While I have used this to steam up food from time to time, I have used this mostly to pick raspberries from my yard. Why? The removable colander allows me to add raspberries to it - and then rinse off with water without having to handle any of it (and possibly bruising them in the process.) It can then drip away in the main plastic container without drowning the berries. It is made in Japan to boot. It has not been retaining any scent, but I have not been storing anything strongly fragranced other than raspberries for an extended period of time. Seems durable. Cheap and ingenious.