Steam Oven Pros/Cons?

13 years ago

I found this Sharp Steam oven on one of my exhaustive internet searches for ovens. I will have a larger convection oven, but still debating the Micro, speed, and now steam combo ovens. I know that Miele makes a steam oven. Could someone explain to me the pros & cons? I am trying to be an informed consumer, but my head is spinning with all of the choices out there! Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: Sharp Steam Oven

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plllog

13 years ago

This looks like a portable unit. That means that you have to fill the water chamber, right? You might check the manual for how it drains. I think someone had one of these and liked it.

Steam ovens are great for all kinds of things. It's basically just a convenience. You can get the same effect by judicious use of a water bath in a regular oven or on the stove.

I have the Gaggenau combi-steam which is plumbed with both a water inlet and a drain, and is also a regular convection oven besides being a steamer. You can do a combination of ovening and steaming at the same time for effects that are more similar to the traditional dishes one would make in an oven with a water bath. One can also do steam only or oven only.

I think the Miele model is only steam. That is, it works like a commercial steam box, heating and cooking using the heat of the steam only. People have reported that they were coming out with a combi-steam, at least in Europe. I don't know if that's out yet.

The Sharp is steam and microwave, so a lot depends on how you feel about what it does. If it generates a good amount of continuous steam, it'll do what you need. I assume that you can steam and microwave separately? This combination should be great for vegetables, dim sum, poached eggs, and things like that. Not for roasts or baking.

What is it you want to steam? And how much at a time?

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Comments (7)

misplacedtxgal
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you for your thoughtful comments, pllog. I was hoping to do what you mention in addition to roasting the occasional chicken, so I guess this is not the oven for me. I know that you also have an Advantium - do you find that you really use both (Advantium & steam oven)?
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skit19
13 years ago
I was hoping someone who has the oven could answer you, but I have done a lot of research on it and have purchased one as part of our kitchen remodel. But, it isn't here yet.

The oven has microwave, steam, convection and what they call a "supersteam" function that appears to be a combination of convection and steam. It is a countertop model (which is why I purchased it - no room to install a steam oven.) But they do offer a "built in" kit for it. It has had some good reviews on Amazon and some other "mixed" reviews in other places (Consumer Reports - which I note and usually ignore). The biggest drawback that I see to it is that the microwave is 700 watts. But I have a back up microwave in case I need a 1000 watt microwave for something.

If you're looking for something built in, Viking also makes a steam/convection oven. One of the salesmen at the appliance store has one and really likes it.
cookingguru
13 years ago
I have this unit and it is great. I have it on my countertop but as mentioned earlier there is a built in kit. As for the drain it has a removable drip tray on the front. I have found this machine to be outstanding. There are 4 cooking modes. Superstem, Steam, Convection, and microwave. The unit has a built in computer so you don't have to learn how to cook with steam, you only need to know the weight of the food, type of food (ie: Chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, etc) and the way that you want to cook it.

The supersteam combines steam and convection to get the benefits of steam cooking (moisture and flavor) while still browning and crisping the outside. Most steam only ovens give you the poached look vs. the nice browned crust. My favorite things to make in this oven are pork tenderloin, fish, chicken, and all veggies.

If you have any specific questions let me know but this is a great value for far less than Miele, Viking, Gaggenau etc and saving the cost of running 220v power, water line, and drain.

Supersteam for Meat, Fish, Pizza, Chicken
Steam: Fish, veggies, poached eggs
Convection: Baked goods
Microwave: You know.
plllog
13 years ago
Can't you roast your chicken in your regular oven?

Actually, since Skitdel mentioned the convection with steam feature, I checked the manual, which says that you can roast a chicken.

I have been underwhelmed with the ovening capabilities of convection microwaves for anything but surface browning. There seems to have been a lot of improvement in the newest models, but I don't know how good that is. You'll have to decide that for yourself. It might be worth taking a chicken to the showroom and giving it a try.

As for my own oven choices, I wanted the steam oven desperately, but that would leave me with one and a half ovens which would mean finding storage for a portable oven. The Advantium was adequate for my third oven needs (25-50 People is my extended family, regularly for full meals). So for me, having the Advantium is what allowed me to have the steam oven.

I think the convection part of the Sharp looks somewhat comparable to the Advantium, though I haven't studied it thoroughly. This isn't truly oveny, like the Gaggenau combi, but for the price difference it might well be close enough.

I have only dabbled a bit with the speed oven part because that takes learning new tricks. The steam part of the Gaggenau came pretty intuitively to me. I wasn't looking for it in the manual, but it just occurred to me that another difference with the Gaggenau is that you can adjust the amount of steam (0, 30%, 60%, 100%). I think most other ovens with steam don't do that. They do steam on or off (i.e., 100% or 0). That's one of my favorite features, but I'm not trying to say you need that. Just that that's what I've been using so it's another difference.

Do check out emptying the drain tray in the operating instructions.

All in all, I think the Sharp looks like a nice appliance.
skit19
13 years ago
cookingguru: So glad to hear that you like your Supersteam. I plan to put the unit on a raised counter that will have shelving built over it (respecting required clearances.) I was wondering how much steam is released from the top vent. Do you think a wood shelf would be safe above it, or would it be safer to apply a moisture resistant laminate to the bottom of the shelf that will sit above the Supersteam?
vpierce
13 years ago
We also have the Sharp SuperSteam. We have it on a counter under some upper wood cabinets. Our cabinet salesperson said we should definitely install something under the cabinet to protect it from the steam. Also, we elected not to put undercabinet lighting in that area for the same reason. Regarding how the unit works, we haven't used it much for the steam function, mostly just for the microwave. You're right to be concerned about its power--at 700 watts, it is very underpowered. Since we will use it mostly for the microwave, if I had to do it again, I wouldn't.

Steam Oven Pros/Cons?

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misplacedtxgal
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