Steaming food is one of the different cooking technique that is pretty common and also provides many health benefits. Steamers can be used to cook vegetables, seafood, rice, and more.
Most people like to eat meat, particularly steaks and other types of white meat. Steaming is the perfect way to cook it because you can control all of the cooking processes and you can add different kinds of seasonings to it.
Many benefits come from steaming compared with other cooking methods. Steaming provides a way to cook vegetables without overcooking them.
Vegetables will be tasty and nutritious as they retain their nutrients while also allowing you to enjoy a variety of fruits, vegetables, and meats prepared as you prefer.
What Is A Steamer?
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The invention of the steamer dates back to the early 1800s. A streamer is a specialized pan designed for cooking with steam, usually made out of stainless steel or aluminum.
You can use a steamer to cook hearty meals, like soups and stews, by straining the foods. The boiling, then steaming process yields the desired effect of thickening those soups and broths with minimal added fat.
What Is Steaming?
Steam is the result of boiling a liquid above its boiling point. The temperature at which this happens depends on the water’s temperature, the size of the kettle, and the amount of food in it.
When a kettle of water is heated on a stove, it becomes hot water. The steam that condenses from hot water forms clouds in the air. These clouds are what we usually think of when we say “steam.”
How Does Steam Work?
When you heat steam, it goes from something relatively harmless like warm water to something potentially lethal like toxins being released into your kitchen.
When you cook with steam, you are removing the water from the food. This causes the heat to build up inside the food.
Steam does not penetrate foods as effectively as water does. It is also a lot easier for your food to become charred or burned from direct contact with it if steam is used than it would be if you had used a pan full of water.
Cooking on a stove can result in hot surfaces, so it’s best to avoid using pans that are directly on top of them.
Steaming Benefits
Steaming foods has many benefits in terms of nutrition and taste. Because steaming doesn’t use oil, it not only reduces fat but also keeps the flavor of the food.
You cook food with steam by exposing it to high heat in a covered environment. This allows the outside of the food to cook thoroughly while leaving the inside tender and moist.
Steaming is a natural way of cooking foods because you are adding nothing artificial to them during preparation, unlike fried foods and meats that are marinated in oil.
Another benefit to steaming is that you can create different types of food whether you’re using vegetables or fish or chicken.
With steaming your vegetables will never be overcooked as they would if boiled. Steaming is more efficient than boiling because it also reduces cooking time. Steamed vegetables are low in calories and fat, making them a healthy alternative to fried foods.
Ways To Steam Food Without A Steamer
The following ways could be tried for steaming food without a steamer-
Steaming Food With A Microwave
Microwaves cook food by making the water molecules inside the food vibrate, which generates heat. You can make a steamer for your microwave using aluminum foil and ceramic cups.
Simply place an empty cup in the microwave and wrap it in a sheet of thin aluminum foil. Fill that cup with water so that it heats up in the microwave during cooking.
Cook the food that you want to steam in another cup. The steam that forms in this cup will cook the food. Make sure to leave some space at the top of your cooking vessel so that it doesn’t overflow when the water boils.
Steaming Food With A Rice Cooker
The most basic and traditional way of steaming food is to place a rack over boiling water in a pot or kettle and place a covered pot or dish on it.
To do this, you can use your stove, but you also can use your rice cooker for steaming dishes. Add about 1 inch of water to the bottom of your rice cooker and cook as you normally would until it reaches a boil on high heat. Add a lidded basket to hold your food and close the lid. Steam rice, meat, poultry, and more.
Steaming Food With A Wok
A wok is a large, deep-sided pan that looks like a bowl with high, round sides and a long handle. It is used to cook Chinese food because it distributes the heat evenly in the bowl itself and allows liquid to evaporate rapidly while cooking.
A wok can also be used to steam vegetables or any other types of foods by placing them in a steamer basket on top of boiling water at the bottom of the pan. Most works also have a small hole in their base for this purpose.
Steaming Food With A Bamboo Steamer
This is an easy way to steam food and it doesn’t even require a stove. Find a pot that is deep enough to hold a bamboo steamer, but not so deep that it extends over the water in the pot.
Put water in the pot, then place your bamboo steamer on top of it. You should have about 2 inches of space between the water and the bottom of your steamer.
Place your food to be steamed on top, cover the pot and let it all steam away for about 10 minutes. The heat from the boiling water inside will cook all of your food perfectly without drying out any of it.
Steaming Food On The Grill
There’s no need to have a stove or even a barbecue grill if you want to steam your food. Throw some wood chips or sawdust into your charcoal and let it burn down until it is coals that are glowing red hot and putting off heat as a stove would do.
Place a metal grid over your coals and place a pan on top of the grid. You can use a canning pan or your kettle. Fill the bottom of the pan with water and steam away.
You don’t need to add anything to your food to cook it or flavor it this way, but you do need to keep an eye on your food so that it doesn’t burn.
Some Additional Efficient Ways
Steaming Food In An Oven
The best way to cook when you’re using steam in an oven is to preheat it first, anywhere from 10 minutes up to 1 hour before you need it, depending on how much food you are going to serve at one time.
Then add about 2 inches of water to the bottom of your oven and place a metal pan lined with aluminum foil over it. Put your food in the pan to steam and cook it, again keeping an eye on it so that it doesn’t burn.
Steaming Food On The Stove
When you steam food on a stove, you don’t have to have a steamer basket either. You can either use something like a colander with holes in the bottom or get a metal one specifically made for this purpose.
Add boiling water to your pot and let it sit as you heat your other ingredients. When they’re done, just drop them into the colander or special steamer basket.
Put the colander or steamer basket over the top of your pot and let all of your food steam away in one place.
Conclusion
Steam can be used to cook a wide variety of foods, from meats and poultry to noodles, rice, and vegetables.
It is an important part of Asian cooking in particular, but it can also be used with many dishes that are typically cooked by other methods.
Because steam keeps food moist, it doesn’t dry out or burn the outer part of the food as it cooks.
It adds no fat or oil and it adds very little flavor to your dish as well. Because of this, you have the power to alter the flavor of your food by adding herbs or spices when you steam it.
Other than being a great way to cook different types of food without destroying any of their natural flavor or texture, steam has several other advantages.
It is not only a low-cost way to cook, but it is also very eco-friendly. Using steam in the cooking process instead of using other types of heating methods will help to reduce the amount of energy used while still producing the same results.