Fruits
Food | Type | Quantity | Cooking | Recommendations |
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| With steam basket 1 and 2 |
Pears | Fresh | 4 | 25 min | (without cooking trays). |
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| Steam whole or halved. |
Bananas | Fresh | 4 | 15 min | Whole |
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Apples | Fresh | 5 | 20 min | Quartered |
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Steaming Tips and Techniques
•Do not pack food too tightly in the steam baskets. Leave some space for steam to circulate as much as possible.
•For best results, use pieces of food of approximately the same size (such as potatoes, vegetables and chicken breasts) so that they cook at the same time. The size and thickness of the food will alter the cooking time.
•Avoid lifting the lid to check on the cooking progress too often, as this allows loss of steam and can lengthen the cooking time.
•If recipes require the use of cling film, always use the all purpose type suitable for use in microwave ovens. Cling film is often used to prevent condensation forming and spoiling delicates foods such as egg custards. Avoid using foil as this tends to increase the steaming time.
•When choosing food for steaming, select suitable size food to fit the steaming basket, especially if it is cooked whole such as fish.
•Subtle flavour can be given to steamed food with the addition of fresh herbs, slices of lemon or orange, garlic and onion. These may be placed either directly underneath or on top of the food in the steaming basket.
•To give meat, poultry and fish a delicious flavour plus make then moist and tender, marinade for a few hours before steaming. The marinade can be as simple as a blend of wine and fresh herbs, or it can be a spicy barbecue or tandoori mix.
•Frozen vegetables can be steamed from frozen. All shellfish, poultry and meat must be completely thawed before steaming.
•For some recipes with a long cooking time, such as steamed sponge pudding, you will need to top up with more cold water during steaming.
•Always use oven gloves when handling the baskets or steaming cups during or after cooking.
Steaming Cup Recipes
Preparing steaming cup recipes
You can cook recipes in the steaming cups, either from the steamer recipe book or from your own recipes. Put the prepared mixture into the cups, taking care not to overfill them to prevent spillages as some recipes may rise during cooking. Cover the cups if necessary, using the lids. Place the four cups in the holder - fig.16. Take the holder by the handle and place it in the basket -
8fig. 17.
The cups must always be placed in the top basket (basket no. 3) immediately under the lid.
