ChefRobot Food Steamer: Full Review

The ChefRobot Food Steamer is a versatile kitchen appliance designed to cook foods using steam heat. It features multiple cooking functions beyond just steaming, allowing users to simmer, slow cook, sauté, and more. With its large 8-quart cooking capacity, the ChefRobot can handle cooking for families or meal prepping.

Key features of the ChefRobot Food Steamer include:

• Multi-functional design goes beyond just steaming - can simmer, slow cook, sauté, and more
• Large 8-quart cooking capacity
• Advanced microprocessor control for precise cooking
• Self-cleaning design, removable water tank

This multi-cooker combines the gentle cooking of steaming with advanced technology to create a modern kitchen appliance suitable for a range of culinary uses. Its spacious interior and variety of cooking functions aim to provide healthy cooked meals with minimal effort.

Design and Aesthetics

The ChefRobot Food Steamer has a sleek and modern design that will look great on any countertop. The outer housing is made from fingerprint-resistant stainless steel that is both durable and easy to keep clean.

In terms of size, the ChefRobot is compact but not small. It measures approximately 12 inches wide, 12 inches deep, and 10 inches tall. This moderate footprint doesn't take up too much space but still offers a generous 6.3 quart capacity inside.

The shape is cylindrical with a conical lid on top. The all-metal materials give it a luxe, premium feel. It comes in either black stainless steel or a white and rose gold colorway, providing options to match different kitchen decors.

Overall, the aesthetics are contemporary and minimalist. The combination of brushed stainless steel and glass viewing window gives it a classy look reminiscent of high-end kitchen appliances. It's sure to be an eye-catching addition to your countertop.

Settings & Functions

The ChefRobot steamer has a variety of settings and functions that allow you to customize your cooking.

Temperature: The temperature can be adjusted from 194°F to 284°F (90°C to 140°C) using the digital control panel. This wide range gives you precise control for steaming different foods.

Time: The timer allows you to set steaming times from 0 to 60 minutes. This is useful for perfectly timing different ingredients.

Pressure Settings: The ChefRobot has 3 pressure settings - low, medium and high. The low setting is good for delicate foods like fish and vegetables. Medium is good for foods like chicken and dumplings. High pressure is ideal for tough cuts of meat to tenderize them.

Other Functions: Besides steaming, this appliance can also cook rice, slow cook, sauté, bake and cook soup. The various modes and pre-sets allow you to cook a variety of dishes beyond just steamed foods. There are also delay start and keep warm functions.

Capacity

The ChefRobot food steamer offers a very generous 6.5 quart capacity, allowing you to steam a good amount of food at one time. The two stackable steamer baskets provide ample room to cook everything from vegetables, fish, chicken, and more for the whole family or a dinner party. With two tiers, you can steam two different foods at once without mixing flavors. Or use just one basket if you don't need the full capacity. The baskets and drip tray are all dishwasher safe as well for easy cleanup after cooking large batches.

The 6.5 quart capacity gives you the flexibility to steam small or large quantities with ease. You'll be able to prepare well-balanced meals for 4-6 people simultaneously with the ChefRobot's roomy design. Whether making a veggie side dish or an entire steamed fish dinner, capacity will hardly be an issue with this steamer. The generously sized water reservoir also means you won't have to refill as frequently when cooking bigger batches. Overall, the ChefRobot food steamer provides ample cooking capacity for most households' needs.

Ease of Use

The ChefRobot food steamer is designed to be very user-friendly. It has an intuitive control panel with buttons for the different cooking functions like steam, slow cook, rice, bake, etc. The LED display is easy to read and allows you to see the cooking time remaining.

There are preset programs that take the guesswork out of cooking times. You just need to select the food type and desired doneness. The manual settings are also very simple with a dial to adjust time and temperature as needed.

Cleaning up after use is straightforward since the water reservoir is removable and the cooking pot and tray are dishwasher safe. The interior also has a self-cleaning function that sterilizes the cooker using steam.

