A common question we get asked is "What is the best oven?" this is a now a simple answer with Combi Steam Ovens.

Combination Steam Ovens have been used in commercial restaurants for over 50 years, so they are definitely not a new appliance. The difference is now we are able to get this in our homes for domestic use to get incredible day to day results.

What is all the fuss about? And why would I change the way I cook?

The ability to get restaurant quality food has always been a goal of all home cooks and in a lot of cases achieved. Yet this is now very easily achieved with the ability of combi steam ovens. 

No you definitely don't change the way you cook, the ability simply improves the process and most importantly the results to consistently brilliant. Even if you are a brilliant cook, this will only make your life easier to get amazing day to day results. From steaming asparagus, fish & rice in a short period of time to slow cooking a cut of meat, all is easily achieve with this brilliant cooking tool.

What is a Combination Steam Oven?

A Combi Steam Oven offers you a 3 in 1 appliance. Offering you:

• Traditional dry heat - which all cooks have been used to.
• Pure steam ability - being able to steam anything without losing quality vitamins, minerals & flavour.
• Combi steam mode - which allows you to get the perfect balance of dry heat & steam/moisture within your food.

The combi steam mode is the key to most oven recipes which is the balance between outer browning and internal moisture. For example, if you are cooking a roast where we want a beautiful outer browning but want a moist succulent meat that you cannot get enough of. Or you are baking bread with the same goal of achieving a moist inner bread texture with a beautiful crisp crust, this is now easily done.

This offers you a versatile oven that can change how you want to cook quickly and efficiently with the most underrated part being the amazing results.

Benefits of Combi Steam Oven:

• Easy to Use - Detailed cooking ability with easy functions, making cooking easy without having to be a chef.
• Time - Achieve healthy quick meals when needed without losing quality food.
• Perfect Results – Control the way you get perfectly cooked meals.
• Moisture Levels - Maintaining perfect moisture levels on all cooking - Control your moisture levels from 25-100%.
• Quality of Food - Maintain all Vitamins & Minerals in your foods, which retains flavour, size & quality.
• Enhancing Quality - Enhance your food's flavours, boost aromas and mouth watering textures.
• Results - Most underrated thing is the incredible results you can achieve.
• All occasions - Ideal for all occasions including family dinners, seasonal events or just a simple lunch.
• Specific Functions - Dough Proving, Slow Cooking, Keep Warm & even Sous Vide are some special functions available.

Reheat to Perfection:

As per what restaurants have been doing for a very long time, where you may pre-cook or simply reheat leftovers to taste like they were fresh. In some cases they taste better the next day once flavours have settled. You have the ability of controlling temperature for a more moist reheat or a more crisp reheat without drying out food. This ability does also eliminate the use of a microwave which finally allows you to reheat to perfection without having an average result.

Food/Meat Probe: (Selected Models):

Having a food probe that allows you to control core temperature within an oven is truly one of the most important tools to be able to consistently get your meat, fish and poultry perfect every time.

We all like our food cooked in different degrees of doneness. Simply choose how you want your meat cooked based on the chosen core temperature.

Cooking examples:

• Leg of Lamb - Being able to focus on 3 & half hour slow cooked Leg of Lamb that is perfectly cooked at 70 degree core temperature without opening an oven.
  

• Beef Eye Fillet - A beautifully cooked fillet of Beef at 55 degree core temperature to offer a perfect medium rare result.

Combi Steam Ovens can enhance or reduce cooktop cooking:

Specific recipes will always require a cooktop, yet a Combi Steam can enhance cooktop cooking.

Here are some examples of Cooktop & Combi Steam Ovens working together:

• Steaks - Sear your favourite cut of meat for a short period on each side and pop in to the oven on Combi Steam Mode for 5 minutes to have a perfectly cooked steak. Leave in a little longer if you prefer your meat well done.
• Stir Fry - Put all the contents of your stir fry in your cookware and cook for a few minutes (including any sauce) then place in the oven for a further 5 mins on Combi Steam Mode to get a thick sauce with beautifully cooked vegetables & succulent meat.
• Omelettes - Prepare your omelette in a frying pan with adding any addition ingredients to cook for a few minutes then add to oven on Combi Steam Mode, get a fluffy thick omelette to whet any appetite.
• Soups - Be able to put all the contents of a pumpkin soup in to a pot and into your oven on pure steam for 60mins then simply blitz the contents. This allows all vitamins and minerals to be maintained in the vegetable.

Eliminate boiling or steaming on your cooktop and also eliminate using pressure cookers, cooktop steamer accessories, rice cookers etc. Also, as mentioned above this does eliminate the use of a microwave.

Lastly here are some great recipes from our friends at Cooking With Steam, all focusing on how easy you can get restaurant quality food with a Combi Steam Oven: https://cookingwithsteam.com/

Be able to Steam, Roast, Bake and Amaze everyone with the results!

Induction cooktop technology has been around for over 50 years with some proof dating back as early as the start of the 1900's. So yes this technology is definitely not new, but to some it is more about moving away from the comfort zone of a common gas cooktop. 

Gas cooktops in Australia will always be a popular option due to it being so readily available as well as being used by so many people over the years. Yet this doesn't mean it is a better performer than induction, Induction will always out perform a gas cooktop in all areas. Let me make the point that this article is about why Induction ranks as the best option. Yet as per any appliance, of course someone may still be happy & or comfortable with gas.

