A combination oven combines three cooking methods in one piece of equipment — steam, convection, and a combination of convection and steam. For example, to bake pastries or roast meats, you can use convection or the movement of dry heat.
The steam feature softly poaches fish, cooks vegetables or steam fish to perfection when you use the combination setting, convection and steam work to provide moist, delicious, and shrinkage-free results.
Learn about the properties of the combi oven below and how it can help you save money.
Three cooking modes: convection, steam, and combination
A combination oven has three modes of cooking: convection, steam, and a combination of convection and steam.
- Steam mode: Steam generates moist heating that keeps items juicy even during cooking. It’s perfect for poaching and steaming fish and veggies.
- Convection mode: Like a convection oven, hot air is pumped all around the chamber, providing a heat that roasts meals and reduces moisture during cooking. It’s ideal for baking, frying in the oven, and roasting items like cookies, pizza, and French fries.
- Combination mode: Foods are cooked without sacrificing moisture by combining steam and hot air. It’s a wonderful choice for stewing or braising dishes. Meats and vegetables will turn out soft and juicy, and a convection oven produces the browning effect. Certain pastries can be cooked in this setting, with the steam assisting in forming a hard crust.
Optional features to consider
Many modern combi ovens offer good technical advancements that enhance the overall usage and consumer experience.
Grease management
In kitchens that cook a lot of protein-rich food, you have to deal with grease buildup. Pumps are included with certain ovens, which pour leftover oil into a container for recycling later.
Ventless hood
Some ovens necessitate a vented hood to enforce compliance. Still, certain current combi ovens come with ventless hoods, which may be installed wherever in the kitchen, giving you many more options.
Food-based upgrades
You can use different browning settings to colour the food in ovens. They may be utilised as smokers with actual wood chips to achieve accuracy.
Maintenance
And to maximise the influence of the combi oven on your kitchen, never disregard the maintenance it needs.
- Every six months, make sure to service your oven.
- Regularly check if its drain screen is in position. Bits of food might build up and clog your drain if you don’t have a drain screen.
- For good door sealing, lubricate and clean door seals.
- Use a filtering system to treat wastewater supplied into the oven. It’ll slow mineral deposits in the unit’s water pipes. However, it will allow the oven to run more efficiently by reducing the accumulation of scales on the heating units, cooking chamber, and water probes.
- Food tastes better when the water is cleaner. Look at the manufacturer’s specifications to locate the right filtration system for your combo oven.
- Depending on how much your oven is used, you should replace the water filter once in 3-6 months.
Safety
Since combi ovens produce steam, the law usually requires to include an exhaust vent.
Assess your local regulations for requirements to see accurately what your business may or not require.
For example, some places allow standard exhaust ducting, but others necessitate fire-rated oil ducting, which is a more difficult and expensive option.
It would be best to examine the description for each item you decide to buy, as the requirements for various models can change.