I love love love this steamer. It is not too big and not to small. I love steaming food using it. Its a very healthy alternative vs regular cooking of veggies. I love the fact that this is a double tier bc you can steam so much more.... you can steam a whole dinner, meats and veggies you name it you can do it! Also since its not wide but tall it doesnt take up to much space on the counter. I mostly use it for my babies right now. I can steam various fruits and veggies for my growing toddler and infant. I set it and forget it. It really is of a superior quality and is very sturdy. It has a timer so I just set the timer and can play with my babies, once its done it turns off by itself and once it cools I blend their food. Its very to use, it doesn't stain, its easy to clean and MOST IMPORTANTLY its BPA free and since I especially use it for my munchkins that was very very important ti me. This one is clearly a winner and not expensive at all- especially compared to so called baby steamers who are tiny and in my opinion are purposely designed to break after only few months... I love this product so much I purchased another one for my parents and will definitely purchase more for my other family and friends. I highly recommend it.

I'm really pleased with this steamer. The unit is small and holds enough fish or chicken and veg for one or two people. the two tiers could hold a main entree for four people. It is a 4 quart capacity with two tiers, and that sounds large, but it actually isn't because you leave some headspace for the steam. Each tier holds 8 cups, but in actuality, you are cooking on the bottom and that isn't so large. There is a handy digital control and a countdown timer. The water reservoir is transparent, and the entire unit collapses for compact storage, so it's suitable for small space cooking (dorm room, RV, studio apartment.)You can steam well enough on a stove, but this is a way to do it without checking your water by lifting the top constantly. The plastic is also easier to handle; it doesn't get as hot as a metal pot. The plastic, according to the manufacturer, is BPA-free so suitable for food preparation.You can cook with one tier or two, and you can steam rice in it, but I didn't even bother, as it's a lot slower than using a rice cooker. However, it is a good way to reheat rice. One of the tiers has 6 little depressions so you can steam eggs--this is the same way an electric egg cooker works, so if you like soft or hard boiled eggs, you can do them in this steamer.After trying asparagus (see next paragraph regarding times in the booklet for cooking) I did salmon with ginger slices and lime juice on the bottom tier and a handful of broccoli on the top. It took 23 minutes. I did not have to refill the reservoir--the one downside of this unit is you can't see how much water is left. The fish was moist and really delicious. The broccoli had a lot of flavor (I didn't put a darn thing on the broccoli. No salt, no oil, no lemon.) The broccoli did not taste like the fish, even though it was steaming above the fish layer. The texture of the fish in particular was very good. It flaked, there was no uncooked part but the fish was extremely moist, not dried out at all. Probably the best way I've tried to cook salmon. The skin gets a bit flabby but I just portioned that out among the dogs and cat, who were quite happy to share the feast.One thing about the instructions--there is a table of times for various meats, fish and vegetables, but the times are very, very long. For example, the instructions say 30-40 minutes for asparagus, but I cooked asparagus (some of it thick stalks) for less than 20 minutes and it was verging on over-cooked, assuming you like your asparagus with just a bit of al dente. 15 minutes would have been plenty. I had the container full of asparagus. So watch your times as the booklet seems to favor overcooking.A caution: When you check on your food inside while steaming, the escaping steam from the lid can burn you. The knob to lift the top is fairly close to the steam vents. Best to put on a silicone mitt or risk a nasty burn.A tablespoon of oil has about 120 calories. When I cook, I tend to put at least a tsp or more of oil in a non-stick pan, because cooking them dry doesn't seem to work well. Other than boiling, this is about the best method, and you save a lot of calories per serving. 120 calories of a lashing of oil in a pan adds up. And steamed broccoli is about the best-tasting way I know to make that vegetable. Steaming does take longer but it makes very moist, flavorful food and chicken breast is a lot more tender and fish is moist and delicious. This is a great little appliance especially for those who want to cook fat-free.

I'm sorry I have to write this review. I purchased this steamer in November 2013. When it arrived, there was no container to put rice in to steam. There was a rice cycle on the unit, but nothing much in the manual to tell you how to actually steam rice in this cooker. I purchased it for the main purpose of steaming rice, so I asked the question here for the customers that previously purchased it. Some customers replied that they had received a basket in their package that was specifically used for cooking rice. All I recieved were the two steaming tiers, so I called T-Fal customer service.I was told that they stopped putting rice baskets in the packages, but they would order them for customers who asked for them. Well, of course I asked for one, and one was ordered but it had to come from France and it would take at least two weeks to receive the basket. Well, I had been put on a very strict diet and I was not eating much, I had to have rice. I had already spent money on a steamer that was supposed to make rice, right? I asked how I was supposed to make rice in the cooker and the rep got all flustered and misunderstood that this was not a rhetorical question and I was just being snide. So I had to repeat, no I really mean...HOW DO I MAKE RICE? Can I just throw it in any old bowl, etc? He could not tell me. Sigh. So I waited on the rice basket. And waited. And waited.Finally I received a package. Inside was just another steaming tier, not a rice basket. I called T-Fal back. I spoke to someone else who said she saw exactly what went wrong, and ordered me a basket. Finally! I had to wait another 10 days or so, because you know, it was coming from France. Guess what arrived? Another steaming tier.So now I have two extra tiers to stack up on the included two tiers to steam enough broccoli for the entire neighborhood, and still no way to cook rice.I guess I will have to learn French, and call France myself in order to cook rice in this thing. I ended up buying an Aroma steamer so I wouldn't starve to death.I plan on calling T-Fal again, to give them one more chance to right this mess of customer service, but I'm guessing I will just get another steaming tier. I was going to buy one of their Optigrill's but I am so leery now. If you are buying this for rice, then look elsewhere, because for me this thing just takes up space now. I am very disappointed in this purchase. I can't even send it back now, so I have wasted my money and time.