When do you need steam in a professional oven?
Steam is one of the most important differences between a standard convection oven and a combi oven. However, this does not mean that every professional kitchen needs an oven with advanced steam control.
If you primarily bake bake-off products or use the oven for a few simple tasks, a standard convection oven may be sufficient. If, on the other hand, you prepare meat, rice, potatoes, vegetables, or pre-made dishes, the ability to control the moisture in the oven becomes much more interesting.
Steam is not just about steaming food
When we talk about steam in a combi oven, many think of 100% steam – for example, for rice or potatoes.
But a large part of the advantage lies in being able to combine heat and moisture and control the climate throughout the entire cooking process.
A modern combi oven can, for example, add moisture to protect a product from drying out and later remove the moisture again when a crispy or browned surface is required.
Rice is a good example of 100% steam
Rice is a product where a powerful steam function can really make a difference.
In a test with our customer Maria's Deli, we cooked rice with full steam in a UNOX CHEFTOP PLUS. The cooking time was about 26 minutes.
The advantage is not just the speed. In a professional kitchen, larger quantities of rice can be cooked directly in GN pans in the oven, without having to have large pots boiling on the stove.
However, it is important that the oven can actually produce sufficient steam. On the CHEFTOP PLUS, UNOX's STEAM.Maxi system is used, which is developed to deliver high steam performance even with large loads.
Steam can reduce drying and shrinkage
When cooking meat, 100% steam is rarely what is interesting. Here, it is more about controlling the moisture during cooking.
When a product is cooked with dry heat, it releases moisture into the oven chamber itself. An intelligent combi oven can measure the conditions in the chamber and continuously regulate the moisture level.
This can help limit drying and shrinkage while giving the kitchen greater control over the result.
This is particularly interesting in larger production, where even a few percent less shrinkage can have an impact on how much finished product can be served.
When baking, steam and dry air are used at different times
Steam is also used extensively in professional bread baking.
Here, moisture is typically added during part of the baking process. Later, the moisture must be removed again so that the bread can develop the desired surface and crust.
Therefore, the ability to remove moisture is almost as interesting as the ability to produce it.
Moisture removal is the other half of the equation
If the goal is crispy products, you don't necessarily want more moisture in the oven chamber – quite the opposite.
Food releases large amounts of moisture itself during cooking. If the moisture remains in the oven chamber, it can make it more difficult to achieve a dry and crispy surface.
On advanced combi ovens, moisture can therefore be actively pulled out of the oven chamber. This makes it possible to work with both very humid and very dry cooking conditions in the same oven.
Regeneration is another area where moisture control is interesting
If pre-cooked food needs to be reheated, the challenge is not just to get it hot. The food should preferably retain the right consistency and not dry out during reheating.
Here, a combi oven can work with both heat and moisture during regeneration.
This is especially relevant in, for example, canteens, catering, hotels, and banqueting kitchens, where part of the production may be prepared in advance.
There is a difference between adding steam and controlling moisture
A simple professional oven may have the option to add water or moisture to the oven chamber. That does not necessarily make it a combi oven with intelligent moisture control.
On a unit like the UNOX CHEFTOP PLUS, CLIMALUX measures the actual humidity in the oven chamber. The oven can then automatically add or remove moisture to maintain the desired climate.
This is especially important when the oven is filled differently from time to time. Ten kilos of meat affect the humidity in the oven chamber differently than two kilos, and therefore a fixed amount of added steam is not necessarily enough to provide the same result.
Can steam also make cooking faster?
Yes, for some dishes, a combination of high heat, powerful steam, air circulation, and intelligent control can shorten the cooking time.
In our own tests at Maria's Deli, we experienced about 20% shorter cooking time with a CHEFTOP PLUS compared to the customer's previous solution.
This should not be understood as meaning that steam alone makes all food 20% faster. In the test, there were several differences between the ovens, including control, air circulation, and the overall oven technology.
But the test illustrates very well why one should not just see steam as an extra function for vegetables. In the right production, the entire combination of steam, heat, air, and moisture control can affect both cooking time and results.
When don't you need steam?
Not all professional kitchens need a combi oven.
A café, kiosk, or shop that mainly bakes croissants, bread rolls, and other bake-off products can often manage with a simpler convection oven. The same applies to smaller kitchens where the oven is only used for a few and relatively simple tasks.
In these cases, it may be unnecessary to buy a more advanced combi oven if the functions are not used anyway.
“We have never used steam before”
We hear that sometimes. But it is not necessarily an argument that the new kitchen doesn't need steam either.
The interesting question is instead what the kitchen does.
If you prepare larger quantities of meat, rice, potatoes, vegetables, or regenerate pre-cooked dishes, steam and moisture control can open up other production methods than the ones you use today.
Therefore, it often makes more sense to start with the menu and production than with the functions of the oven you already have.
If you are in doubt about which oven type fits your production, you can read our guide on combi oven or convection oven or see our selection of combi ovens.
