs, but what do you expect for less than £5.00? I have had cookbooks written by top chefs with loads of fancy colourful photographs and have never cooked anything from them. So, if you want something which is easy to follow and which will get you started with a totally new method of cooking at very little cost, then this is the book for you. And you could always try using your imagination to get an idea of what the finished dish looks like!

A bit basic ok book wouldn't buy again.

I bought this along with my steamer. I had never steamed anything and I felt I needed an instruction manual. I bought this after reading all the customer reviews. It has not disappointed. It is very informative and I can now cook with a steamer. It teaches you how long to cook different types of vegetables, rice and even meats. It also has some recipes for meals which I have not tried as I just use my steamer to make sides but reading through them you can pretty much figure out how to convert a few recipes from a stove-top to a steamer. The size is fantastic. It is like a thin paperback novel. It won't take up half your counter-top and can easily be stored.

I nearly didn't buy it because someone had written that it was too American. I think the author is British and Tefal supplied her with an electric steamer. All weights are given in both metric and imperial e.g. grams and ounces. For a beginner like me it is an ideal book as it gives you approximate cooking times for all common foods. There is a wide variety of recipes. There are no pictures but the book is crammed full of useful information. I'm so glad I bought it.

An excellent book for someone new to steaming in the sense that it 'opens' one up to the possibilities. I've been using steamers for about 20 years and bought it out of curiosity to see what i haven't done with a steamer and to enthuse others! But it is a small book and it's not going to cover all the Bain Marie possibilities (not just Xmas pudding but cakes etc) and others... perhaps that just comes with experience. Look at a slow cooker book's bain marie... all can be done in a steamer - better and more practical. I bought two universal stepped steamers to use with various saucepans and still think this is best. The electric steamers i wouldn't buy as i live in a hard water area and not to have mentioned that was poor imo (as there's hard water across most of S.E England) - she virtually recommended them. A rice cooker with a steamer tray in it is well worth considering as somehow they cook fastest and i added a basket to that which works very well - as they're not plastic. After reading this book you are informed to explore your own way.

Buy this book! Was bought a steamer 5 years ago. Bought a book of recipes and the steamer never came out of the cupboard. After a period of bad health and an intent to eat more healthily, bought this book and the steamer now lives on the range as it is used almost daily. This book gives you basic steaming times and some lovely simple recipes. Would recommend it to all especially those new to steaming.

I was impressed! Based on other reviews, I was apprehensive when I ordered this gem, but when I received it, I was so glad I'd bought it! Not only does it cover the basic equipment you need, it covers the basics of steaming! I loved the language - England is a wonderful country! I am looking forward to making many of the recipes. It's just a question of which one first!

Steaming isn't exactly brain surgery, but all the suggestions on steaming gives many more ideas than one would normally think of when steaming food.

I grab recipes and techniques from this book all the time. Lots of stuff that can be prepared ahead of time and thrown into the steamer (replacing my microwave).

It does have great recipes but I dont care for it being electronically delievered.... I like a hands on book when it comes to cooking...

I use this book almost ever day trying to eat healthy is really a challenge but this book takes the guess work out of Steaming