Trudeau Stainless Steel Vegetable Steamer

"heat-resistant plastic" parts not so heat resistant
I loved this little steamer when I first picked it up. It folds gracefully into a dish shape that fits variable width pans, it folds back into a disc for compact storage, the little holes in the metal are nicely spaced and the right width to let enough steam out but not let bits of the food being steamed fall into the boiling water. So far so good.

But, it has a plastic handle and little plastic feet that sit in between it and the inside of the pan you boil water in. When I first saw this I thought: "Huh. Plastic in a high-heat cooking tool. Ah well, it's probably some sort of strong, heat resistant plastic." Well yes, up to the temperature of boiling water, sure. But the temperature of the pan the little feet are sitting on is a bit hot for it. The feet (and part of the handle) actually melted into the metal disk and the bottom of the pan when I left the steamer on for a few minutes after taking out my steamed veggies. The smell of burnt plastic was just awful, and took...

Nice little steamer!
This may sound odd, but this is the first steamer that I have ever had. So needless to say, I do not have others to compare it to. However,I find that I use it more than I thought I would! The unfolded steamer fits perfectly in the pot that I most use for vegies and the like, and when I pull out the sides (the steaming tray) it fits nicely up the sides of the pot. Besides your basic steamed vegies, I find that it's perfect for warming up leftovers like rice, leaving it hot and fluffy. I like that the handle extends, so you can keep the cover on it while cooking, but you can extend the handle for easier lifting. And you can't beat the price!

Flimsy
For me, the whole point of this product was the large size, and the ability to pull the steamer out of the pot by the extendable handle. (I like to steam a lot of broccoli at once, in a large pot.) PROBLEM: When trying to lift the "loaded" steamer out of the pot, the handle pulled right off. The handle should be strong enough to lift the weight of the loaded steamer, otherwise what's the point of the large capacity? Very disappointing.

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