When do you need steam in a professional oven?
Steam is one of the most important differences between a standard convection oven and a combi oven. However, this does not mean that every professional kitchen needs an oven with advanced steam control.
If you primarily bake bake-off products or use the oven for a few simple tasks, a standard convection oven may be sufficient. If, on the other hand, you prepare meat, rice, potatoes, vegetables, or pre-made dishes, the ability to control the moisture in the oven becomes much more interesting.
Steam is not just about steaming food
When we talk about steam in a combi oven, many think of 100% steam – for example, for rice or potatoes.
But a large part of the advantage lies in being able to combine heat and moisture and control the climate throughout the entire cooking process.
A modern combi oven can, for example, add moisture to protect a product from drying out and later remove the moisture again when a crispy or browned surface is required.
Rice is a good example of 100% steam
Rice is a product where a powerful steam function can really make a difference.
In a test at our customer Maria's Deli, we cooked rice with full steam in a UNOX CHEFTOP PLUS. The cooking time was about 26 minutes.
The advantage is not just the speed. In a professional kitchen, larger quantities of rice can be cooked directly in GN pans in the oven, without having to have large pots boiling on the stove.
However, it is important that the oven can actually produce sufficient steam. On the CHEFTOP PLUS, UNOX's STEAM.Maxi system is used, which is developed to deliver high steam performance even with large loads.
Steam can reduce drying and shrinkage
When cooking meat, 100% steam is rarely what is interesting. Here, it is more about controlling the moisture during cooking.
When a product is cooked with dry heat, it releases moisture into the oven chamber itself. An intelligent combi oven can measure the conditions in the chamber and continuously regulate the moisture level.
This can help limit drying and shrinkage while giving the kitchen greater control over the result.
This is particularly interesting in larger production, where even a few percent less shrinkage can have an impact on how much finished product can be served.
When baking, steam and dry air are used at different times
Steam is also used extensively in professional bread baking.
Here, moisture is typically added during part of the baking process. Later, the moisture must be removed again so that the bread can develop the desired surface and crust.
Therefore, the ability to remove moisture is almost as interesting as the ability to produce it.
Moisture removal is the other half of the equation
If the goal is crispy products, you don't necessarily want more moisture in the oven chamber – quite the opposite.
Food releases large amounts of moisture itself during cooking. If the moisture remains in the oven chamber, it can make it more difficult to achieve a dry and crispy surface.
On advanced combi ovens, moisture can therefore be actively pulled out of the oven chamber. This makes it possible to work with both very humid and very dry cooking conditions in the same oven.
Regeneration is another area where moisture control is interesting
If pre-cooked food needs to be reheated, the challenge is not just to get it hot. The food should preferably retain the right consistency and not dry out during reheating.
Here, a combi oven can work with both heat and moisture during regeneration.
This is especially relevant in, for example, canteens, catering, hotels, and banqueting kitchens, where part of the production may be prepared in advance.
There is a difference between adding steam and controlling moisture
A simple professional oven may have the option to add water or moisture to the oven chamber. That does not necessarily make it a combi oven with intelligent moisture control.
On a unit like the UNOX CHEFTOP PLUS, CLIMALUX measures the actual humidity in the oven chamber. The oven can then automatically add or remove moisture to maintain the desired climate.
This is especially important when the oven is filled differently from time to time. Ten kilos of meat affect the humidity in the oven chamber differently than two kilos, and therefore a fixed amount of added steam is not necessarily enough to provide the same result.
Can steam also make cooking faster?
Yes, for some dishes, a combination of high heat, powerful steam, air circulation, and intelligent control can shorten the cooking time.
In our own tests at Maria's Deli, we experienced about 20% shorter cooking time with a CHEFTOP PLUS compared to the customer's previous solution.
This should not be understood as meaning that steam alone makes all food 20% faster. In the test, there were several differences between the ovens, including control, air circulation, and the overall oven technology.
But the test illustrates very well why one should not just see steam as an extra function for vegetables. In the right production, the entire combination of steam, heat, air, and moisture control can affect both cooking time and results.
When don't you need steam?
Not all professional kitchens need a combi oven.
A café, kiosk, or shop that mainly bakes croissants, bread rolls, and other bake-off products can often manage with a simpler convection oven. The same applies to smaller kitchens where the oven is only used for a few and relatively simple tasks.
In these cases, it may be unnecessary to buy a more advanced combi oven if the functions are not used anyway.
“We have never used steam before”
We hear that sometimes. But it is not necessarily an argument that the new kitchen doesn't need steam either.
The interesting question is instead what the kitchen does.
If you prepare larger quantities of meat, rice, potatoes, vegetables, or regenerate pre-cooked dishes, steam and moisture control can open up other production methods than the ones you use today.
Therefore, it often makes more sense to start with the menu and production than with the functions of the oven you already have.
If you are in doubt about which oven type fits your production, you can read our guide on combi oven or convection oven or see our selection of ovens with steam.
