There are three types of steamers: basic, bamboo, and electric. All steamers have a lid and a cooking chamber, but electric steamers have additional parts such as heating elements and control panels. Most electric steamers also come with a separate grate or basket to suspend food.
There are three basic types of steamers that can be used to prepare food in the kitchen, and the steamer parts for each design are slightly different. A basic kitchen steamer is just a device designed to hold food above boiling water in a pot and usually consists of a lid and basket. Electric steamers come in two varieties, one that generates steam that is funneled into a cooking compartment and another that heats water in the same chamber where the food is. The steam parts for both electrical designs are similar, with lids, control panels, food trays, and heating mechanisms. The main difference is the location of the heating elements and the method used to heat the water.
One of the common parts of the steamer that nearly all designs share is the lid. This can be made of bamboo for a bamboo steamer or glass or plastic for electric steamers. It is intended to keep the steam close to the food so the food cooks more quickly and the steam circulates around the cooking chamber. Most models incorporate an adjustable vent of some sort so excess steam and pressure can escape from the cooking area.
Another of the steam parts that all units must have is a cooking chamber or area. This is where the food sits while being steamed. This can be a simple metal basket or insert, or it could be a flat tray on which racks are stacked and then covered with a tall lid. For steamers placed above boiling water on a stovetop, the chamber and lid usually comprise the entire unit.
Most electric steamers, regardless of design, come with some type of separate grate, basket or grate that is used to suspend food so that the steam can travel and cook it from all angles. These steamer parts are usually molded very specifically to fit a particular make and model. For models that only allow steam to enter the cooking chamber, the racks can sometimes be stacked on top of each other to create more surface area for the foods. In steamers where the water is in the same chamber, wire baskets of different sizes with holes in the bottom are usually employed.
Most of the parts for an electric steamer are found in the base of the unit. This includes heating elements, usually in the form of conductive coils, that directly heat the water by immersion or heat the cooking chamber to boil the water it contains. Some units have separate tanks or cups to hold the water. The heating elements are connected to a thermostat which controls the temperature and a digital control dial or panel to allow the user to set specific parameters for the steamer. An electric cable to be plugged into an outlet connected to the unit via a power transformer completes the parts of the electric steam.
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