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MW drawer vs. steam/micro combo?

12 years ago

I have to admit, I had never even heard of a steam oven before hanging out at Gardenweb. I still am very foggy (ha ha) on what exactly this device is used for and whether it would be a good choice for me. Can you help?

I had originally planned to use a countertop MW tucked into an upper cabinet. A recent thread of mine on the kitchen forum hashed out this plan, and, in the end, I decided to make room for a 30" MW drawer in a lower cabinet.

Given that I have set this space (and $) aside, is there another oven, such as a steam/micro combo, that would be preferred? To date, I use the MW principally for reheating leftovers and occasional defrosting. (I vacuum-pack a lot of my foods, so I often defrost them in a bowl of water instead.) Occasionally I use the MW to steam veggies or to preheat a potato to cut down on baking time.

The steam function interests me, although I don't know its capabilities well. Any input on it or other non-conventional oven modes appreciated. I do insist that whatever I get *does* have a MW mode.

Thanks!

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Comments (2)

plllog
12 years ago
If you do a search of the forum (Google including "ths gardenweb" or use the search box below the list of threads), you'll find posts by a guy who both owns and sells a steam microwave. He's very happy with his. Also, check the current Gaggenau steam oven thread for a discussion of "wet bulb/dry bulb" cooking.

Steam is helpful in reheating leftovers--keeps them from drying out--and is great for cooking vegetables. Vegetables will cook in their own heat in a microwave, so adding steam just makes them that much better, right? You wouldn't have to make your own with a little water in the pot.

I mostly use my microwave for melting and defrosting. That hasn't changed since I got a combination steam and convection oven (an actual oven, no microwave). I use the steam settings on that for blanching and cooking vegetables, as well as a special setting for heating leftovers which is the best. These things should work well in a steam microwave. What I also like about the steam oven is being able to add steam to higher temperature cooking operations, like cooking meats and crusty breads, which wouldn't translate well to microwave cooking.

The steam microwave sounds useful. The question only you can answer is whether it's useful enough to rework your kitchen plan again, and if you'd get enough use out of it for it to be worth your while.
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angie_diy
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the note sharing your experiences, plllog. Sorry if I was unclear: I don't think I will have to rework the plan, as now I have a 30" W x 24" D (w/ negotiable height) spot to put an appliance. (The thread on the Gagg oven was what got me thinking about this, actually!)
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