These days, it seems any thing you want to cook you can find a special appliance for. Eggs, rice, yogurt, vegetables, meat. You’d end up thinking you need the thirty different appliances in your kitchen to even START cooking anything. But do we really need all this? Resounding NO!

You don’t need all fancy appliances to cook very well !

I am not a minimalist, but as a pragmatic mom who makes lunch and dinner from scratch every day, I like to have as little dishes as possible to do. And I don’t use my food processor everyday either. The easiest is if my appliances or pots can help me make most of what I need with one item.

Only a few will do

I am not talking about one machine that has tons of different devices attaching to it that you can ( buy and) use for different things. I’m talking about a cooker that cooks pretty much anything before it goes into the sauté pan. And that’s why I love my steam cooker: I literally can COOK most things before I mix them together. I could quite literally live with a sauté pan or skillet, a simple food processor and an immersion blender. Okay, a powerful blender comes in handy, but to cook every day, I could live without it too.

I am NOT talking about the Thermomix or a heating all-in-one electric food processor. I have many friends who own one, and do or don’t own a steam cooker as well. They enjoy having all the recipes options that you just need to follow. First, the ones that report having a Thermomix and the steam cooker tell me steamed vegetables are much tastier in the Vitaliseur.

Second, over the years the greatest freedom my steam cooker has brought me is the possibility to get creative and improvise, even if for super simple meals. I’m sure I would learn to become creative with the Thermomix eventually. With my steam cooker, I don’t hesitate to try and taste, close and let cook longer if I need.

With one electronic machine that makes everything, I would be panicked the day it does not work. Then what do I cook with? If my steam cooker goes bust ( which does not happen since it is not an electronic appliance), I just need to clean well it or at worse, use normal pots and sauté pans. Meals won’t be as good, and I’ll have a lot of dishes, but I’ll have a replacement within a few days. For under $ 300, and that will last me the next 25-30 years ( not nearly the price of the Thermomix, even adding the Vitaliseur and Vitamix together).

Give Away The Rice Cooker

Do you boil your rice, or you use a rice cooker that you hook to power?

Oh yes it is probably convenient to hook it to power and have it stop automatically. But quite frankly, rice does not take as long to cook. And if the machine stops, the rice is still warm and keeps cooking longer unless you take it out. Cooking longer brings the glycemic index to a higher score, which is bad news for our blood sugar. The rice gets stickier, which is a sign of glycemic index rising.

The Gentle Steam Cooker “Vitaliseur” Cooks Fast

With the Vitaliseur, 2 or 3 cups of basmati rice are cooked within 15-20 minutes , no more. Then I take it out, and it won’t cook any more. It won’t turn itself off, but I will make sure it won’t be overcooked, sticky. I prefer chewing my food at least to some degree, because it eases my digestion. Sticky rice I find gets heavy on my stomach. Am I alone?

Whole rice – especially the really dark ones – take 5 more minutes on average. Rices that are particularly dry need more time, of course.

How do I cook rice in the Vitaliseur?

There are two ways to cook rice in the gentle steam cooker. One is my favorite.

Cooking Rice in the Soup Serving Bowl

The first is possible if you buy the steam cooker with the soup bowl. The “Grand Chef” Vitaliseur is the steam cooker with a stainless steel cake mold and a soup serving bowl, that cooks or heats your soup without boiling it. This purchase option is well worth it if you use it to make soup or grains. It comes at the price of €280 as opposed to €230. Of course these prices are different for Americans or Canadians since you get my discount and don’t pay VAT ( sales tax) but pay for shipping. But that’s the price difference.

Cook the Rice in a Stainless Steel Bowl

Honestly, I prefer cooking rice in a stainless steel bowl in the sieve/ steam basket. I have more room to warm up some chicken sausage for example. It is also easier to take out and cook other ingredients after. Also, I already have the bowl in which I will store leftovers in the fridge: not one more pot to wash!

When it comes to stainless bowls, you have all quality bowls out there that would fit the bill so long as the top is not over 8 to 8.5 inches in diameters. To buy for the long run, make sure to buy the safest ones for you as you will use them all the time: 18/10 or 18/8 stainless steel bowls. I found a few options at amazon here ( the smallest bowl only would fit in the steam cooker) or a smaller one here (0.7 quart ) will cook 1 cup of rice, or a bigger size (1.7 quarts) will cook 3 cups of dry rice here.

A Few Steps to Follow To Cook Rice in a Steam Cooker

What Rices to cook in a Steam Cooker

All rices can be cook in there, same method ! But look around at the store and online, there are so many options out there, all colors too, all consistencies and different tastes ! The world of gluten free rice is rich in taste ! I love forbidden rice ( or black rice), basmati ( white and whole) Thai ( these are scented rices! ), genmai ( whole). In my backcountry in France they have Camargue rice which is a drier, but very flavorful rice.

learn more in practice!

Look up my Youtube video channel ” Steamed Cuisine” on “How Do I Steam Rice” in practice with a demo ! Hope you enjoy it, subscribe to the channel, my newsletter, and share with your friends!

Want recipes with rice? Check my family favorites:

• Pinapple Chicken over Basmati Rice,
• Mediterranean Rice and Tuna Salad;
• Fried Rice, Steamed Cuisine Style

Rice goes with so many things !

Bon Appétit!