The steam oven – the all-rounder among appliances

What is a steam oven? The name gives it away. A steam oven combines two appliances in one: a steamer and an oven. But a steam oven can do much more than just steam cooking and baking. Since it combines both functions, it can also, for example, fry with steam. It makes healthy cooking on a professional level child’s play. We’ll show you how it works.

Food can be prepared particularly carefully and quickly in a steamer. The major benefit: The food retains its vitamins, nutrients, taste and appearance. Steam cooking is therefore the ideal way to prepare food for people who are conscious of their diet and want to eat healthily. But does that mean you have to add another appliance to your kitchen by buying a steamer? Not necessarily. If you don’t regularly cook for a large number of people and steam vegetables and cook a roast in the oven at the same time, a steam oven is a good alternative. Because the combination steamer and oven also boasts more functions than two individual appliances, it has great potential to become a favourite kitchen assistant.

What can a steam oven do?

Steaming

First of all, a steam oven is suitable for steaming. This means that the food is cooked in steam. The simple rule here is: Anything that can be cooked also works with the steam cooking function. Temperatures of up to 100 °C produce steam which envelops and heats the food. Because the food does not float in water as it does when boiled, no vitamins or nutrients can be flushed out. This way, broccoli, carrots & co. remain crunchy and juicy and retain their natural colour when steamed.

Climate Cooking

Furthermore, a steam oven can also bake with a burst of steam or the addition of moisture. This is also known as climate cooking. Depending on which dish you have previously programmed, the appliance automatically sprays steam into the cooking chamber at predefined intervals. Opening the oven door again and again to keep the roast or bread from drying out by adding water is now no longer necessary.

Baking

Of course, a steam oven can also be used as a baking oven. There are different settings for all kinds of baked goods – pizza, biscuits and even choux pastry turn out nice and crispy and a steam oven is also great for more delicate baked goods such as soufflés.

Keeping food warm

Keeping the finished food warm without overcooking it – a steam oven can also do that, and there are special programmes that automatically set the right temperature. Because of the steam, there is no danger of the food drying out.

Regenerating

Reheating food in a steam oven is often referred to as regenerating. The steam, which is about 90 to 95 degrees, gently heats up the food and it tastes as if it has been freshly cooked. Heating up in the microwave doesn’t compare!

Defrosting

What applies to reheating also applies to defrosting frozen food. It defrosts gently, quickly and evenly under steam. Discolouration or even cooking of the food is a thing of the past.

Sous-vide cooking

The sous-vide preparation method, which used to be reserved mainly for professional kitchens and appliances, is now also being introduced in private kitchens thanks to steam ovens. Simply place the food in a vacuum bag or plastic bag, seal it airtight and place it in the steam oven. Because the flavour cannot escape from the bag, sous-vide cooked meat, fish and vegetables have a more intense taste than those prepared using other cooking methods.

Disinfecting or sterilising

A steam oven is also very well suited for disinfecting baby bottles and dummies. To do this, the bottles are disassembled into their individual parts, placed in a perforated cooking container and simply sterilised with hot steam in the steam oven using the appropriate programme. This function is also ideal for frequently used kitchen utensils such as cutting boards or preserving jars. As a result, time-consuming boiling is no longer necessary.

Cleaning

Most steam ovens have a special automatic cleaning programme that softens food splatter and grease inside the appliance via the steam function. This means that even stubborn residues can be removed easily.

Steam oven: What systems are there?

A distinction is made between different systems depending on how the water for steaming enters the oven: there are appliances with and without a mains water connection. With the latter, the water is either poured into a trough at the bottom of the oven or into a separate water tank. Steam ovens with a fixed water connection are the most convenient because these appliances extract the required amount of water “themselves”, depending on the programme type. The water is fed in and drained automatically. However, a water connection must, of course, be present for such an appliance, or the appropriate pipes must already be provided for when planning the kitchen.

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