Yet another question on speed or steam ovens

11 years ago

Definitely going with at least one 30" convection and a warming drawer on our oven "wall". Narrowing it down to Miele or Gaggenau. My question is if I had to pick one, would it be a steam or speed oven? Or go with a double convection? I'd call our cooking needs pretty average, we've done fine with with a singe convection oven/range with a counter top Breville convection/toaster and a in cabinet microwave. But we feel a second in-wall would be a nice add. We've historically used our ovens more as roasters of meat and veggies rather than a lot of baking breads and pastries from scratch.

Any thoughts?

Featured Answer

barryv_gw

11 years ago

Don't know anything about speed ovens, but first to clarify - there are some ovens that are steam only, don't have one of those, but there are also ovens that do steam and convection, called combis, and I have one of those. While some combi have a door with frame that is 30 inches wide, the actual oven width is normally 24 inches, the rest is trim to match the full size oven offered by the same manufacturer. With a combi, you can use it like any other convection oven, it has a much smaller oven cavity, which means it get up to temperature in 5 to 10 minutes. In that way, it is like a convection toaster oven, though much bigger and on steroids. In addition, it can use convection heat with just a little steam, which allows you to reheat food without drying it out. It might take 5 to 10 minutes in a combi oven ( depending on how much food ) to get it as hot as 2 to 4 minutes in a microwave, but I have read that the food reheated in a microwave will cool off quicker. Next, you can use a combi to steam only - I do that for shrimp, and for making cheesecake. Some steam veggies, though I only do that for spinach. Finally, you can use a combi in combi mode - full steam and dry heat, which lets you cook a turkey in about 90 minutes, and it comes out very moist.

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Comments (8)

kitchengirl
11 years ago
barryv_gw: does your combi oven have a broil feature? I plan to purchase one 30" convection + one Combi oven, and I feel very limited by choice b/c I want the broil function. The ovens will likely be stacked, so I'm not willing to go with different brands for the two ovens. Thanks!
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barryv_gw
11 years ago
Mine does not. Here is a chart that was posted in 2013, I can't say for sure how accurate it is, but it appears to list which models have broil elements chart This is the blog entry that describes how he prepared the chart. Kurt's Kitchen. I am not sure I understand your dilema. If you have a 30 inch convection, that will come with a broil element, won't it? I think a few posters have said they wanted a combi with a broil element because they were going to get a cooktop, and a combi or two, but would have no regular oven with a broil feature.
dbabrams
11 years ago
We're going with Miele 30" Convection and 24" Combi-steam trimmed out to 30". We're not big microwave fans, will probably keep one hidden somewhere for the rare use. Went with Miele due to the broiler, Gaggenau was just too much of a premium and there are no dealers here, so I was concerned about service issues. Our whole kitchen will be Miele, in the middle of a MCM renovation, really like the clean look of the Miele.
George Cole thanked dbabrams
huruta
11 years ago
We have a Gagg combi-steam oven and an oven with our range. I didn't even consider a speed oven. I think a combi-steam gives you a unique additional function w/steam. Because it's small and at least for the Gagg, its convection, its fast. We steam roast a small whole chicken (3lb) in 35-40 minutes, which is fast enough for me. A speed oven would probably be faster but how fast is fast enough? Its definitely a personal choice. I chose the Gagg over the Miele because the interface on the Gagg was simpler and, at the time, only Gagg was plumbed. I also got a good deal on the Gagg so the price was similar.
George Cole thanked huruta
George Cole
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you all. It seems the combi-steam brings some unique capabilities compared to a speed. Great feedback.
Mistman
11 years ago
I have the Wolf combi, it doesn't have broiling capabilities but I have 2 other ovens that do so I don't miss it. We actually use the combi far more than any other oven (been in the new kitchen over 2 years now). It's not plumbed in but the prep sink is right in front of the oven and we only need to fill it once a week or so. It's way more convenient for a family of 4 as the size is about perfect for most things we do. It heats up in half the time or less than the full size Wolf beneath it and bakes excellent. Though it's smaller than our other ovens (a 30" and a 36") there are few things that don't fit and we can put multiple items at a time in it. By far one of the best purchases and most versatile appliance in the kitchen. The micro is only used for melting or softening, reheating beverages and making smores :) I looked into a speed oven and decided speed wasn't something we really need as cooking is cathartic and I like spending time in the kitchen, speeding up the process sort of defeats the pleasure of cooking/baking. That's just our usage model though, I think the speed ovens are pretty cool.
George Cole thanked Mistman
Susan Van Dusen
11 years ago
Absolutely love my combi steam by gaggenau. Cant imagine needing a speed oven, and we just don't use the microwave anymore.

We are adding the gaggenau full sized oven below it, and then the gaggenau vario hobs.

Let us know what you chose!
George Cole thanked Susan Van Dusen