Elite Gourmet EGC314B Food Steamer: Full Review

The Food Steamer Elite Gourmet EGC314B is an electric steamer designed for healthy cooking and meal preparation. This multipurpose appliance features a large 5.5 quart capacity and powerful 800 watt heating system to quickly steam foods using only water and no added fats or oils.

The EGC314B has an oval-shaped detachable basket with cool-touch handles that can accommodate whole fish, meat, poultry, vegetables, rice, eggs and more. It includes 2 stackable baskets allowing you to cook multiple ingredients at once. The baskets, drip tray and lid are all dishwasher safe.

This programmable food steamer has 60 minute timer with auto shut off and "keep warm" function. It also features variable steam settings from low to high. The exterior has LCD display and touchpad controls. With a compact footprint, the EGC314B is a great addition to any kitchen for healthy steaming.

Design

The Elite Gourmet EGC314B food steamer has a sleek and modern design that will look great on any countertop. It is made of BPA-free plastic with a stainless steel inner pot, giving it a high-quality feel and finish.

Despite its large 14.5 quart capacity, the steamer maintains a compact footprint at just 11.4 x 11.4 x 12.4 inches. It is lightweight as well at only 5.29 pounds, making it easy to move around and store. The all-black color scheme gives it an elegant, sophisticated look.

The controls are seamlessly integrated into the top of the unit. It utilizes a simple dial control with options for vegetables, seafood, eggs, and rice. The clear tempered glass lid allows you to monitor your food's progress without releasing steam. Overall, the design focuses on ergonomics and visual appeal in a thoughtfully engineered package.

Additionally, the Aroma Housewares ARC-743-1NGB features a multifunctional design, allowing you to steam, cook rice, and even make soups, all in one appliance. Its 6-cup capacity is perfect for family meals, while the programmable settings ensure your dishes are cooked perfectly every time. The user-friendly interface and compact design mean it can sit comfortably on any kitchen counter, making it a versatile addition to your kitchen arsenal.

Features

The Elite Gourmet Food Steamer has several notable features that make it a versatile appliance for cooking:

Capacity

• The steamer has a generous 14.5 quart capacity, making it suitable for cooking for larger families or meal prepping multiple dishes at once.
• It features a stackable two-tiered design, allowing you to steam two different foods simultaneously without mixing flavors.
• With its large capacity, you can steam a good amount of vegetables, seafood, eggs, dumplings, and more all at the same time.

Settings/Programs

• It has 15 digital touch programmable settings including fish, seafood, chicken, rice, eggs, vegetables, and more.
• The pre-programmed settings automatically adjust time and temperature for the ingredients to ensure perfect results every time.
• You can customize and save your own settings and programs as well.
• It has adjustable time settings from 0-60 minutes if you want to manually set the steaming time.

Accessories

• Comes with two stackable BPA-free steaming bowls with handles as well as a drip tray.
• The bowls and drip tray are dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.
• It includes a rice bowl and egg holders for making those items in the steamer.
• Also includes a recipe booklet with plenty of ideas to utilize the steamer.

The bathivy ALW-Z3 is another excellent food steamer option, known for its sleek design and ease of use. It features multiple cooking settings, allowing you to prepare a variety of dishes. The powerful steaming function ensures even cooking, retaining nutrients and flavor. Ideal for busy families, this model also offers a compact design, perfect for kitchens with limited counter space. Both steamers are great additions for health-conscious cooks looking to simplify meal prep.

Ease of Use

The Elite Gourmet Food Steamer has a very intuitive and easy to use control panel. The setup is straightforward - just add water to the reservoir, place food in the baskets, and you're ready to start steaming.

The control panel has buttons for the cooking programs like rice, vegetables, seafood, and manual settings. You simply select the appropriate program and the time and temperature are automatically adjusted. The LED display clearly shows the cooking status.

Cleaning the food steamer is also very easy. The water reservoir detaches for easy filling and pouring. The baskets and drip tray remove for washing either by hand or in the dishwasher. The heating element can be wiped down as needed. There are no small crevices or awkward angles that are hard to access and clean.

Overall, the Elite Gourmet Food Steamer scores high marks for its simple, intuitive controls and hassle-free cleanup. Both setup and operation are designed to be easy for home cooks.

Performance

The Food Steamer Elite Gourmet EGC314B performs very well when it comes to heating, steaming, and timing meals. The steamer heats up quickly, reaching full steam in just 60 seconds. Once heated, it provides a powerful and consistent steam flow that thoroughly cooks foods.

The steamer has precise timing functions, allowing you to program cooking times from 1 minute up to 60 minutes. This ensures your food will not over or undercook. The steamer reliably sticks to the set cooking times, so your food will be perfectly done when the timer goes off.

In terms of results, the steamer cooks food evenly and thoroughly without drying it out. Meats come out juicy and tender. Vegetables retain their crispness and vibrancy. Rice and grains turn out light and fluffy. Fish also steams up moist and delicate. Across the board, the steamer delivers excellent results, retaining nutrients and flavors for healthier, tastier meals.

