I give this Tefal steamer 6.5/10

Sorry to start with a negative, but it's kind of a biggie so I'll get it out the way first: the instructions manual. It was just downright confusing - even the index of recipes at the back of the book was in the wrong alphabetical order! Tefal haven't thought about how the information comes across to people who have never used their electric steamer before.

There is a small paper set-up guide and a larger, full colour book proclaiming the benefits of steaming food and offering a rather interesting array of recipes (carrot cream, anyone?). The description of how to use the "Vitamin +" button made absolutely no sense. It's supposed to increase the vitamin content of the food by reducing the cooking time, but that kind of undermines the whole premise of the machine which is supposed to do just that.

The recipes, although there are some which look very appetising, have got way too much going on on the page (seasonal images, back ground swirls, pictures, headings let alone the actual recipe).

The machine itself is made of 5 main parts; the water trough, the black stand between the steaming water and the food and three tiers of trays for the food. The design of this machine is such that it cleverly separates any of the food juices, so there's no contamination between the flavours. I did find that this worked well, especially with fish, where you don't want fish water running over your veggies. The machine fits together relatively easily, although the trays don't have that satisfying "click" when you are putting them together, so sometimes you're not sure if it's together securely. Aesthetically, the machine holds its own and the green/clear/black theme is effective and the neon digital display buttons are clear.

In the end, I decided to dispel with the instructions and be guided by my own culinary common sense. For my first attempt, I planned to cook steamed salmon, broccoli and new potatoes....

I obviously made a huge mistake in thinking that the machine could cope with cooking a meal for three people. As once the salmon, potatoes and broccoli were all piled in the steam just didn't work its way around enough to cook it all through. The salmon came out beautifully as it was on the bottom shelf next to the steam, but I confess that I did have to whack the veggies in the microwave as they were all still rock hard (even after extra time).

Subsequent attempts with the machine have fared much better and I've now cooked three different meals, with all the food cooking through. The difficulty is knowing how to time the items and which level/order you should put them in at. Regular experience of steaming food using those metal drop-in-a-pan contraptions don't seem to help you with this; as you need to gauge the difference in tier used as well as cooking time required (the book really didn't explain this very well and I'm still not sure I'm doing it in the best way).

All in all, I would say that this machine is good for a family of two (for a whole meal), or you can use it in addition to your stove if you are cooking lots of veggies. I definitely agree with the health-giving properties of steamed food Vs boiling and if you are a veggie-a-holic, this machine could be great for you. If not, you may find it too cumbersome for the kitchen worktop as it does take up rather a lot of space and is a bit fiddly to wash up.

Final point - it lets out serious amounts of steam so a well-ventilated kitchen is a must!

Available from www.homeandcook.co.uk and other online and retail outlets, with an RRP of £99.99.