Volcano Steamer

Story Behind the Invention

Inventor Anna Marie Licata of Ventura, CA has created an innovative new steamer insert.

The idea was born over 20 years ago when Anna Maries daughters were small. She wanted them to grow up with the tradition of making tamales for the holidays. That year she wanted to make a small batch for them to try and also wanted them to experience the smell of tamales wafting through the house. Anna Marie used a basic vegetable steamer with one-inch legs for this batch. However, she found herself needing to constantly pour more water into the stockpot and the tamales were getting waterlogged from the ongoing need to replace the boiling water. Tamales must be stacked vertically, and you must begin in the middle of the pot to form a "tamale teepee" to start the stacking process. It was then she realized she needed a steamer with the middle like an angel food cake pipe that opens to the bottom so she could pour more water in without interrupting the tamales. Eighteen years later, she borrowed her moms tamale making gear and told her girls they would be helping make tamales for New Years. The steamer was a pie tin with a bunch of knife holes in it. She thought, "You have got to be kidding" and began looking online for a steamer like the one she created in her mind so many years ago. There was nothing on the marketplace like her design. She then took a flat steamer and an angel food cake pan and contacted a friend to fabricate a prototype. The prototype not only worked perfectly but it cooked the tamales faster! It also cooked corn on the cob quickly, plus she used less water than boiling them. Her steamed vegetables and shellfish were cooked evenly as well. Now, Anna Maries idea, the Volcano Steamer, has been further developed and is ready for market!

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