The spacious 5.5 quart capacity provides enough room to cook meals for families or gatherings. And the stackable trays let you steam multiple foods at once, like meat, veggies, and sides all together for easy one-pot meals. With its fast heating, precise timing, and consistently great results, this steamer delivers exceptional performance.

Versatility

The Elite Gourmet Food Steamer is highly versatile for cooking a wide variety of foods. Its 3 stackable BPA-free containers allow you to cook multiple foods at once, perfect for making full meals. The containers come in 5qt, 3.5qt, and 2 qt sizes, giving you flexibility to steam foods of different sizes and cooking times.

You can use the steamer to cook rice, vegetables, seafood, eggs, dim sum, dumplings, and more. It's great for cooking healthy meals, with the steaming process retaining more nutrients compared to other cooking methods. Vegetables cooked in the steamer come out crisp-tender with bright, vibrant colors. You can steam broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, potatoes, and much more.

The included egg holders let you make perfect hard boiled or soft boiled eggs. You can also use the steamer to cook proteins like fish fillets, chicken breasts, and shrimp. In terms of grains, the steamer excels at cooking rice, quinoa, oats, and other grains to fluffy perfection. Overall, the Elite Gourmet steamer is a versatile appliance suitable for steaming, blanching, poaching, and even reheating leftovers.

Advantages

The Elite Gourmet Food Steamer has several notable advantages that make it a great option:

• Versatile cooking - The steamer has 3 stackable BPA-free containers that allow you to cook different foods simultaneously. You can steam vegetables, seafood, eggs, and more all at once.

• Generous capacity - With a 5.5 quart and two 1.5 quart baskets, there's plenty of room to cook for the whole family. The containers are dishwasher safe too.

• Keep food warm function - The steamer has a keep warm button that holds cooked food at an ideal serving temperature for up to 60 minutes. This helps ensure your meal stays hot and ready to eat.

• Egg steaming - A specialized egg holder allows you to steam up to 7 eggs at a time. The eggs come out consistently cooked with easy to peel shells.

• Timer function - The built-in 60 minute timer lets you precisely control steaming times for perfect results every time. An audible alert notifies you when time is up.

• Condenser - The see-through tempered glass lid has a hidden condenser that prevents excess moisture from dripping into food. This helps retain nutrients.

• Compact size - At just 11 inches wide, the steamer has a small footprint that saves counter space. The stackable baskets also minimize storage space when not in use.

Disadvantages

While the Elite Gourmet Food Steamer has many great features, there are some downsides to consider.

• The water reservoir is on the small side at 800ml. This may require refilling more frequently for larger meals or batches of food.

• There have been some reports of water leaking from the reservoir. Proper assembly and not overfilling can help prevent this.

• The steaming trays are not dishwasher safe and must be hand washed.

• There is no timer function, so you have to manually set a separate timer to know when food is ready.

• The cord is relatively short which could limit placement options. An extension cord can help if needed.

• Some users find the included recipes to be lackluster. Looking up additional recipes online can supplement what's included.

• It only comes in a single color option (black and stainless steel) which lacks variety.

• There are some durability concerns if the steamer gets frequent, heavy use over an extended period of time.

Overall, the disadvantages are relatively minor but worth being aware of before purchase. Many can be worked around with proper use and care.

Comparable Options

When looking at other food steamer options, there are a few key competitors to consider:

• Instant Pot Duo Plus - This 9-in-1 multi-cooker also functions as a steamer with a capacity of 6 quarts. It has 14 smart programs and a large blue LED display. The major advantage is the versatility to pressure cook, slow cook, sauté, cook rice, and more. However, as a dedicated steamer, the Elite Gourmet may be easier to use.

• Cuisinart Digital Glass Steamer - With a 5-liter glass pot, this steamer also has a timer and auto keep warm function. The glass pot allows you to monitor food easily. However, the Elite Gourmet may have more power and capacity for larger meals.

• Aicok Food Steamer - This 3-tier stackable steamer provides ample room for meals. It's also dishwasher safe and BPA-free. But it lacks some of the preset modes and digital display of the Elite Gourmet model.

• Oster Double Tiered Food Steamer - Very affordably priced, this manual steamer has a 5.5 quart capacity with two tiers. But it doesn't have the presets, auto shut-off, or other features of the Elite Gourmet steamer.

When comparing features, capacity, and price, the Elite Gourmet seems to hold its own against competitors as a high-performing dedicated food steamer with useful presets and settings.

Conclusion

The Elite Gourmet EGC314B food steamer offers a convenient and affordable way to prepare healthy steamed meals. Its stackable design allows you to cook entire meals at once using the two tiers. The 60 minute timer with auto shutoff provides flexibility, while the BPA-free plastic ensures safety.

The food steamer is easy to use even for beginners. It heats up quickly and cooks vegetables and other foods evenly. The size is compact enough for small kitchens. Clean up is simple with the included accessories being dishwasher safe.

Overall, for the reasonable price point, this steamer delivers solid performance. If you're looking for an entry-level countertop food steamer with basic features to prepare simple steamed meals, the Elite Gourmet EGC314B is a good option to consider. While it may lack some of the advanced functions of higher-end models, it provides good value given its affordable cost.