Combi Oven
A combi steamer is a professional cooking appliance that combines the functionality of a convection oven and a steam cooker. That is, it can produce dry heat, moist heat or a combination of the two at various temperatures. The appliance is therefore fit for many culinary applications, including baking, roasting, grilling, steaming, braising, blanching and poaching. The advantages of this technology are short cooking times and a gentle preparation method, both of which lead to enhanced vitamin and nutritional preservation when compared to traditional cooking methods.
The main modes of operation are steam, convection and a combined variant of food preparation.
Types of combi steamers:
1.by methods of vapor generation:
a.boiler (using steam generator),
b.injective (vapor is generated owing to timely water injection to the heating element directly);
2.by control types:
a.mechanical,
b.electromechanical,
c.electronic (touch-sensitive);
3.by capacity:
a.small (3-6 levels), typically for households,
b.of middle size (6-10 levels),
c.big (12-24 levels).
Advantages of Combi Oven:
1.Control of both temperature and humidity in the chamber, which reduces cooking time
2.Uniform preparation
3.No need to reverse products
4.If different dishes are prepared at the same time, each preserves its flavour, vitamins and nutritional value
5.Simultaneous processing of different products (up to 10-12 dishes) without smell mixture
6.Food preparation without oil, grease crust and carcinogen formation
7.Suitable for cooking sous-vide
8.Regeneration of previously prepared food without loss of moisture and/or crispness
9.Space saving due to fewer kitchen appliances
10.Reduction of final product shrinkage losses
11.Electricity savings
12.Reduction of labour costs
13.Self-cleaning
