AROMA AFS-188 Food Steamer: Full Review

The Aroma AFS-188 food steamer is a popular choice for healthy cooking and meal preparation. This model uses the power of steam to gently cook food, helping retain nutrients and flavor. The AFS-188 comes with a 3-tiered basket design so you can steam various ingredients at once. It has a generous 9.5 quart capacity, making it suitable for cooking meals for families or dinner parties. The food steamer has digital controls with programmable timers and adjustable steam settings. Key features include a 60-minute timer, delay start, keep warm function and auto shut off for safety. It's efficient and convenient, allowing you to steam food hands-free. With a sleek stainless steel housing, this Aroma steamer will look great on any countertop. If you're seeking a user-friendly multi-tiered steamer with helpful functions and an ample capacity, the AFS-188 is an excellent option worth considering.

Design & Build Quality

The Aroma Food Steamer AFS-188 has a simple yet sturdy design made primarily of plastic and stainless steel. The outer housing is made of durable ABS plastic that can withstand the heat of the steamer without warping.

The inner pot and steaming tray are made of food-grade stainless steel for durability and easy cleaning. The stainless steel construction resists corrosion and does not retain odors or stains. The pot nests inside the base for easy storage and portability.

The control panel is made of plastic but seems robust enough for regular use. The steaming tray fits securely into the pot during use. Overall, the materials used in the Aroma Food Steamer are decent quality and should hold up well with regular use and care.

The AFS-188 is lightweight and compact at just 5 pounds. The two-tier design does not take up much countertop space. The power cord wraps around the base for tidy storage. These aspects make it quite portable to move around the kitchen or store away in a cabinet when not in use.

In addition, the JOYDEEM JD-DZG15B offers a modern design with advanced features. It includes a programmable timer and multiple steaming levels, providing versatility for various dishes. The stainless steel components also ensure not only durability but also excellent heat conduction for even cooking. This steamer is designed for ease of use with a user-friendly interface and is equally portable, making it a great option for those who want to prepare healthy meals without compromise.

Capacity

The Aroma AFS-188 food steamer has a generous capacity with two tiers that allow you to cook multiple foods at once. The bottom tier is large enough to hold a 9.5 inch round platter or an 11 inch square casserole dish. This gives you plenty of room to steam vegetables, seafood, eggs, dim sum, tamales, and more for the whole family.

The top tier sits higher up and has a 5.5 quart capacity, perfect for cooking rice, steaming buns, reheating leftovers, and preparing side dishes. With both tiers combined, you can cook complete meals for 4-6 people simultaneously. The ample room in this steamer means you won't have to cook in batches or use multiple appliances.

Another excellent option is the VEVOR HY-4403NS, which offers advanced features such as temperature control and an integrated timer to ensure perfectly steamed meals. With its durable design and impressive capacity, the VEVOR steamer is ideal for large families or meal prepping enthusiasts looking to save time and effort in the kitchen.

Features

This Aroma Food Steamer has a number of notable features that add convenience and usefulness. It has simple digital controls with an LED display, allowing you to precisely set steam times up to 60 minutes. There's an auto shut-off function so it turns off automatically when done steaming.

The steamer has a delay timer, so you can set it to start steaming up to 15 hours in advance. This way, you can prep your food the night before and have it start steaming automatically in the morning. It also has a keep warm function that keeps your food hot after it's done steaming.

For added versatility, the Aroma steamer has 2 tiers or trays. This allows you to steam different foods at the same time that may require different cook times. For example, you could steam fish on one tier and vegetables on the other. The tiers are stackable to save space for storage.

To make operation easy, the lid, trays, and rice bowl are all dishwasher-safe. The steamer also includes a measuring cup and serving spatulas. Overall, the helpful digital controls, automatic functions, and accessories allow you get the most out of this steamer.

Performance

The Aroma Food Steamer delivers excellent steaming performance thanks to its 800-watt heating element and stainless steel interior. It quickly brings water to a boil and generates plenty of steam to cook food evenly and efficiently.

The steaming tray and rice bowl nest inside each other, allowing you to cook two ingredients at once. The steamer is able to hold its temperature well so food continues cooking even after the boiling has stopped.

Many users mention how fast the steamer is, with vegetables cooked to crisp-tender in 15 minutes or less and rice fully cooked in 20-30 minutes. Meats like chicken breasts can be steamed in as little as 12 minutes. The steaming power allows ingredients to cook through without getting mushy or overdone.

