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How often do you use your Miele steam oven?

16 years ago

I have heard alot of people love their steam ovens. In reference to the Miele steam oven ( I can't afford the GAggenueau one), do you cook entire meals or separate meals ( kids and adults) at one time? I know this is how the oven is advertised to save time, but I was wondering how often people do this. I don't want to purchase it just to steam veggies. I feel I could do with a stove top steamer for that. I have envisioned steaming rice for me, veggies, and pasta for the kids all in one pop. Is this realistic being a mom with 2 kids

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Comments (6)

djdoggone
16 years ago
No response does not bode well. This oven -- either this or the Gaggenau -- is on my list for the new kitchen. I thought this would be my workhorse. Is there something we're missing? Maybe the ovens are not proving to be multi-functional? Maybe people are finding it is an expensive veggie steamer only?
gizmonike
16 years ago
"Maybe people are finding it is an expensive veggie steamer only?"

Maybe a Miele, but not the Gaggenau. It isn't just the automatic water in & out plumbing that differentiates the Gagg, it's the fact that it can function as a convection oven without any steam, or 100% steam, or a combination of the two. It can warm cold plates or dishes of food gently without cooking or drying out the edges the way a microwave does. We use our Gagg combi-steam oven just about every day.

Miele is steam only, uses a water pitcher, releases steam into the kitchen when the door is opened, & must be wiped out afterwards. However, it is less expensive than the Gagg.
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I use my steam oven all the time, but I don't really think that is useful information to _you_. What kind of cooking do you do? How often do you cook? Are you feeding a family of 2 or a family of 5? I will say that with a steam oven there will be a bit more of a learning curve than a speed oven. Most speed ovens are very easy to use. Many have menus that let you pick the type of food you're cooking and the quantity and boom, you sit back and relax while it does its job. Are you willing to experiment and learn more about a different type of cooking? Do you have time to do that? Like speed ovens, steam ovens are quite versatile, particularly combi steam ovens (these have convection too). They are not just for steaming vegetables as Gary makes them sound. I like them a lot for roasting, for the past few years I've done the Thanksgiving turkey in mine and each time they've come out quick and delicious. Another use is reheating. Leftovers taste great heating in there vs. a microwave. Though if you're going to be doing mainly reheating, a speed oven might be a better bet.
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See, that's the thing about a steam oven. No one needs it. You can accomplish everything you can do with a steam oven with cheap, simple tools. Steam ovens are for the lazy. :) Just stick stuff in and set the dial and there you go. If I'm too out of it to even slice an onion and cut up some carrots, I can dump some bottled sauce on some chicken breasts, sprinkle some dried herbs and seasoning and stick them in the combi. I just use the setting on the clue wheel (360 degrees, 60% steam (I think), 45 minutes). I can regenerate whatever vegetables I have prepared for a few minutes when the chicken is done (or just whomp together a salad). It looks like a fancy dinner. It's not. I was jonesing for the combi-steam from the moment I first saw it. It has exceeded my expectations. If you can't think of anything you want to cook in it, spend your money elsewhere!! You can get crisp roasts and breads in an electric oven by putting a dish of water in. You can use a steam pot, bamboo steamer or petal steamer, among many other things, to steam rice and veg. You can steam tamales in a sieve over water, or in a proper tamale pot. No one needs a steam oven. I adore mine, but it's a luxury, not a necessity. (P.S., I searched on "plllog steam" to find the threads I'd posted in. It's easier when you know who wrote it. :) )
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I have the Miele steam oven. I love it! I would not want to be without it. I have zero experience regarding the Gaggenau, so I don't know what I may be missing, but I would definitely buy the Miele steam oven again and again. As you mentioned, the Gaggenau is plumbed and it does more than just steam. If you have the extra money and the extra room for the plumbing, maybe the Gaggenau would be a good choice. Starting with cold water, the Miele takes about 7 minutes to heat up to 215 degrees. I would be interested to know how long it takes for the Gaggenau to reach 215 degrees. Maybe it is faster since it is plumbed. So far I have used it for vegetables, potatoes, squash, eggs, fish, and steel cut oats. We are planning to purchase a couple of the larger solid trays for pasta and rice. It makes preparing potato salad a breeze. The Miele's Master Chef menu makes it very easy to use. You select the food and it does the rest.
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djdoggone
16 years ago
gizmonike: Miele calls it a convection steam oven. Am I mistaken, does it JUST steam? I thought it was a convection oven & a steam oven.
gizmonike
16 years ago
I looked at the Miele website & the manuals for the two steam ovens listed there--these are newer than when we were making our appliance decisions over a year ago. For either one, it does not appear that you can select anything but 100% steam. I do not see any way in the manual to select convection only, zero steam or any other steam. It would seem that Miele's use of "convection" means that the heat source is not radiant but surrounds the food (with the steam). The manual says that you can change temperatures, however, the manual also states that your cooking containers must be heat resistant up to 212 degrees, implying that 212 is the maximum, which is consistent with 100% steam.

Our Gagg combi-steam has one knob for temperature and another knob for selecting steam at 100%, 80%, 60%, 30% or zero. If you select the steam % & then click the temperature knob one click to the left for the "suggested temperature" setting, it will set a default temperature for it, 210 degrees for 100% steam on up to 330 degrees for zero percent steam. However, oven temperature may be selected from 85 degrees F up to 450 degrees.
djdoggone
16 years ago
Thanks for your research. I find the Miele website the most obtuse website for appliances. There is no compare function, no clear description of products, just a lot of marketing. So unlike their website for Great Britain. I figured it was going to come down to visiting the store to figure out what's what. Thanks.
gizmonike
16 years ago
I agree; I found most appliance websites to be marketing heavy. Luckily most publish manuals online these days.

Miele does much better with its printed brochures. When the current line of dishwashers came out, Miele published a very complete comparison matrix, much improved over previous documentation. But, it's NOT available on the website.

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