Tefal VC145140 Steam Cooker 2 Basket(s) Stainless Steel Freestanding

It's a good little steamer, haven't had it long but it works well so far. The only sticking point for me is that it's not all stainless steel - the water section is plastic. I prefer non toxic surfaces so not sure if it's BPA free plastic or not. I think this is a gap iin the market - steamers made of non toxic, pfoa, bpa and pfoe free materials. Otherwise it's fine and does the job it's intended to do.

A robust steamer

This is a well-made steamer, with very robust stainless steel sections. It's nice you can invert the sections and they telescope together. Two minor irritations; the lid does not sit safely on top of the inverted sections, easy to fall off / get knocked off. The top-up feature is too small to use useful.

Best Ever

This has been the best electric steamer I've ever bought, and I've gone through quite a few over the years, all ended up with the plastic eventually cracking over time with regular use. The large stainless steel bowls are an absolute god send to keep clean and shiny. I would recommend spending just that little extra for this one as it's well worth the money. I've used a steamer for over 30 years and this has been the best by far, I can't see me needing another for a very long time

Excellent steamer, but it does have its 'drawbacks

An excellent steamer, however I am disapointed that the base and the waste water containers are made of plastic. I bought the steamer on the basis that it is a stainless steel steamer, but lets be honest if 50% of the inside of the steamer where the cooking takes place is PLASTIC then for cooking purposes it is not a stainless steel steamer.Plastic pollution of food by diffusion is highly likely has the heated steam will tend to react with the plastic and carry that plastic into the stainless steel baskets, NEGATING the reason for having stainless steel dishes in the first place. You could do better Tefal!?

First class steamer

I'm very pleased with this high quality steamer. It certainly looks and cooks better than the cheap plastic basket steamer that I had before. And will last a lot longer. Highly recommended. It may, be more expensive but worth it in the end.

Stylish, Convenient and Simple to Use,

Have been steaming food for several years. This is one of the few steamers on the market offering metal trays rather than plastic, at a reasonable price. Plastic trays, with their plastic lids do not always form a good seal, allowing steam to escape and they get stained and scratched over time. These trays are large enough for healthy, family sized meals whilst using one tray is ideal for the quick one-person meal. With a little practice it is simple to time the cooking to produce the desired level of steaming. Generally, hard vegetables such as carrots and potatoes need around 15-20 minutes, and cauliflower getting done in around 10 mins. Fish, placed in a DIY cooking-foil pouch with herbs and spices gets done in less than 10 mins. The water top-up feature on the ... MoreHave been steaming food for several years. This is one of the few steamers on the market offering metal trays rather than plastic, at a reasonable price. Plastic trays, with their plastic lids do not always form a good seal, allowing steam to escape and they get stained and scratched over time. These trays are large enough for healthy, family sized meals whilst using one tray is ideal for the quick one-person meal. With a little practice it is simple to time the cooking to produce the desired level of steaming. Generally, hard vegetables such as carrots and potatoes need around 15-20 minutes, and cauliflower getting done in around 10 mins. Fish, placed in a DIY cooking-foil pouch with herbs and spices gets done in less than 10 mins. The water top-up feature on the side means you do not have to lift the trays, thus avoiding the risk of scolded fingers and loosing valuable steaming pressure. The trays can be stacked upside down for storage but this looks so good that it stays on display on the worktop and is used almost daily.

Superior steamer

This is a robust steamer with a large capacity This is the ideal size for a family of 4 to 6. You can use just one level and that would be more than adequate for 2 people. The stainless steel baskets are much better than the plastic ones and easier to clean. This is a great improvement on the cheaper plastic ones, should last much longer and so justifies the higher price. A really good buy. HAPPY.

The best steamer available

I have had this steamer before and it served well for many years before eventually starting to leak. That said I was not put off and immediately replaced with exactly the same model - why?This is the only steamer I could find anywhere that is stainless steel. There are many others, some cheaper but many more expensive that are made of plastic which fades and cracks after a lot of use. I use this steamer virtually every day. Stainless steel is cleaner, more robust and much easier to clean than plastic, as well as being more aesthetically pleasing. The steamer itself works brilliantly - it steams! It has a simple timer mechanism and loads of steaming space.

Very compact and good quality food steamer.

Good quality food steamer. Very compact. The 2 dishes are big enough to allow cooking a variety of foods. Generally easy to clean. The steel dishes and glass lid are better than the plastic dishes and lid on other steamers which crack and split over time. The water refill chute is a good idea to top-up the water level.The only downside with my steamer version is that it has no minute markers on the timer dial - so if you want to steam something accurately, like soft-boiled eggs, then you need to use your own digital timer to steam to a specific time as the manual dial is not accurate enough.

Very good steamer

I have this steamer for 2 years now and it is in perfect condition. I bought it especially for my son when I started to give him purees and solid foods, because I wanted to start in a healthy way and to don't waste the money on a baby steamer to use it for just a few months I went for this steamer. What I like the most are the stainless-steel steamers, they are really long lasting. And one thing that I don't like is that it gets stained a bit inside especially from carrots, but otherwise this appliance is really great.