Morphy Richards Intellisteam 48780 Food Steamer

We are retired folks and have for decades followed the sensible way of cooking veggies - by steaming. Our trusty three tiered pot ensemble has been updated twice so far - and with a recent holiday break - self catering, my wife had the use of an electric steamer for the first time. And so, it came to pass that I hosted her a 'top of the range' Intellisteam(er)She mastered the simple logic panel and luxuriated in being able to preprogramme for the various contents, ready all at the same time and with plenty of latitude on serving.Okay - so - what is with the 'BUT' in my appraisal?We don't 'do' dishwashers. Only us two in the home - she washes and I dry. Simple and a long time habit. From two pots (usually) and a lid from the old steamer ... we now have to attend a multiplicity of plastic containers and fittings (approximately twelve!) and empty the base and dry it thoroughly (note it starts 'scaling up' from day one!!)So - friends, 'Labour saving' is is NOT! And trust me, ageing hands having to dab, wipe remove smears . . . isn't an easy task.So, before rushing to provide this as a gift to your 'elders' spare a thought for the 'no dishwasher' followers.NOTE: After four weeks and about twenty sessions - one of the three power generators (These heat and steam into the compartments) failed. Investigation reveals that this is not UNCOMMON. Amazon - as always reliable, refunded promptly. Thanks guys!We've settled for a Kenwood three tier unit. Not as fancy - but hopefully it'll last more than a month! STAR RATING REMOVED !!!!

Bought this as a family Christmas present, against my better judgement, for someone who wanted to eat healthily for 2010.We worked out how to use it and managed to cook some okay carrots and Brussels sprouts with the Christmas dinner. Afterwards though there are dozens of fiddly bits of plastic to wash up and dry. They will go in the dishwasher, but come out covered in water beads which can only be dried off with copious quantities of kitchen towels. Also as the steamer does not sit under the extractor cowl where the cooker is, it takes up lots of room and fills the kitchen with steam.Next day tried steaming an egg which was acceptable, day after tried the same thing and the egg was half cooked, day after that egg totally uncooked. One dead steamer.When I get my money back I will probably get a stainless steel steamer that sits on top of the gas hob. About half the price, far easier to use and should last for about 50 years rather than 4 days.This is an example of trying unsuccessfully to use modern technology to improve on something that has been working perfectly well for the last few thousand years.

Not consistent coverage, maybe user error but not a go to option

This unit is 25cm high and about 31cm wide and deep, except for the side handles which add about 4cm. It is an attractive silver and dark grey finish in plastic with a blue display. It has 3 steamer containers, the rear one being full-width and the front 2 being half-width. Each container has its own heater, independently controlled, so 3 totally different and contrasting items may be steamed at the same time without flavours mingling. The unit is supplied with various accessories: dishes for loose items such as rice and grains; a tray to permit long items such as asparagus or fish to be cooked; a manual with guide-times for steaming.This is all good but there is better yet - the controller allows times to be set differently for each container and these are synchronised so that all containers finish cooking at the same time. At the end of the cooking time the unit beeps then switches to a keep-warm mode.The control panel is designed for ease of use and has separate buttons for each container; the front 2 containers also have a separate button that allows the time to be set identically (avoiding the tedium of having to set the containers' times individually). The control panel is divided into zones, one row for each container and 8 columns for each row. These columns are identified by stylised logos, eggs, green vegetables, fowl, fish, etc. Each time the button for a particular container is pressed the control panel increments one position along the display and a suggested cooking time for that type of item is displayed at the right-hand end of the row. These suggested times may be changed using 2 buttons, 'increase' and 'decrease' and may be stored for future use. To begin cooking a button with a stylised puff of steam is pressed and this lights up in an attractive blue to show the steamer is in use.There is a water reservoir, which may be filled, or topped up during steaming, using a pull-out channel at the right-hand side of the unit. This is very convenient when steaming items that take a long time, such as corn cobs. A water gauge is visible on the front of the unit to check water usage.So far, very good but what are the disadvantages? The unit is plastic which could mark if treated roughly, but it is no less durable than most kitchen appliances. It is a steamer so it needs to be used in a ventilated area. Steam is hot and it can be tricky to remove trays from the unit as they are fairly snug, so wear oven gloves to protect your hands. It can be a little tricky to clean thoroughly, too, but it is dishwasher safe. It does not have a power switch, so needs to be unplugged for storage and when cleaning (I think this is a good safety feature).I have been using this steamer for months and it is not showing any signs of deterioration, unlike the previous unit from another manufacturer. This is a good purchase, so buy it.