Steam cooking is a gentle and healthy way of preparing food.
There are now numerous combination appliances with this function, which also replace a conventional microwave and in some cases even an oven. But how does steam cooking work and what advantages does it offer? We tell you everything you need to know about this method of preparation.
Water vapour not only escapes when you heat food - it can even be used for cooking. In principle, anything you can cook in a pot can also be cooked with steam. These include vegetables from asparagus to spinach, side dishes such as rice and potatoes, desserts such as yeast dumplings and many types of fish and meat.
When steaming food, it is placed on a large, perforated stainless steel tray, surrounded by hot steam It cooks food evenly at up to 100 °C. Depending on the product, the temperature can be adjusted during steam cooking.
Steaming is easy with a steam cooking insert for the cooking pot, which you place over the simmering water. There are metal versions for this, and steaming is also possible with a bamboo basket. You can achieve better results with a steam cookerspecially developed for this purpose. It offers several levels for cooking and is visually reminiscent of an oven.
The simplest way to steam food is to use a steaming insert for a pot, which you place over simmering water. Metal versions are available for this purpose, and steam cooking is also possible using a bamboo basket. Similar accessories are also available for steaming in the oven, such as the traditional clay Römertopf or a roasting pan with a perforated insert and glass lid. With these two methods, you can only estimate the cooking temperature roughly, which makes it difficult to cook foods—especially delicate ones—to perfection.
You'll get much better results with a kitchen appliance designed specifically for this purpose. The classic steam cooker has multiple cooking levels and resembles an oven in appearance. It is available as a freestanding unit or as a built-in model, with a water tank or a direct water connection.
A steam oven is a combination appliance that offers all the standard baking functions as well as the option to steam cook. When comparing stand-alone steamers to steam ovens, factors such as space and cooking habits come into play.
A professional steam oven like the BORA X BO offers numerous advantages:
Innovative steam and hot air technology as well as cooking on three levels are combined with simple operation via touch display - for perfect results.
There are a whole range of advantages that steam cooking has over traditional cooking in water:
Steam cooking is basically uncomplicated, but has some special features. The following tips will help you achieve optimum results.
This means that not only vegetables, fish and meat can be steamed, but also pasta and rice.
When steam cooking, the food is placed in a perforated insert and is primarily surrounded by hot steam. Condensation may leave behind a little moisture. Steaming involves cooking food in a small amount of liquid or a little fat in a covered pot, so that it comes into contact with both steam and liquid at the same time. This often results in a more intense flavor due to the reduction.
The following mistakes are most likely to occur when steam cooking:
Pat the food dry before steaming, cut it into evenly sized pieces, and do not stack the pieces on top of each other. Make sure that the lid is closed properly so that condensation doesn't drip into the food unnecessarily. Let the food steam off briefly after cooking.
