Please share your love for your combi steam oven / oven advice

14 years ago

We are getting new appliances, fell in love with the Miele steam oven, but realized it has limitations (no baking, roasting, etc.). I know we would use a combi oven a lot, I have read lots of good reports here about the Gaggneau. It is $7K here in Canada - eeek!

From what I have read here, the combi steam looks like we would use it a lot. And probably really, really love it. I have health/allergy issues, so we never go out to eat, so spending more on our kitchen is ok with us, we use it 3 meals a day, 7 days a week.

We wanted to go with Miele double ovens, and not sure we need (ahem, can afford) a third oven or if that is just over kill. Do those of you who have a combi steam, do you just have one regular size oven or do you have doubles too?

I know we would use the doubles at Christmas/Thanksgiving, but probably not the rest of the year. We *could* keep our current range (Maytag Gemini - love that little oven on top!) and put it in the basement and run a line to it, just for holiday cooking.

I see Viking has a combi oven as well, any one have one of those? I know Sharp has a combi steam/convection microwave which gets good reviews on Amazon, but we are only going to do our kitchen once, and want to get the best quality.

Any thoughts? Advice? Is $7K worth it for your Gaggneau? Would you go with a single Gaggneau oven or Miele? Or double Miele ovens. Space is not really an issue, we are putting cabinets all along a blank wall.

Thanks,

Christie :)

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Comments (5)

gizmonike
14 years ago
We spent a lot of money for our Gagg Combi Steam, but not 7K. We'd do it again.

Our Combi is the older version, installed early 2007, and it is the workhorse of our kitchen. We have it installed over a 27" Gagg convection oven. Because we have a big kitchen & entertain large groups, we also installed a 36" DCS gas range, so its oven is our entertaining & "big stuff" oven.

I'd much rather have a Combi and convection oven than a double oven. I can bake & roast in the Combi as well as steam; it's just smaller than a conventional convection oven. The Combi does gentle plate reheating without drying out the food in 12 minutes.
cjammer
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks Gizmonike! We are super excited to get our combi steam, now how are we going to wait until next year *sigh*???
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A combi oven is much broader in function than a steam oven. . I would look at Miele, plumbed version. It functions as a steam oven but also as a full on convection oven but with control of humidity. You can read some of the manuals online especially Gaggenau and it gives you an idea of how it can work and the levels if humidity for different cooking needs. http://resources.gaggenau.com/us/wp-content/uploads/BS-470-485-Use-and-Care.pdf For just reheating, a MW is quicker. It is sort of self steaming. Sometimes I just use a regular oven. “From what I am hearing, steam reheating is considered healthier compared to microwave.” I have seen this in marketing materials This is from Harvard. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/microwave-cooking-and-nutrition I would want to see a series of scholarly articles from an independent source. I think for some people , the combi oven is a great choice. I don’t have one because I don’t have room for a third oven and need the space of my 36” and 30” ovens. Any application if steam that I need, I can do a different way.
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plllog
14 years ago
My Gagg combi steam is the only thing in my kitchen so far actually hooked up to the water and drain! I balked at the price of some other Gaggenau pieces, but decided the combi steam was worth it (though it does sound like a lot more in Canadian!!). What I'm really looking forward to is steaming, but being able to also roast in it is worth the difference!
lindatsr
14 years ago
Christie,

I have one of the older models of the Gagg combi-steam that I bought for about $2500 US as a showroom sample in the summer of 2008. (That was a lot of money on our budget!) It stayed in the showroom for six months, then in the garage for another six months until we were ready to install in the kitchen reno. I was pretty intimidated by it at first so procrastinated on actually using it, happy just to admire how pretty it looked!

I finally got brave a few weeks ago, dug out that little paper wheel cooking guide from my box of appliance manuals, took a wild guess as to the settings, and cooked brown rice in it. WOW! Great texture and no boilover gunk on the stove! Then a few days later reheated half a quiche that had been sitting in my fridge for a few days. AMAZING! Crust was crisp, filling piping hot and still moist, like I had just baked it (maybe better!)

I have also reheated dinner plates full of various leftovers, and each item comes out great with no stirring. Now, every time I think about popping something in my microwave, I consider the steam oven. I am not a gourmet cook but this unit is really interesting and inspires me to experiment.

The neatest thing for me is my husband's enthusiasm about this unit. He actually has very little sense of taste and substantially reduced saliva due to radiation treatments 3 years ago. His enjoyment of food is based mostly on its texture and whether it "goes down easy." He has complimented me on every item I have prepared using the combi-steam and that made it worth every penny!

Have fun deciding!
cjammer
Original Author
14 years ago
I hope we can get a floor model too Linda! Half our house is floor models :) That is wonderful your hubby enjoys the meals. My mom often gets things stuck in her throat (no radiation or anything), so I bet she will enjoy coming over for dinner even more.

I have severe allergies so can't really go out to eat, so I think a combi oven is a great investment for our family. I so can't wait to get it!!

Please share your love for your combi steam oven / oven advice

Comments (5)

gizmonike

cjammer
Original Author

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Please share your love for your combi steam oven / oven advice

Comments (5)

gizmonike

cjammerOriginal Author

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plllog

lindatsr

cjammerOriginal Author

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cjammer
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cjammer
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