You can customize the steaming time for different foods using the 60-minute timer with auto shut-off. This ensures your food doesn't overcook if you get busy with another task. Overall, the Aroma steamer delivers excellent steaming performance for quick, healthy meals.

Ease of Use

The Aroma Food Steamer is designed for simplicity and ease of use with its user-friendly control panel. The controls consist of a simple timer dial and power button, allowing users to easily adjust steaming times up to 2 hours. There are no complex buttons or settings to deal with.

Cleaning the steamer is a breeze thanks to the stainless steel exterior that simply wipes clean and the dishwasher-safe food trays and rice bowl. The water reservoir is easy to fill, empty and clean as needed.

Assembling the parts of the steamer is straightforward and intuitive. The stacking food trays, rice bowl and water reservoir easily fit together in the correct configuration. The trays securely lock into place and the lid goes on securely. It only takes a minute to assemble with no tools required.

Overall, the Aroma Food Steamer delivers on simple, fuss-free operation from start to finish. The basic controls, hassle-free cleaning and easy assembly all contribute to exceptional ease of use. Even beginners will find this steamer easy and convenient to use on a regular basis.

Accessories

The Aroma Food Steamer comes with two stainless steel steaming trays that stack on top of each other, allowing you to cook different foods at the same time. The trays have indented circles that hold the food above the boiling water, allowing it to steam gently.

The top tray has a larger capacity, perfect for vegetables, fish, or chicken breasts. The bottom tray has smaller indented circles for steaming things like dumplings or dim sum. Having two stackable trays maximizes the steaming capacity.

The steamer also includes a rice tray that fits onto the base, allowing you to cook rice simultaneously with other foods. This is a great feature for cooking complete meals.

A pair of tongs are included for easily removing the trays or lifting out food after steaming. The tongs have silicone tips to securely grip food without damaging delicate items.

Overall, the included accessories like the stacking trays, rice tray, and tongs allow you to make full meals with a variety of ingredients using just the one steamer appliance. This helps save time and makes steaming more convenient.

Noise Level

The Aroma Food Steamer produces very little noise during operation. The steamer has an almost silent motor that hums gently rather than loudly churning. There is a soft whooshing sound as the steam escapes the vents, but this is relatively quiet, especially compared to many other small kitchen appliances.

Users report being impressed by how quietly this steamer runs. The noise level allows you to keep it running in the kitchen without it being disruptive. You can carry on conversations as normal and don't have to turn up the volume on the TV or music while it's on. The Aroma steamer runs so quietly that you don't have to worry about waking up household members if you want to use it early in the morning.

The quiet operation makes the Aroma Food Steamer a great option for apartments, dorms, shared houses or anywhere you don't want to create a disturbance. It can steam your food efficiently without being an annoyance.

Safety Features

The Aroma AFS-188 food steamer has several safety features to help protect users.

• Auto Shutoff: The steamer has an auto shutoff feature that turns the unit off after 60 minutes of steaming. This prevents the steamer from continuing to heat and steam if forgotten about or left unattended for too long. The auto shutoff provides an added layer of safety and peace of mind.

• Cool Touch Exterior: The exterior of the Aroma steamer remains cool to the touch even during the steaming process. The water reservoir and steaming trays heat up, but the outer housing stays cool. This protects against potential burns if accidentally touched when hot. The cool touch exterior makes the steamer safe to have around kids and pets when in use.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Generous 12.5 quart capacity
• BPA free materials for safe use
• 60 minute timer provides convenience
• Covered stainless steel steaming basket for easy use
• Dual steaming function for steaming multiple dishes at once
• Easy to clean design with dishwasher-safe parts
• Automatic keep warm function helps prevent overcooking
• Reasonably priced for features offered

Cons

• Lid does not lock or seal tightly which can lead to some steam leakage
• Steam valve is prone to sticking shut at times
• Water reservoir can be tricky to fill due to small opening
• Exterior gets very hot to touch during use
• No included recipes or steaming charts for guidance
• Short power cord limits placement options

Overall, the Aroma Food Steamer offers a good capacity and useful functions like dual steaming and keep warm at a reasonable price point. However, the lid does not seal tightly leading to some steam loss and the steam valve has been known to stick shut on occasion. The hot exterior and lack of included recipes are other small downsides. For those seeking a basic steamer with generous capacity, it's a decent option, but flaws like steam leakage prevent it from being a top choice.