Everyone knows that steaming is the best way to cook vegetables because, unlike boiling, the steam locks in the nutrients, flavor and color of the vegetables. Everyone in Asia and Europe, anyway. Here in the United States, we've had steam cooking forever, but Americans are not as familiar with it as they are other cooking methods. We seem to ignore the fact that boiling our vegetables draws the nutrients out of the vegetables to be thrown out with the water. We also ignore the fact that steam cooking is fast and energy efficient. Steamed fish and chicken can also be cooked in a steampot and results in delectable meals. This, however, is not a discussion of the benefits of steam cooking. For that, you'd best turn to YouTube. This, instead, is a review of the Mono 2-Tier Steampot, the exact same steampot that can be found on Amazon under other manufacturer's brandnames. This steampot, like thousands of other products, is made by one company and sold to many other companies to market under their own unique brandnames.

Aluminum, Stainless Steel and Bamboo

There are some steamers that are made of plastic and are made to be used in the microwave. Those are not professional products, often producing inferior results and can only steam very small quantities of food. Therefore, we won't discuss those.

The traditional Bamboo steamer often comes with multiple tiers. Since you can't boil water in a Bamboo vessel, you need a wok or saucepan to place the bamboo tiers on. Tiers are the different levels food can be placed upon. The more tiers you have, the more food you can steam. Bamboo lends a certain pleasant flavor to food, (a similar pleasant flavor can be achieved in other steampots by lining the bottom of the tiers with banana leaves) but bamboo doesn't last forever. Therefore, I recommend that you abstain from purchasing a bamboo steamer.

Aluminum will last a little longer than bamboo, but aluminum steampots are often extremely thin and dent, ding and distort quite easily. Aluminum steampots are thin because thin aluminum transfers heat to the water more quickly than thicker metal would, thus shortening cooking times and increasing efficiency and energy savings. Unfortunately, if you do a moderate amount of steam cooking, you'll probably find yourself discarding most aluminum steampots in about a year's time.

Stainless steel steampots, such as the Mano 2-Tier Steampot, are also made of thin metal for the same reasons: thin steel transfers heat to the water more quickly than thicker metal would, thus shortening cooking times and increasing efficiency and energy savings. Stainless steel steampots, however, are not terribly fragile and won't easily dent, ding or distort like aluminum will and, with care, could last you a lifetime. In addition, the Mano 2-Tier Steampot provides extra efficiency and energy savings if you have an induction cooktop. The Mano is fully compatible with induction cooktops and water comes to a frighteningly quick boil on such cooktops.

Let's clear up a big misnomer when it comes to the Mano 2-Tier Steampot. This is NOT a 2-tier steampot! The Mano is actually a 3-tier steampot. It has a discrete center tier (the middle piece with handles that you see in the photos) and two steamer inserts. The smaller of the two inserts drops into the water vessel at the bottom (above water level), while the larger insert drops on top of the center tier. Therefore, you have three tiers upon which you can place food. Notice that the lid of this steampot bulges upward into a dome. This is so large food items will easily fit on the top tier. The lid also has a small glass window, allowing you to monitor the food on the top tier. Of course, you can use only one or two tiers if you wish. If you stack this steampot just right, storage space comes down to a minimum.

As with any steampot, you should place thicker, larger, tougher foods on the bottom tier, as that will put them closest to the source of the hot steam. Large holes in the steamer inserts and the floor of the center tier allows more steam to rise to the top, ensuring that all your food gets cooked. Let's say you've filled the bottom tier to capacity, but you still have hard, raw potatoes to cook. It's okay to put them on the top tier"¦just cut them into quarters. Food on one tier will not affect the taste of food on other tiers (or even the same tier), so feel free to mix meat with vegetables or other meats.

Steam is extremely hot, so one must exercise caution when steam cooking. Remember, steam was used to power steam locomotives pulling millions of pounds of freight up steep mountains. It's that extremely hot steam that cooks things so quickly and thoroughly. On the bottom tier, a rock-hard potato can be softened into mashed potato consistency very quickly. This makes for very tasty "baked" potatoes"¦just split the top, add butter and sour cream. With enough cooking time, such "baked" potatoes can even be made on the top tier.

As with ALL purchases, keep the original boxes for at least a week, maybe even a month. If a defect pops up somewhere down the line, you'll have a way to return your item(s). Familiarize yourself with the nearest location of your local post office, local UPS store, local FedEX store and local Kohls. Arranging for a return on Amazon is quick and easy. Most returns through UPS and Kohls (vendor determined) will cost you nothing! So if something does go wrong, don't be lazy and don't worry"¦just return the item(s) at your soonest convenience because that means a replacement or a refund will come that much quicker.

The Mano steampot is a well-made tool that should last a very long time. It's three tiers accommodates a huge amount of food, more than enough to feed most families. There's one more benefit to steam cooking with this steampot: your kitchen will be filled with an incredible fragrance every time you use it!

TIP: wash this steampot with regular dish soap and never harsh cleansers. Do not wash with steel wool or anything that can scratch your steampot (use plastic scrub sponges or plastic-bristled scrubbers). As with all stainless steel items, hand dry with a towel after washing to avoid corrosion. Corrosion (rust) often appears as white spots on the bottom of the water vessel. Most of the time, this corrosion can be washed away. If it doesn't wash away, don't be too concerned"¦steampot performance and food safety are unaffected.

I do a lot of steaming and had an old dependable steamer I have used for years! I replaced my stove with an induction top and needed to have a steamer with a stainless steel magnetic bottom. So out with the old and I found this possible replacement on Amazon.
It works great. It also has a great structure where you can steam 1-3 layers. It also stacks compactly for storage. It's been. Good replacement for an old "˜friend'.

I've been a fan of bamboo steamers for years, but I needed something bigger to accommodate larger plates and bowls. That's when I stumbled upon this alternative that also works perfectly on my induction cooktop! Admittedly, the material is a bit thin and the lid is too light, but that's to be expected for the price. To prevent steam from escaping too much from the lid instead of the steaming opening, I simply add a towel on top of the lid to hold it down.

Too thin and too light. The bottom curved at my first use, I choose to keep it for good size and shape design.

I have been using this product to help make babyfood and it has been awesome! The only thing is once all your veggies/fruits are steamed, you don't have anything to left the trays (very top and bottom) with so a tool to lift the trays would be useful, but it is still functional and works like a charm. One more thing if you are steaming a variety of produce keep in mind the higher tray content might go onto the lower level items. I had put plums on top and the juice from them got all over the apples and peaches, which was fine, but something to consider.