Commercial Steamers

By design, commercial steamers can cook large volumes of food and ensure that they retain their flavour and moisture by surrounding them with moist heat. In contrast with something like a countertop grill for example, which allows water to evaporate from whatever you’re cooking, the commercial steamers ensure that the water content of whatever you’re cooking is retained, preventing the chances of anything from getting dried out.

Depending on the nature of what you’re cooking, you can control and refine the temperature and the length of time you steam it for. These versatile appliances essentially operate in a similar way to a combi steam oven, except on a smaller and more concentrated scale.

Commercial steamers give you the ability to cook in far higher volumes and at speed. This makes them ideal for everything from large scale restaurants to fast food establishments, with rapid come-up times to steam, quick cooking capabilities and timed functions.

You can also get steamers with auto-refill capabilities, reducing the overall amount of time needed to top up the water reservoir, enabling you to serve more quickly and in bulk. Larger models like those from Apuro and Benchstar are particularly highly recommended, with dedicated options for various menu items like dim sum steamers and pan fried dumpling makers.

Depending on what you’re preparing and the size of your kitchen, you have a few options when it comes to your countertop cooking setup. One option is to place it on a benchtop with easy access to an underbench fridge or freezer. This gives you fast access to bulk-prepared dumplings and dim sums, facilitating faster food prep and cooking.

Alternatively, if you want a more interactive setup or have a range of menu items that people can select and have cooked in front of them, pairing your commercial steamer with a grill, wok, or Bratt pan for bulk cooking is another option.

One key cooking technique that chefs are incorporating more into their daily routines are more eco-friendly steamers. From lower energy use to optimal water efficiency, the modern models of commercial steamers promise exceptional cooking results with less mess and fewer resources. Not only does the food come out beautifully cooked, it also reduces operational costs and often simplifies the cooking process, with smart controls that ensure optimal precision with temperature control, humidity, and cooking time.

Steamers aren’t limited to meat-filled dumplings and dim sums, they can be used for a huge variety of delicious vegetarian dishes, too. From marinated tofu to edamame, root vegetables and delicate leafy greens like bok choi, they give incredibly flavourful results while retaining the nutritional value and bright colours of whichever vegetarian dishes you’re preparing.

A rice steamer operates similarly to a bulk rice cooker, ensuring optimal tender results while also giving a light and fluffy texture. Multi-purpose steamers have a slightly different setup and can be used for a variety of larger menu items, spanning vegetables, dumplings and seafood to name a few options. Multi-purpose steamers will also often come with more compartments or layers, allowing you to keep different menu items separate for bulk preparation.

Modern steamers conserve greater levels of electricity and water by optimising their use throughout the cooking cycle. Advanced models only generate steam as needed, come with auto-shutoff timers or alerts and have precise humidity controls. If you’re looking for the most energy-efficient steamer to keep your operational costs down, look to see if they have automatic water refilling and technology that removes the need for traditional water cooling. These features keep labour time down, while also reducing the amount of resources you need to get your cooking done.

Steam provides gentle yet effective heat that seals in moisture, flavour and nutrients. It avoids the collapsing or sogginess associated with other high-volume cooking methods and gives you fast, consistent steaming.