How to steam if you don’t have a steamer at home: simple and ingenious ways

Hold off on purchasing this device if you suddenly want steamed dumplings or diet cutlets, because making an impromptu steamer with your own hands will not be difficult even in “field” conditions - at the dacha or during an outing.

Method 1. Grandma's

This method was invented by our mothers and grandmothers in the age of total shortage. Therefore, it is simple to the point of disgrace.

To build a steamer, you only need two things:

A saucepan with a lid, preferably deep. It is preferable if the lid is made of glass - this makes it much easier to observe the cooking process.
A piece of gauze or white cotton fabric. Of course it must be clean; It doesn’t hurt to pre-wash it with laundry soap or dishwashing liquid, and then iron it thoroughly. It is better not to use washing powders, capsules and other products not intended for contact with food.

Before you start cooking, all you have to do is secure gauze or cloth to the rim of the pan so that it sag slightly, and place the food on it.

Method 2. For the laziest

You can turn a regular saucepan into a steamer in just two seconds if you have a colander or sieve. However, with one caveat - these kitchen utensils must be metal.Plastic products are unlikely to “melt” after prolonged contact with hot steam, but since they are not intended for use at temperatures of 100°C or higher, you run the risk of getting not a super-healthy dietary product, but a food bomb saturated with harmful substances.

So, if you find a stainless steel or enameled colander in your kitchen, feel free to place it on top of a pan of suitable diameter, and put everything you want to boil inside.

Method 3. Complex, but universal

If you want to make a double boiler from scrap materials, but you don’t have a colander or fabric, there is only one option left - improvisation.

Proceed according to the following plan:

First, find something that can fit inside the pan, that you can place a plate on, and that won't block the steam from escaping. The simplest solution to the problem is to roll several balls with a diameter of about 5 centimeters from foil. You can also collect all the forks in the house and then randomly throw them on the bottom, creating a kind of stand. A metal mug filled to about half full of water will also work.
Take a pan of boiling water and place what you found in it. Keep in mind that the water level should be lower than the height of the balls, mugs or forks.
Select a plate made of heat-resistant material (for example, ceramic), the diameter of which is at least a third smaller than the diameter of the pan. Place the plate in the pan on top of the “stand”.
Cover the pan with a lid and wait until your dish is ready.

Method 4. As a last resort

It happens that you don’t have any of the above mentioned at hand - not a colander, not gauze, not a bunch of forks, not a roll of foil.And I want to cook myself breakfast or dinner for a couple. In this case, you will need a regular oven rack. Simply place it on top of a pot of boiling water and place your food on it.

But remember two things:

Pieces of fish or vegetables should be of such a size that they do not fall through the bars of the grill.
To cover the pan, you will need a very convex lid, since its main function is to cover the food like a dome, not flatten it.

As you can see, both at home and while relaxing somewhere in nature, you can make a double boiler in a matter of minutes without spending a penny. All you need is a saucepan and a little creativity.