Learning to Edit
Steamers
Description
Common steamers are used for vegetables and pasta and are designed with medium to large holes in the insert floor to allow the food to sit directly in the water or steam. The recipes in this book use a different kind of steamer, designed to cook liquid or batter consistency foods.
The kind of steamer we use for Chocolate Steamed Pudding and Magic Science Pudding? is described as a Charleston Rice Steamer
Note that the insert of this steamer has tiny holes around the top and in the lip (visible as light dots on the near side) but a solid base to hold the rice or batter in as it cooks. The ruler is included to provide a specific scale.
The steamer has three parts -- the base, which holds boiling water, the insert, which holds the batter or rice, and the lid, which holds in the steam and enables the rice or batter to cook.
Usage
To steam food, fill the larger base pot with water to about 11/2" deep. Cover and bring to a boil. Put the food to be steamed in the insert and cover with the lid. Turn down the heat but not too far, so the water continues to simmer, generating steam to cook the food. If it's not covered, the lid won't hold in the steam and the food won't cook properly.
Images provided under CC-BY 4.0. Please credit RedfieldRecipes.