Review of Ziplock Zip ‘N Steam Steamer Bags

My garden is finally starting to produce green beans and, mostly because I didn’t want to go through the hassle of freezing them just yet, I ended up preparing the first two harvests right away. Since I’m a big believer in steaming fresh vegetables, this meant a trip to the store to buy some steamer bags for our microwave.

I honestly wasn’t planning on buying the Ziplock Zip ‘N Steam brand because they seemed a bit expensive. However, I wasn’t able to find a cheaper variety at the store and decided to purchase this brand anyway. As it turns out, it was a good decision.

One thing, in particular, I like about this product is the way it gives the instructions right on the bag itself. I’ve had other brands of these in the past that came with a little booklet that gave the cook times for various foods. However, I have a bad habit of losing things like that and definitely prefer having the instructions readily available with every bag instead. The bags also come with helpful marks to show whether you have them full or half full. This, again, comes in handy when figuring out how long to cook something.

As far as the bags’ steaming value goes, I have no complaints. I’ve used them a couple different times now for my green beans and they’ve come out perfectly, fully cooked but still with some crispness to them. And, unlike other cooking methods, the bags only take about 3 minutes. This does come in handy when I’m cooking a meal by myself because it allows me to save the beans for last and know they will be done before any of the other food gets cold.

One thing I will caution you on if you use these, however, as the bags themselves warn, the steam coming from them is very hot. And, this isn’t just when you open the bag up either. I almost scalded myself when I took the still-sealed bag out of the microwave because some of the steam was seeping out. As a result of this, I would recommend letting this sit in your microwave a minute or two before trying to remove the bag.

I ended up spending a bit more than expected when I purchased this item. However, the Ziplock Zip ‘N Steam bags have proven to be worth the money. I would highly recommend these if you are looking to steam vegetables and other foods, especially if you have fresh vegetables coming from your garden. 

My Grade: A