If you’re an avid home cook, incorporating the latest cooking trends into your meal prep routine can be an exciting way to expand your culinary skills. The market is constantly debuting new features that let the home cook do more, and one of the more innovative functions to hit the scene is the steam oven.
With the ability to create unique cooking environments that offer a host of benefits, steam ovens are quickly becoming a regular in aspirational kitchens. To find out more about these groundbreaking cooking appliances, follow along as we give you the details along with a few recommendations our experts think every passionate home cook will enjoy.
Related: 9 Best Wall Ovens
At a Glance:
What is a Steam Oven?
There are standard ovens that exclusively produce heat. And there are convection ovens that use up to two fans for better heat circulation. And then there are steam ovens, built-in cooking appliances that inject steam into the oven chamber. Surprisingly, the practice of adding steam to a hot oven is pretty traditional, dating back to artisanal bread makers who learned that adding water vapor when baking doughs created a crusty, chewy exterior, the same kind that has become iconic to bakery-style loaves.
Instead of manually including water into the process, steam ovens do the job automatically and open up a new world of cooking possibilities beyond bread baking.
How Does a Steam Oven Work?
There are two methods that steam ovens work.
- Using a water reservoir
- Using a connected water line
When used with a water tank, a boiler inside the oven heats the water, where it slowly gets dispersed into the cooking chamber. On these models, the reservoir needs to be refilled manually, but since no plumbing is required, installation is easier and versatile with more kitchens layouts.
On the other hand, steam wall ovens with integrated water tanks also use a boiler to create vapor, but a direct water line means never having to restock water. Additionally, these models tend to provide more usable oven space since the water tank has been removed from the interior.
Benefits of a Steam Oven
While a home steam oven is a trendy way to upgrade the kitchen, be aware that they tend to cost more than their steamless counterparts. That being said, they do offer exclusive advantages over standard ovens, including:
✓ Health: Cooking with steam helps cut down on the necessary oil needed.
✓ Faster Cooking Times: Water vapor (steam) is a better conductor of heat than air. As a result, foods heat faster, which also helps keep them from overcooking.
✓ Moist Heat: protects long roasts and braises from overdrying
✓ Superior Taste: Steam is gentle, meaning nutrients in food are better preserved, making for food that tastes better and is healthier.
What You Can Cook in a Steam Microwave
The humid cooking environment created by a steam bake oven is prime for cooking a variety of dishes.
- Vegetables–Lock in nutrition and flavor flash steaming veggies while retaining a crisp bite.
- Fish–Instead of a steamer basket, prepare fresh fish with steam oven cooking for flaky fish that is tender to the bite.
- Rice & Grains–Make space on the cooktop by using a steam oven to prepare fluffy grains of rice.
- Bread–Enjoy the signature crunch and chew of artisanal bread at home with a steam oven.
Recommended: Signature Kitchen Suite 30" Stainless Steel Double Electric Wall Oven (SKSDV3002S)
An all-in-one powerhouse of cooking methods, this Signature Kitchen Suite double wall oven with steam function gives you the tools to create virtually any kind of menu with professional results. The select steam-combi convection setting delivers a blast of warm steam, while even convection distributes heat throughout the entire oven, resulting in foods that are temptingly moist and perfectly cooked. Or use the steam function along with the sous vide setting and prepare meals without ever overcooking, just like the pros. Use this smart steam oven and its 9.4 cubic feet of capacity to explore wherever your tastebuds take you next for meal nights that are just as exciting as this double oven’s features.
Discover More: A Complete Guide to Signature Kitchen Suite Appliances
Steam Oven vs. Microwave
When it comes to microwave cooking versus steam oven cooking, there are advantages and disadvantages to both methods. Steam ovens produce more even heat, and since the air is moist, foods are less prone to drying out. This means leftovers come out as fresh and tasty as when they were first made, while microwaves tend to overcook foods. On the other hand, the speed of a microwave is incomparable.
Recommended: Dacor® Transitional Style 30" Silver Stainless Steel Oven/Micro Combination Electric Wall Oven (DOC30P977DS)
Take your built-in microwave to the next level with this combi-steam oven from Dacor that features a speed oven above and a steam oven below. The unique design makes it simple to zap quick sides above with the power of speed convection for oven-like results in less time. Inside the 5.1-cubic-foot oven, home cooks can select high-performance features like Dacor’s exclusive Four Part Dual Pure Convection with a patented baffle design for superior heat transfer. Complete with Wi-Fi controls and a steam assist for even more cooking options, this combination microwave oven setup is a valuable tool for busy kitchens.
You Can Trust Us!
Friedmans Appliance has been a Trusted Name in the Bay Since 1922™, providing our customers with fine home appliances and unmatched product expertise. Our team goes beyond selling you a product. We dedicate ourselves to pairing you with a quality experience with over 80 brands to choose from and more than 2,000 products in stock.
Additionally, our appliance specialists are also skilled at repairs. We not only sell what we stock, we service it too, meaning each appliance sold comes with the security of trained service to keep your appliance working like day one. Our hands-on approach also means we know the products we sell intimately, so when we make a recommendation, it’s because we know how it works.
Shop Steam Ovens at Friedmans Appliance
New cooking possibilities await with the addition of a built-in steam oven in your professional kitchen. Unlock your full culinary potential by shopping at Friedmans Appliance, the Bay Area’s trusted choice for fine home appliances as unbeatable service.
Shop today online, by phone at (925)-808-2950 or by visiting our appliance showroom located at 2304 Monument Boulevard in Pleasant Hill!