Lets firstly put the Myths to bed: 

• Cookware - No you don't need to throw out your cookware for an induction cooktop. Test your current cookware with a standard magnet, if it sticks to the base it will definitely work. If it doesn't there is still a chance it will work.
  • All good based cookware will work on an induction cooktop with products such as pure Copper or Aluminum not working. 
    • The key is ferrous metal (a form of iron) which is found in all good stainless steel pots & cast iron. Saying all of the above, upgrading the cookware can sometimes be minimal depending on the level you go for. Start from basic cookware at $20 but do keep in mind the better the cookware the better the performance.
• Favourite Pot /Percolator - If you have that favorite copper/aluminum pot, pan or percolator ("cafeteria" for italians) that you wish to use there is a conversion plate available
  
  • The Induction conversion plate (click link to view) transfers heat into the plate then you may put any sized cookware that isn't compatible on top.
• Running costs - Induction is the most Eco friendly cooktop option available. Induction only ever uses what it requires with no wasted fuel, this in turn also shortens cooking times - See 1.Efficient for more details & Chart

On the Australian market it seems that some try to find a negative with Induction cooktops so......... 

Lets show the facts and why induction is rated as the best cooktop option:

1. Efficient - Induction produces 100% efficiency every time you use it. The best gas burner in the world can only get around 60% of heat (Due to being an open flame & oxygen). Induction uses minimal short bursts of electricity to operate unlike a standard electric cooktop which is constantly drawing power to heat up an element (See Running Chart at Bottom of Article)
2. Quick & Cheaper to run - On average 50-60% less running time than Gas and 60-70% less running costs than normal electric
3. Instant - From going to a high temperature, down to the most delicate simmer is instant with the touch of a button
4. Perfect Even Heat - Induction generates even heat through a pot/pan/griddle etc so there is no hot or cold spots like on a gas cooktop. This gives you perfect evenness for all cooking requirements, this also allows less stirring and keep warm options to gently keep your food warm without overcooking.
5. Most Powerful Cooktop - Induction is 5-8 times more powerful than a gas cooktop. Perfect for quick & powerful frying, boiling, griling & wok cooking.
6. Wok Cooking - Yes Induction is the best performer for wok cooking as it has the highest amount of heat generally 5 times more than a gas wok (Depending on wok burner mj rating). Also to clarify - Woks gain their heat from the base of the wok then flare up the sides to give even high heat for perfect wok cooking. A gas flame should never be coming up the sides of a wok as this is 1. A hazard and 2.Loss of direct heat.
7. Accurate - Induction is the most accurate cooktop from high end temperature cooking (frying etc) to the most delicate simmering or melting
8. Melting & Simmering - Induction can go to such low levels it can melt chocolate in a pot or pan (Yes no double boiling required) or simmer a delicate recipe or even have a soup on a keep warm for 8-10 hours
9. Cleaning - Induction provides the easiest surface to clean with a simple wipe over with a wet & dry cloth which on average would take under 20 seconds to clean. There are also specific cleaners to keep the ceramic glass in great condition. Or you may have dried something on, no worries simply use a ceramic glass scraper to get this off without leaving any marks on the cooktop.
10. Safer - Induction never conducts heat into the glass only residual heat is left from underneath the cookware which is reflected onto the glass - In most cases if you were to touch the glass after taking the cookware off it would be hot but you would not burn* yourself like a Gas or Electric cooktop - *Be careful touching any surface if unsure.
11. Pause Options - Some models will have the option of pausing if you need to attend to something else and the cooktop automatically brings itself to a keep warm while you are away.
12. Timers - Most models will have programmable timers which will allow you to switch the unit off after a specific time, from simmering a sauce for 30 minutes to reminding you to switch off pasta boiling in 7 minutes to keeping an item warm for 2 hours.
13. Fumes & Accidents - With induction there is no excess fumes to worry about like gas and near minimal chance of having an accident or fire

So are there any negatives of induction cooktops?

• Power/Electrical requirement (if not there) - If you don't have the existing power connection then you will need to upgrade with a new line which will be an additional cost yet for the benefits you would pay this off in a very short time. Like paying for a new line for a split system air con.
• Cost - Induction cooktops generally cost more initially yet in the long run will be well worth it due to so many benefits.

Things to look out for:

• Not all inductions cooktops are the same in terms of quality of glass, parts, engineering, performance & power output - We will always advise the differences to make your choice easier- But not all are the same as per any appliance

• Standard Round Zones vs Flexi Zones - If a similar brand inductor they will perform the same yet the flexi zone as its name suggests will be more flexible allowing you to put different sized items as well as retangle and square cookware (Griddle Plates, Teppanyaki Plates and Multiple pots in these larger zones)
• Tiers - You will have brands at different levels that you will need to compare like in terms of type of inductors, quality and ability. This will generally represent the differences in price.

Like any product in your kitchen it is what you personally prefer to have & use within your budget.

I have personally removed a gas cooktop for an induction cooktop and would never go back. I would always recommend to anyone to highly consider induction as the best option in cooktop.

Comparing Induction vs Other Cooktops (Courtesy of BSH) - Boiling 2 Litres of Water

Time & Fuel used on average Conversion - Gas 1.9kw = 6.84mj & 4kw Wok = 14.4mj

Induction uses less power due to short busts comparing to constant running of a standard electric element or gas burner. In short standard electric cooktops use 60% more electric and gas uses 60-70% more fuel than Induction.

Are there health risks involved with using induction hobs?

In spite of a great number of studies, scientists so far have found no proof that electromagnetic fields pose any environmental or health risks. Like any domestic appliance, induction hobs generate an electromagnetic field around themselves. However, the field is many times less powerful than that generated by an electric razor, a hair dryer, power drill, microwaves, mobile phones or WIFI.