Overall, the ChefRobot steamer simplifies the cooking process. The buttons and screen are self-explanatory. And cleanup only takes a few minutes. It's designed to be uncomplicated for even novice cooks.

Performance & Results

The ChefRobot steamer performs extremely well at steaming a wide variety of foods. Its powerful 1200W heating element and steam circulation system allow it to quickly steam vegetables, seafood, eggs, and more to perfection.

When steaming vegetables like broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, etc., they come out consistently cooked through but still crunchy and vibrant in color. Steaming times are impressively fast, with broccoli being done in 5-8 minutes. Fish and shellfish like shrimp, mussels and clams steam perfectly in just 8-12 minutes. Eggs can be hard boiled, soft boiled, or poached using the steamer in about 10-12 minutes. Across the board, the ChefRobot delivers excellent results no matter what you are steaming.

Foods steam evenly thanks to the device's steaming rack which allows ample steam circulation. This ensures no cold or undercooked spots. The results are comparable and often better than stove-top steaming. Overall the ChefRobot steamer performs extremely well and can handle a wide variety of ingredients. It's capable of perfectly steaming everything with speed and consistent results.

Noise Level

When evaluating an electric food steamer, an important concern for many home cooks is the noise produced during operation. This is especially true if you will be using the steamer for things like morning eggs and oatmeal where you don't want to wake up the whole house at breakfast time.

The ChefRobot food steamer runs on the quieter side compared to other models. The exact noise level will vary a bit depending on what setting you're using and how much food is in the steamer. But in general, users report that it produces between 60-70 decibels of noise when running. This is similar to the volume of a normal conversation.

Some buyers were pleasantly surprised that the ChefRobot didn't put out as much noise as expected. The sound is more of a low hum rather than a high-pitched whistling. And the noise level stays fairly consistent rather than fluctuating up and down.

This makes the ChefRobot a good option if you're looking for a fairly quiet countertop food steamer. While not silent, it shouldn't disturb most households during use. Just be aware that all steamers will make some operational noise due to the boiling water and steam being produced. But the ChefRobot keeps it to a reasonable minimum.

Safety Features

The ChefRobot Food Steamer has several important safety features to prevent accidents while in use.

• Auto Shut Off - The steamer has an automatic shut off function if left idle after a certain period of time. This prevents the steamer from continuing to heat and steam endlessly if forgotten about, which could lead to dry heating and device damage. The auto shut off helps provide peace of mind.

• Overheating Protection - There are built-in sensors that monitor the internal temperature of the steamer. If it starts to overheat, the sensors will automatically trigger the steamer to turn off before dangerous temperatures are reached. This prevents potential fire hazards or damage to the device from overheating.

These key safety features help make the ChefRobot Food Steamer a reliable and safe appliance for meal preparation. Consumers can feel confident using the steamer without worrying about potential accidents. The auto shut off and overheating protection give an extra layer of safety.

Pros

• Large 8L capacity allows you to cook meals for the whole family at once or prepare food in bulk. You can steam a lot of food with the 3 stackable tiers.

• Simple dial controls with preset programs make it easy to get the right temperature and time for different foods without guesswork. Just turn the dial to vegetables, meat, rice etc.

• Saves time and energy. Food cooks quickly with steam heat circulating all around. And you don't have to watch the pot. The auto shut off turns it off when done.

• Self-cleaning feature is convenient. Just add water and a drop of soap and run the clean cycle. It washes away stuck on food and grease with ease.

• Well-designed and sturdy stainless steel construction. Looks nice on the countertop and built solidly. Many buyers mention how robust it is.

Cons

• The water reservoir is quite small at only 1.2L. For larger families, you'd have to refill it frequently which can be inconvenient.

• There are some reports of certain foods like broccoli and Brussel sprouts not steaming fully in the preset times. You may need to experiment to get the timing right for some vegetables.

• The lid can be tricky to align properly which sometimes results in steam escaping. This can be frustrating if you're in a hurry.

• A few users have complained about water leaking from the reservoir. This seems to happen if it's overfilled or not seated correctly.