Joseph Joseph 40083 Nest Steaming Pod Set, 3-Piece - Green

I usually cook a more traditional meal for my partner and eat salad myself. This makes these little pods ideal for us as they are just the right size for one.I used to cook poatoes and at least two other veg in a traditional steamer. Getting the timings right so they are all ready at the same time can be difficult, and if you misjudge it and have to fish the tatties out early, you end up with a vegetable medley!I was on the point of spending over £100 on a flat but bigger WMF Vitalis aroma steamer and thought I’d give these a go before spending so much.This allows me to put whole baby potatoes in the biggest of the three baskets and steam for roughly 25 minutes while I prepare a green veg to go in the middle sized pot. These only take five minutes to steam. If I get the timings wrong it is so simple to whip the potato basket out for a few minutes so they don’t get overcooked. The smallest pot is very small but holds enough for an “accent” veg like peas, sweetcorn, diced beetroot, or little tomatoes. Something to give a touch of colour on the plate and make the meal more interesting.Despite what other reviews have said I don’t find steaming in these baskets takes any longer.PANS Both my sets of pans have rims. The pods hook over the rim and two little silicone/rubber nodules hold the pod away from the side of the pan. My old Tefal Ingenio pans are exceptionally shallow at 9.5cm deep and not tall enough to hold the pods clear of the steaming water. My 19cm Circulon pan is 12.5cm deep. This is a good depth to take the pods and sufficient steaming water to do the job without letting water come into contact with the pods.My 19cm diameter pan takes all three pods snugly. The 16cm pan will only take one large pod, or both of the two smaller pods.LIDS this is where the design falls down. Lids have to sit on top of hanging brackets and are therefore held proud and steam escapes. In a 30 minute steaming session I had top up the water once. I tried my Ingenio lids which are flat glass with a flat silicone edge. These did work better.I’ve found the best solutioni is to use a flat silicon lids. Far less steam escapes and I steamed for 30 minutes without needing a top up. The photo with the green lid shows how well they fit. This is a cheap generic Chinese silicone lid but search for Zeal Keep fresh lid.PS. I still want a WMF Vitalis or Silit steamer to use when we want larger quantities.If you consider one, prices on Amazon.de are much better, even with postage.UPDATE don’t be as stupid as me though. I forgot to put water in and my favourite green basket melted so badly that My broccoli dropped through the bottom and was entangled in a green gloopy mess. Yes there was a smell but I have a very efficient cooker hood and I assumed the slight niff was my hob being a bit dirty. Devastated as I can’t bring myself to buy another one because of the cost. I have messaged Joseph Joseph to see if they will supply just the one basket. (Answer:no)A stainless steel version would be much better but all I can find is divided inners for pans that are made for boiling not steaming.photos: detail of pod, two pods in 19cm pan, standard lid, Tefal Inogen lid, silicon lid, better detail of pds.

I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. They fit perfectly into my on hob steamer. Only thing I would say is the lid doesn’t close nicely with this in. Despite that the veg still cooked fine. There is a nice little clip on the back that holds them to the pot perfectly.

Overall this a very useful set of 3 baskets. What I like about it is that it lets you steam three different types of vegetable at the same time, but you can keep them separate.What I don't like is that you really need to be using quite a deep saucepan to fit them properly and not end up with the baskets dangling in water. I guess I live in fear of not having enough water in the saucepan!However overall I think it's an excellent product and it has made steaming a pleasure

Love these - perfect when cooking for one! You can add veg at different times so they are cooked perfectly & retain their flavours.Be aware the handles do get hot when being used.I bought a set for my Mum in law for when she was recovering from breast surgery. Easier to remove vegetables individually from the saucepan than lifting the whole weight of saucepan, water & veg. Also handy to wash small quantities of fruit.

I was really looking forward to be steaming fruits and veggies in these for my 7months old. They are very tiny, which was fine for the purpose.It takes longer to steam anything in them, compared to the standard metal steamer that goes in the pot.Surprusingly the handles melted off the body on two of them just after a week, the third one was also damaged.It is clear that the materials used on the Joseph steamers are of poor quality and I wonder if they are safe to use at all, or leak God knows what harmful substances in the food?

Bought these thinking that I’d be able to boil veggies in them to save on energy and the washing up. They are shallow, so although the three fit nicely in a pan, you have to fill the pan right up. If you don’t hang them on the side of the pan, but drop into the water, being made of plastic, they float an tip over (being heavier on one side).As for steaming, if you hang them on a pan side, the lid doesn’t fit snugly, allowing steam to escape. Kind of beats the point really.Wish I hadn’t bought them.

These are ingenious! We use them every day for our vegetables .. the best steamers yet! Well done JOSEPH JOSEPH!

Fits in the edge of a saucepan brilliantly by using a little clip. So easy to use and steams the vegetables really well.