Value for Money

Food steamers with Conor Pope

Morphy Richards stainless steel food steamer €29.99

Highs:With its brightly polished black and chrome base, this is the classiest and most contemporary-looking of the steamers tried. It is commendably easy to assemble without recourse to the instructions and, when you're done steaming, the tiers stack well for easy storage. It's also competitively priced.

Lows:The rice bowl sits in, rather than on top of, one of the baskets, which reduces the cooking space a little, and the chrome finish is unlikely to be much of a match for grubby fingers. It is a bit bulky, and the "easy fill" handles for topping up the steamer mid-cooking are not as easy to get at as you might like. There was also an unaccountably large amount of plastic packaging to dispense with.

Verdict:Good quality and value

Star rating: ***

Kenwood three-tier steamer €29.99

Highs:While all but one of the steamers could be assembled without much fuss, this was marginally more idiot-proof and was up and running in under 10 seconds. It's also easy to fill mid-cooking. The rice bowl is a decent size and sits on top of the upper basket almost like a fourth layer. It's good value and reliable.

Lows:It has, the box boasts, "high-tech quick steam", and while we're not exactly sure what it is, we're pretty sure it's not really all that "high-tech" and it certainly didn't steam any quicker than the competition.

The cooking time guide on the side of the base was a little obtuse - while we could identify the fish and the carrot, the drawings illustrating the other foods were somewhat mysterious.

Verdict:Cheap but hardly high-tech

Star rating: ***

Tefal Steam Cuisine €49.99

Highs:This is the most compact of the electric steamers when packed away and just as big as the rest when fully assembled. The bases of the individual baskets can be removed to allow for the cooking of larger food items (or the steaming of multiple baby bottles should you have need for an ad hoc steriliser). The plastic baskets have a nice greenish hue and its green credentials are further enhanced by the crepe paper the individual pieces are wrapped in.

Lows:The presence of the polystyrene, on the other hand, was a little disappointing. While this seems to be a higher quality item than the competition, it might not be €20 better. It took a little bit longer to assemble than any of the other steamers but was probably worth the extra effort.

Verdict:Expensive but top class

Star rating: ****

Tesco Value steamer €20.90

Highs:This is the Ryanair of electric steamers - it's cheap, completely without frills and will get you close to where you want to go without much bother. It is also very easy to assemble.

Lows:When things go wrong it can be as frustrating as the low-fare airline. Water cannot be added to the base mid-cooking unless you remove all the baskets, which is a bit of a chore. There is no mention of dishwasher friendliness on the instructions, which makes us suspect it isn't. While it's fully functional, it has a cheap, plasticky appearance and may not have the longest of shelf lives.

Verdict:Low-cost but tiresome

Star rating: **

Bamboo steamer €8.70

Highs:This is the cheapest of the steamers and the most traditional too. It is also the most eco-friendly. It's very compact and will sit at the back of your cupboard, uncomplaining.

Lows:You can't stand eggs upright in it - we tried. It might not seem important to you but, seeing as how all the other steamers make so much of their egg-steaming potential, we figured it must matter to some. It's small and unless it fits beautifully on top of the pot you're using, a lot of the steam will escape. And if you're using gas and the steamer is ever so slightly bigger than the pot you're using, then charred bamboo is not uncommon.

Verdict:Cheap as chips

Star rating: ****