Throughout our collective kitchen history, we’ve come up with an endless multitude of ways to cook things, from the traditional oven bake to frying on a hobtop, boiling things in water or grilling them, and even Barbeque-ing or broiling meats and other produce. One might almost call our ongoing quest to heat things up and make them taste good a noble one. One thing we hadn’t really started considering, however, were the heating properties of Steam. That is, until steam injection cooking came along.
As covered in our company exposés, various kitchen hardware designers and retailers have started providing Steam Ovens alongside their lines of convection ovens. The way they work is actually pretty intriguing; rather then needing to be hooked up to the gas or water lines, they come with a built-in water reservoir, which, naturally, is used to produce steam within the confines of the oven, speeding up the cooking process considerably and creating a more even distribution of heat, according to the designers of said ovens. Appliance manufacturer Siemens is amongst those who supply these top-of-the-range (pun not intended) devices. Already, that’s a couple of obvious plus sides- better heat distribution and quicker cooking times are perfect if you need something in a pinch, making them an absolute godsend for parties and events.
Steam Injection Cooking Benefits
However, additionally, Steam Ovens do not require the additional added fat or oil that is used when cooking certain things, particularly meat or potatoes; fats and oils are usually added to keep things moist in an otherwise dry oven, but the very nature of the way a Steam Oven works would keep anything cooked in them reasonably moist on its own. Add in that food generally retains more vitamins when cooked this way, as well as the fact that you can install one practically anywhere in your kitchen, and it seems like the best choice of oven you could go with, especially if you’re planning on upgrading to a German style kitchen overall.
What’s The Catch?
There are a couple of cons to bare in mind if you are thinking about upgrading to steam injection cooking, however; you can’t brown off meats using them, and some meats might come up a little pallid if cooked straight in the oven without any prior browning. You might also run into a similar issue with baked goods, such as bread or cakes, meaning that it actively adds an additional step to the process and, ironically, winds up making the process much longer. On the flip-side, though, many companies that produce these ovens go out of their way to state that they are also capable of quickly preparing perfect pasta dishes, soups, and even safely sterilising baby bottles. We’ve heard regularly from customers that they are excellent at reheating pizza too, if that’s your thing. No more dried-out crusts!
Steam Ovens are an example of vastly forward thinking kitchen design (the kind we so closely associate with German kitchens) and are creating something of a quiet revolution in cooking.