Steamy Love

So, I've held out on you, Cow Spot Friends. In my last post I covered the highlights from my trip to the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Chicago, but I left out my favorite discovery. The truth is, this item was not forgotten, it was left out intentionally. I knew it was too cool to just include among the other items from the show, this item and topic deserved a post all its own.

The item: The Wolf Convection Steam Oven. The topic: Steam Cooking.

THIS is Wolf's Convection Steam Oven.

Oh.My.Gosh. This appliance is TOO cool. I had heard about steam cooking, but really didn't know a lot about it. Thankfully we were lucky enough to get a pretty thorough tutorial about this product and I was blown away by all it could do. To begin, steam cooking is quick, healthy and versatile. When cooking with this steam oven, foods maintain many nutrients that are lost by other cooking methods.

Take broccoli for example, if you boil broccoli you will notice the water begin to get a green tint.

Like this....

The green tint  you see above are the nutrients that have actually left the broccoli due to the cooking process. Most of us eat vegetables like broccoli to maintain a healthy lifestyle. By cooking the broccoli in a steam unit, you will increase the amount of nutrients your body receives, compared to boiling the broccoli, where a large amount of important enzymes wind up getting poured down the drain.

As cool as this information is, I was still hesitant. For most of us, it would be a stretch to buy an appliance solely for its ability to steam veggies. Especially when you can buy a steam appliance that sits on your counter for the times you plan to steam rice, veggies or other grains. The information I found out next took this appliance to a whole new level of cool and relevant.  The bottom line...this convection steam unit can do SO MUCH MORE...

 Because this is a convection steam oven you can also bake cookies and slow roast meats. You can even place a carton of eggs inside and WAH-LAH, hard boiled eggs.

Another great way to utilize this appliance is to cook frozen foods. Frozen foods?? Yep, the appliance adds moisture then bakes the moisture off, leaving you with the perfect crispness for chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, fried shrimp, etc..

Pretty cool, right? I was intrigued and I love the fact that this appliance can literally be used in place of a second oven due to its versatile nature.







If you are familiar with steam cooking and have looked at or own a steam appliances of your own, you will be interested to know this steam oven is bigger than most. The water reservoir that is usually located within the unit to one side, is actually located at the top. 

See the seam right beside the control panel? That's where the water reservoir is housed, leaving the whole cavity of this unit open for use.

Because I design kitchens, I have acquired a deep interest and appreciation for appliances, despite my limited cooking skills.  For me, boiling rice a is a great culinary fete.  Oh gosh... I better stop, I can feel you losing respect for me as we speak :)  In my job I have had to familiarize myself with the various brands and styles of products along with their pros and cons.  Over the last few years I have heard various clients talking about the characteristics of specific appliances and how they use them for various dishes. I now understand cooking is more than just something people do, it's an art. And like any art, one must have the right tools to produce the desired results. Right now everyone is about "right sizing" and I think this appliance is a perfect fit for that mindset. You get all the perks of a convection oven with the bonus of steam capabilities.

Wow, this post is making me hungry! With all this talk of food, not to mention the pictures, it's no wonder my stomach is roaring at me! I Hope you enjoyed this post and if you have any recipes involving steam cooking please share!

All photos are from google search.