Tower T80836 Essentials Induction Steamer Pans 3 Tier with Glass Lid, Silicone Handles, Stainless Steel, Steamer Cooking, Polished Mirror Finish, 18 cm , Silver

What seems about a million years ago I decided in a fit of utter madness to rebuild a house built in the 60's and do the 'Grand Design' nonsense. Needless to say, my time and cost plans went pear shaped pretty quickly. So much so that the old Rangemaster gas oven that I chucked outside was then rescued and put into an old leaky shed. Then drained and put back into service for my long suffering better 3/4 to cook with. Recently and about six years later - my wife finally has a nice shiny new induction range cooker. No fitted kitchen yet but that will come. I promise..And of course, when you buy an induction oven the game changes in that those old pans that have given sterling service may no longer be of any use. Which is a rather long winded way to arrive at these pans.Both my wife and I like to steam our vegetables because A. They maintain better nutients and B. They retain a bit of texture compared to boiling. The other benefit is that you are a bit more efficient as waste steam is used to cook stuff with. And of course 'The Boss' insisted on new pans to suit that didn't break the bank, cooked well, were decently made and had handles that did not get hot. British would be a bonus as well because we try to support where we can.So here we are. Mission acomplished - mostly. First off Tower is a British brand but in reality they may have headquarters and perhaps design in the UK but the pans are made where everything else is, in the Far East. Thankfully the quality is good and these appear to be made of decent qualty stainless not Chinesium.The handles have a thermoplastic cover on them so you won't burn your fingers which is one essential box ticked. Next one is of course to be induction ready.Which these are. And here's a bit of information I gleaned from the new Rangemaster manual. For a pan to be able to be used on an induction hob it needs to have a large amount of ferritic metal so that the induced electrical current can do its thing. High quality stainless is no good or aluminium. Stainless pans that can be used on an induction hob have a steel insert buried in the base so that the induced electical field will do its thing. This is what these pans have.The other thing that is important with induction pans is that they should be as flat as possible for maximum induction effect. And if you look at the photos you will note that the bottom pan is dished. And this is correct. All decent induction pans should have a slight dish in the middle when cold. As the pan heats up the metal will expand and the bottom will flatten out making a good close fitting base. If the pan is flat to start with it will expand in the heat and then dish outward reducing the contact area and lowering its efficiency.So, when buying induction pans check that the bottom is slightly hollow to allow for this.Anyway, in use these heat up quickly and do the job well. They easily clean and the clear lid allows one to check the contents of the top pan easily.Overall for the price, hard to beat. In fact nothing I could find is as good value for the quality. Which is why I bought them I guess.

I've tried various vegetable steamers in the past (bamboo through to electric) and have been so underwhelmed by the whole thing that I gave up. Now, after twelve years of using a Thermomix and having it finally gently arrived at the end of its life, I had to revisit the whole separate steamer thing.I am totally impressed with this Tower steamer - it's a different beast to the vegetable steamers I've used in the past.It takes around (i.e. median time) 6 minutes to steam vegetables (obviously, peas at the other end of the range to cauliflower and cabbage) - no time at all. So fresh peas take around 3 minutes, cauliflower and broccoli around 6-8 minutes.Just fill the base pan to the bottom level of the rivets and bring to the boil, put the denser vegetables in the bottom pan and the less dense in the upper, put the steamer on a ring, set the timer, and get on with other parts of the meal preparation. When the timer goes off, test the vegetables, and drain or cook a little longer as desired.However this steamer heats up so quickly, is comfortable to handle (it's lightweight, the handles don't heat up) and is so easy to clean that I've found myself using it for plenty of other things as well. It's great as a bain marie, it cooks sauces and rice (place in a Pyrex/borosilicate glass bowl in one of the upper steamer baskets), cooks pasta in the base as a separate pan, and it makes a brilliant warmer for virtually anything.As a bonus, the Tower steamer lid fits my milk pan (which didn't come with a lid) as it's a 'standard' size.The steamer cleans up beautifully and any residue on the bottom from the heat source can be cleaned with, for example, a piece of 'Magic Sponge' - although for most purposes a simple wash with detergent and a washing-up sponge is sufficient and only takes a minute. (I just like to keep everything gleaming.)I frequently use the two top tiers as strainers for cooked food (vegetables, rice, beans, etc.) and then set to one side over the steamer base filled with boiling water and the lid topping it off; this means that I've strained the food and can keep it warm (off the heat source) until it's needed.For the price, this is amazing; a real kitchen multi-use piece of kit.Update (February 2025): I've now been using the Tower steamer for a year. It looks as good as new and is in use several times a week (sometimes every day); there is no deterioration in any part of the steamer.Another reviewer mentioned a problem with one of the handles after seventeen months - this shouldn't be a problem as Tower offer a five-year guarantee if you register the steamer when you first buy it. After a year of heavy use I can see why Tower feel able to offer such a long guarantee for an everyday item!

I like this overall—it's sleek, lightweight, and does the job well for everyday cooking. However, the bottom feels quite thin, so it heats up very quickly on high heat, which sometimes causes food to catch or gives off a slight smell if not careful. It works best on medium to low heat. That said, it's still a handy addition to the kitchen, especially for lighter cooking tasks.

Good size, good cooking capacity and sturdy

Really strong stock pot, great for a stew or just boiling a lot of vegetables. Good quality too at a great price.

very pleased with this product , nice and robust and feels good, definitely better than our previous pans and works well with the induction hob , which is why we made the purchase

This saucepan is so good. We were struggling before with a scratched Teflon saucepan and felt guilty about cooking in it so we ordered this one. We use it for batch cooking for the week and for big family meals and also we use it to wash salad leaves, spinach and cabbage which require a lot of space to swish around in water. Glad we bought.

Just received today out of the box and already has a scratch on the glass lid.