What is the capacity of the vegetable steamer? i.e. 2 cups, 3 cups, etc? Can you cook rice and steam veggies together? Is the rice pot plastic or stainless?
1652364
I purchased it for a friend and don't know the capacity. I can tell you that you can cook rice and steam veggies together.
1652365
Yes you can steam together. The rice pot is (I think stainless it is silver & light weight), the steamer is plastic. I never measured the amount to be steamed but my guess is up to 2 cups.
1652366
Oh Gosh! I would think you could put in at least 2 cups of dry rice plus vegetables very easily. I am very happy with this rice cooker. I have had it a couple years now and have great success with it. Would certainly purchase again. I normally cook 3 cups of dry rice at a time with room to spare.
1652367
It doesn't hold a lot of veggies. You could cut a potato in half and steam some green beans or broccoli. That's it. Enough for one person for a meal. Not enough for two. (Although I use it constantly as it works brilliantly at steaming dumplings.) And yes, you can cook rice and steam together.
924780
Can this be used as a steamer or rice cooker.? What is the actual temperature attained with each level in the dial? The plastic in the hot pot worries me. I thought it was metal lined. What are the chances that the plastic can emit cancerogenic fumes while heating up?
1839877
you can easily cook one cup of rice (2 cups water) in this cooker. I love mine, use it for small amounts all the time, you may wish to stir midway through the cook so it does not stick. I love my cooker.
691347
Yes. I use the steamer insert and a small glass mixing bowl. Fill with water to bottom of steamer insert, 1.5 cups of rice, 1.75 cups of water (season as you would like), cover 40 - 45 min. on steam.
606543
I've used mine for cooking/steaming asparagus. It's ca. 8 inches inside. I love my little pot, but treat the steamer basket gently. I've used mine to can vegetables and it's great for small batches.
429265
it does rice and slow cook very well. The steam basket contain about 3 or 4 portions veggies. The steam basket size is half of rice steam container.Thank your for asking.
474876
The steamer can handle a 12-16 oz size bag of frozen veggies or 4-5 servings of broccoli, carrots, etc. It's 9.5"x 9.5" x 3.5" deep. The steam insert fits in side so it's slightly smaller than the above measurements. The lid snaps on so it can go into the fridge when I don't want to dirty up another dish. I'm single, but I don't want to cook every night, so this gives me a servings for several meals. So, I think it is the perfect size.
1203160
Have you gotten any answers to your question? I am also curious if you can steam vegetables or frozen dumplings in the VitaClay unit. Perhaps you just need to add a stainless steel steamer basket inside on the bottom and go from there? For that reason, I would like to know exactly how big the clay pot is- what is the diameter? If I place a standard steamer basket in there, How much room would be left over? Finally, can I program it to run for the few minutes needed to steam vegetables? Or is it set to specific increments?
1479748
It's not a steamer in the conventional sense. 2 pcs (lid & bowl) made of silicone. Water only used for rice, quinoa, grits & etc where the seed or grain requires water to cook -- mixed as you would in a saucepan. Veggies (broccoli, corn, carrots) require no water. Oil/butter if u like. Comes with cookbook to lead u through. Mastrad has a website that has recipes & techniques, but amazon.com had better prices. We love ours.
430667
No. It is not a rice steamer. The holes are a bit too large so I think some of the rice would fall through the holes. It is a fantastic vegetable steamer. I highly recommend the steamer because we use ours all the time. We cook a lot of our veggies fresh and they taste very good. I cook my rice the old fashioned way. I watch it carefully however as most of the time it needs water adjustments.
72387
The structure of the steamer is like a double boiler steamer that you use on the stove-top. You get four parts to your unit: 1) The bottom "pan" is where you put just an INCH of water. The idea is to get this small amount of water boiling. I start with hot tap water to get things rolling faster. 2) The insert "pan" (just a bit smaller than the water holding pan) has holes through the bottom so the steam can get through to do the cooking. 3) There is an insert "shelf" for the pan with the holes, so that you can put two layers of veggies in--say potatoes in the bottom and something that needs less heat or cooking time on the shelf. One thing that I do all the time is put veggies in the bottom and poach a salmon fillet on the shelf. 4) The fourth piece is the lid. All in all, this is a great item. I eat steamed veggies from it all the time and they cook in less than half the time that a steamer on the stove does. Cut up potatoes or broccoli cooks in 4-6 minutes. Frozen peas are ready in a minute (the water has to get boiling to make steam!) Of course time increases with the amount of stuff you load in! Mine are single servings. If you are cooking for a family, just do it in a stove-top steamer! PS: Cleans with a quick rinse under the tap. Just the thing for a busy single person like me!
302550
An 8 inch by 8 inch square. Will steam enough vegetables for a couple meals. I have done two large zucchini and two large squash and an onion in mine at once....made alot !! Steamed asparagus also. Nice size for a family.
590186
The pot its self makes great rice but I have never used the steamer to steam rice the steamerworks great for every then else I my self love an live faberware pots.
388743
You can steam vegetables while you make rice, by using the vegetable steamer. As for meat...if you mean, "Can I cook meat in the rice", then yes, but consider the size of the meat and the cooking time. I love to do stews and what not in this, using the "slow cook" selection. I also do one pot rice dishes.
1604401
Hi Michelle,I have been using it to cook white rice. It's fast but can be messy at times because of the steam and overflow. I have not tried it with popcorn or steam vegetables but it comes with a steamer. I like it but read other comments too.
1882514
As far as the quality of the veggies, I am not sure there is one for veggies like broccoli or leafy vegetables. I use both inter changeably, as I am often cooking several things at one time. I do prefer the I Pot for corn on the cob, potatoes, and other root vegetables. Particularly with the root vegetables, micro steaming can be tricky as the cooking time varies with the size. I have over baked potatoes in the microwave more than once. With the I Pot, they always come out right using the standard cooking time. Bottom line, if I had to choose only one appliance to steam vegetables, it would be the I Pot.
1906213
I rarely cook rice, and have a multicooker that does that very well. I don't think you can steam rice in this because the rice will fall through the holes in the steaming basket down into the hot water below. Actual electric rice cookers are cheap and automatic, so that's the way to go.