Last night, I steamed broccoli in my Kuhn Rikon Multi-Pot. I've had this handy addition to my tiny kitchen since mid-May, and after a couple of months of use, I'm ready to say that I really love it.
They call it a 4th Burner Multi-pot, because you can sneak this tall, slim vessel onto the back burner with a large skillet on the front. I have the feeling someone who did some real cooking was a part of the design process for this little gem.
It has a steamer basket that's also perfect for holding eggs for boiling. There are heat-resistant silicone grips on the handles of the pot, cover, and steamer.
It can even double as a large measuring cup, because the inside is marked from 1 liter to 2.5 liters. It has a pouring spout and two sets of draining holes (large and small) on the stainless steel lip of the glass cover.
This is certainly a multi-tasker. I've made small batches of pasta, boiled eggs, steamed vegetables, kept gravy warm on the back burner, and can't wait to try it with sweet corn. I think the 3 ears we usually cook will fit perfectly.
Because it uses less water for steaming, it heats up faster, and I find you can also set your burner a tad lower when using it and get the same results.
It has a 3.5 quart capacity, and I'm always surprised by how much it can hold. That's a full head of broccoli in the top photo, and I've boiled 10 eggs with room to spare.
Tip: from an Amazon reviewer– if you want to boil something like eggs in the pot, fill the basket with the item, put it in the pot, fill with water to the top mark and then remove the basket to boil the water. This will keep you from overfilling the pot. It takes much less water than you think.
I bought my Kuhn Rikon 4th Burner Multi-Pot from Amazon, where you can read a bunch of great reviews and get even more ideas for using it.
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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 Penny Cherubino top photo only. The others courtesy of the Kuhn Rikon website.