Commercial Combi Steam Ovens

Combi steam ovens, short for combination ovens, use dry heat or steam heat to cook food. Many have a touch screen with pre-set cooking options that can span dehydrating, roasting, baking, steaming and broiling.

They use heat in different ways, at different levels of humidity, to suit the dish you are cooking. You choose convection mode, steam mode or combination mode.

As with standard convection ovens, combi ovens can circulate hot, dry air, and this function can be used for a variety of foods. These range from roasting meats to get that perfectly crispy outside to baking delicate pastries for that flaky crust.

Steam helps to retain moisture in food, preventing shrinkage when preparing meat and maintaining the quality of dishes like fish or vegetables. Steaming functionality is perfect for those dishes that require more control and less dry heat.

Combination mode uses variable heat and moisture, and sometimes fan-forced cooking as well. It suits larger pieces of meat and slow cooking, where you want the inside tender and the outside still crisp.

Combi ovens hold the texture and moisture of what you are cooking, especially on the pre-set programs. One unit can replace several other appliances, which frees up space without costing you cooking capacity.

Combi ovens also come in a wide range of sizes, suitable for many kitchens. You can get something the same size as a conventional baking oven, for example, with a few trays for different menu items. They range up to high-volume cooking capacity, and the tray count for each model is on its product page. Each tray can be used to cook a different dish, with the steam helping to capture flavour without transferring it to other dishes that you’re cooking at the same time. Brands like Fagor are especially good for this, with some of the high-spec combi ovens giving you different cooking settings for each individual tray.

Along with the pre-set cooking settings and memory slots for your own settings, many combi ovens have a self-cleaning cycle, which cuts down the cleaning at the end of each shift.

Yes. If you are setting a kitchen up, or want fewer kitchen appliances to maintain, a combi oven can replace grills, dehydrators, oven ranges and baking ovens.

Combi steam ovens cook a wide variety of dishes, so there is room to grow the menu. Between the steam, convection and combination modes you can use them for almost anything.

You can roast, steam, bake, broil and grill, making them suitable for everything from vegetables and bread to fish and meat. Some popular choices include roasting, steaming or baking meats like chicken, beef, fish and pork to baking cakes and even delicate creations like pastries.

Overall, combi ovens are energy efficient, especially if you’re using them to replace a number of other appliances like grills, convection ovens and baking ovens.

How you use them will have an impact on how energy efficient they are, with the size of the model you’ve chosen and how many trays you’re cooking with at any given time also impacting power usage.

As with any oven, a combi oven needs some ongoing maintenance to keep working well. If it is within your budget, a self-cleaning model is worth it: they cost more upfront and they cut down the cleaning at the end of a shift. This is an especially beneficial feature if you’re cooking meat, chicken in particular, as meat generates a lot more oil and grease, which requires more intensive cleaning.

If you don’t have a self-cleaning function, keep stainless steel cleaner and degreaser in your cleaning supplies. Scrub your combi oven down regularly to remove burnt-on food remnants and oil. This is especially important to maintain the quality of your food when you’re cooking. You’ll also want to periodically remove the guards off the fans and clean them properly to remove any hidden oil that’s built up. Typically once a month for a deep clean is a good rule to follow.

Yes, combi ovens need a water connection in order to generate steam while cooking. They also need it if they have self-cleaning functionality, along with a drain to remove water after it’s finished its clean cycle.

This is an important factor to consider when you’re looking at space and placement in your kitchen. When installing a combi oven, you’ll need to account for the additional plumbing and electrics.

Yes. Along with roasting, grilling, steaming and broiling, a combi oven bakes. You can adjust the settings for the texture you want, from cakes with the right amount of moisture to bread with a good crust, and you can control the amount of steam closely.

You will see commercial combi ovens used for the same kind of equipment. The name changes with the supplier and the region, not the job it does. Compare models on capacity, construction and the specification on each product page, and check the full commercial combi steam ovens range to see every option side by side.