Steam Wall Ovens Buying Guide: 8 Key Considerations To Know

If you are looking to save space in your kitchen, a built-in wall oven is usually the best solution. Cabinets are typically installed around your wall oven, providing a convenient space to store your cookware. Since a wall oven is usually built into the wall or your cabinets, accurate measuring of your desired location is crucial.

Steam ovens have increased in popularity over the last few years, attracting the attention of many cooks that have an interest in creating healthy meals.

How Does A Steam Oven Work?

Most of the steam ovens come with internal water canisters. This is an important component that contains water. Depending on the brand or model, this is done automatically or manually. Once filled with water, the oven is ready for cooking. As the temperature starts to rise in the oven, the water converts into steam. The moisture created in the oven does away with having to use oil to cook your food.

Steam Oven Types

The steam ovens come in three types. This includes standalone, multifunction, and combination electric ovens that come with a moisture function.

Tips On How To Compare Steam Ovens

Before you invest in a steam wall oven, here are a few features to consider:

• Size

The steam ovens come in 2 sizes one of 24 inch and another of 30 inch. It is important to consider the space you have available in your kitchen. You also need to think about how often you plan to steam cook your food, and if you want one of the models that provide multi-shelf cooking.

• Water Tank Volume

The large water tanks are a better option since it causes fewer disruptions when you are cooking, which means less frequent replacement and filling. Look for a model that is easy to access without the need to open the door of the oven to reduce steam and heat loss, and to do away with the risks of scalding. Depending on your usage frequency and water hardness, you will also need to descale and flush your steaming system from time to time.

• Condensation Collection Methods

1. Condensation Tank
   Some steam ovens come with a condensation tank that requires replacing, emptying, and filling.
2. Collection Cavity
   Some models feature a collection-cavity installed in the base of the oven that requires sponging out after each use.
3. Tube
   Others work with a tube that is attached to the drain hole, and water is collected in a container placed below it.
4. Models Without A Collection Cavity Or A Condensation Tank
   These are models that only require drying the inside of the oven out after each use. This may not be the best option since moisture may remain inside the system, which could hinder certain types of baking methods like trying to make a meringue.
5. Plumbed-In
   These ovens require high-maintenance, including routine flushing and descaling, and they cost more to buy and install.

Additional Features

1. Controls
   User-friendly, intuitive labels and controls will ensure your cooking methods are more consistent and precise. These features are especially important when it comes to combination models that feature a range of different functions.
2. Oven Door Glaze
   While many ovens come with double-glaze, it is advisable to look for quadruple or triple glazed. These options are best for keeping the door cool and heat retention inside your oven.
3. Cooking Guidelines
   The best steam wall ovens will provide accurate and detailed instructions along with tested and tailored recipes. This is particularly helpful for the combination-steam ovens that take a bit of time to master.
4. Fan-Forced Function
   Models that come with a fan-forced function speeds up cooking while producing a lot more even and consistent steaming result.
5. Roasting Probe
   If you make roasts regularly, look for one of the models that come with a roasting probe. These are metal skewers that are fastened to your oven that you can use to poke the meat to make sure your roast is cooked.

Convection Ovens Vs Steam Ovens

Steam ovens typically come with a water reservoir installed inside the cavity of the oven. Some of the higher-end models even link up to your waterline. Water is fed into the boiler through a pump which is then converted into steam caused by the heat inside the oven.

In contrast, conventional ovens use an inbuilt fan that circulates the heated air around the inside of the oven. The convention-steam ovens combine both functions by offering steam and convection modes.

Pros:

• Health: Offers much lower-calorie cooking
• Fast-cooking: The steam heat-conducting function cooks much faster when compared to conventional ovens
• Flavor: Natural textures, colors, and flavors are preserved
• Easier-to-clean: All that is usually needed is a quick wipe down
• Multifunction: You can brown, roast, bake, and grill foods

Cons:

• Higher maintenance: Needs to be cleaned more often in order to prevent bacteria and mold growth
• Not all-purpose: The standalone models can’t crisp or brown foods
• Costs: Adds around $800 more than standard oven prices

The Benefits Of Cooking With Steam

There are several reasons why you may want to invest in a steam wall oven. Here are some of the top benefits of switching over to one of these ovens:

• More Nutrient-Dense And Healthier Food
  Cooking at a high temperature in traditional ovens often destroys heat-sensitive nutrients, like folate and vitamin C. Steam assists with retaining these types of nutrients.
• Better Reheating Results
  Steam easily and evenly reheats leftovers without ruining or drying out your food.
• No Need To Use Unhealthy Oils
  Steam provides a moist environment for cooking, which means you won’t have to add oils to your cooking.
• Save Time On Cooking And Preheating
  Since the cavity of the oven is smaller when compared to traditional ovens, the preheat time is much faster. Steam is also one of the best conductors of temperature which results in much faster cooking methods. For example, cooking a piece of fish would usually take around 20 minutes to cook through in a traditional oven, and only 5 to 8 minutes in a steam oven.

Top Steam Oven Picks

• Miele Convection Steam Ovens
  As a meaningful innovator with 19 Combination Steam ovens to choose from, Miele appliances have made stream-food preparation extremely easy. While they only offer one steam-only model, it makes more sense to choose a combination model since they offer more versatility.
• Thermador Convection Steam Ovens
  Thermador has made a few major changes in the performance and design of convection-steam ovens. The Masterpiece and Professional steam ovens are ideal for many culinary enthusiasts.
  If you prefer an easy installation, these models don’t require specialized plumbing since they feature water reservoirs. Design-wise these ovens can be installed fully-flush with cabinets to provides a seamless and modern kitchen design.
• Wolf Convection Steam Ovens
  Wolf is well-known for its innovative lineup of different ranges that feature red knobs. These distinctively-designed appliances are one of the staples in most high-end kitchens across the globe. Wolf also manufactures top-rated cooktops and wall ovens including a range of premium convection-steam ovens.
  The Wolf steam ovens are available in 7 different models that don’t require plumbing. They use water reservoirs which makes installation easy and convenient.

Final Thoughts

It is important that you take your time to review the different steam wall ovens available, to make sure you choose a brand or model that matches up to your needs and your kitchen. Once you master the correct cooking techniques, and how a steam oven works, you will never go back to a traditional oven.

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Best steam wall oven – If you are a fan of healthy cooking then a steam wall oven is exactly what you need. With its help you will cook healthy, delicious dishes with more vitamins than in a standard wall oven. During cooking in a normal oven, food loses its vitamins and minerals, but in the case of steam cooking, the loss of vitamins and minerals is much smaller.
Maybe at first it may seem quite complicated to use a steam oven but in fact it is extremely easy to use, and once you get to use it quite a lot you will definitely not want to go back to a standard oven.
The ovens recommended by us are also equipped with automatic programs that perform all the settings (temperature, cooking time and mode) so that all you have to do is to enter the weight of the food.