Easy Healthy Eating with The Steam Zone

When it comes to healthy eating, steaming is one of the best ways to cook food. Not only does it not require any oil or fats but it is also the best way to preserve nutrients. Steaming is often seen as an uncomplicated fuss-free way of cooking. Yet how many times have you found yourself with overcooked vegetables or fish? The Steam Zone by Sage takes the guesswork out of the equation, delivering perfect, restaurant-quality cooking everytime.

My experience of steaming had previously been limited to wooden baskets bought from my local Chinese supermarket, piled up on top of a pan of boiling water. It does the job but not always accurately. Also the typical steaming baskets are quite compact and therefore more suited to vegetables, dumplings and other small items.

The Steam Zone by Sage is designed to be more versatile. Its oval shaped steaming tray makes it ideal for cooking a whole fish. Two stainless steel steaming baskets can be fitted on top so you can prepare vegetables or other food separately without having to worry about cross contamination of flavours. You can also prepare fresh & nutritious recipes for meat, rice, eggs, dumplings, breads and more.

The Steam Zone is a powerful electric steamer that is ready to cook in just 30 seconds, thanks to its super-quick heat transfer.

Ease of Use

Whenever I get a new kitchen appliance I prefer not to have to spend hours reading the instruction manual. The Steam Zone could not be more straightforward. Once you have filled the water tank at the base you simply have to set up the cooking time and steam level.

The settings are quite simple: High or Low Steam. There is also an optional Keep Warm Function which is great on days when things get a little bit hectic.

You can steam cook for up to 45 minutes and can add water any time even when the appliance is working through the water fill spout.

3 Cooking Zones

What makes The Steam Zone different is its independent steaming control so you can cook on 3 different zones.

• Combined Zone Steaming – this function dispenses the same amount of steam for a fixed amount of time throughout the steamer. It’s perfect to cook larger amounts of food on the tray such as a whole fish, dumplings or smaller amounts of vegetables in the baskets etc..
• Split Zone Steaming – this function splits the steamer into 2 separate zones so you can cook together foods that either need different steam levels and/or cooking times.
• Synchronised Finish – if your food requires different cooking times you can use this function to delay one section so both steaming baskets are ready at the same time.

 

 

 

 

As an added bonus, The Steam Zone is also very quiet, as you can tell from the video below.

 

I was disappointed that no recipe booklet was included with The Steam Zone, but I found out that you can easily download recipe cards from here.

We live in an area where the water is very hard so I am always conscious that kitchen appliances can get clogged up. The Steam Zone has a “DESCALE ME” reminder to protect it against limescale. All you have to do is add vinegar and water in the tank and run the de-scale cycle.

Regular readers will know that I have reviewed Sage’s appliances before, such as The Boss To Go blender and the No Mess Waffle Maker. I have been really impressed by the quality of each device. The Steam Zone is no different.  We cooked a variety of vegetables, dumplings and dim sums and each time they were perfectly cooked. I was really amazed by the quality of the dishes.

The Steam Zone makes a very good alternative to a steam oven. I am certainly looking forward to cooking more healthy recipes with it.

While testing it, I created the following dish: Steamed Sweet Potato Rice Balls.  Steam cooking makes them super light. They also have a scrumptious curry taste and are served with a fresh and herby yoghurt dip that the whole family can enjoy. This is a vegetarian and gluten free recipe that you can also easily make dairy-free by using coconut yoghurt.

Each sweet potato ball is coated with rice grains which expands while cooking in the steamer resulting in them looking like spiky sea urchins.

 

If you are looking to give your cooking a healthy makeover then The Steam Zone could be the perfect addition to your kitchen. On top of its restaurant precision and efficiency, I love its super smart stainless steel look.

The Steam Zone RRP £199.95 is available from the Sage online shop.

This post was commissioned by Sage Appliances. All thought and opinions are my own.