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Cooking guidelines
Steam cooking principles and usage tips
Benefits of steam oven cooking
The benefit of cooking with a steam oven is that the valu
-
able vitamins and nutrients are retained during cooking
compared to their losses experienced cooking in a micro-
wave oven or in boiling water in a pot on a cook top. Due
to the moisture produced in the oven there is no need to
keep basting foods with oils or sauces making this form
of cooking healthier. Food also retains a lot more flavour
through this form of steam cooking. Steam ovens are
also very good for regenerating cooked foods that have
been refrigerated as the steaming process does not dry
the food out, which is often the case using a microwave
oven to reheat food.
The appliance has the additional use of convection
programme modes making it ideal to brown the foods
that have been steamed as well as using it as a traditional
oven for baking, grilling and roasting.
Steam oven tips - cooking times
Like any new oven this steam oven is no different, in that
it may take a little time to get to know what are the best
settings for the type of food being cooked. In principle
though, cooking in a steam oven, the duration times do
not differ a great deal from cooking in a pot on a cook top.
Duration times based on quantities of food, in a steam
oven, don’t change greatly. If your are cooking 500 grams
of potatoes or 1000 grams they should cook in around
the same period of time.
This manual does offer some basic guidelines on the
type of food being cooked and length of time based on a
certain weight. It is recommended to cook the food for a
shorter period of time than you would normally until you
get used to this new type of cooking and giving the best
possible results.
Using your own containers
Use of your own containers is acceptable although it is
important to ensure the following is noted:
• Containers should be placed on shelves only, not direct-
ly on the base of the oven.
•
Sufficient space above the top of an open container needs
to be maintained to ensure efficient steam cooking.
• You may need to check with the manufacturer of contai-
ners intended for use in the steam oven as they need to
suitable to withstand 100ºC and heat resistant. Plastic
containers are of particular concern.
• Some containers may not be suitable for steam cooking
such as those with thick sides. These could be made
from stoneware or porcelain and not good conductors
of heat. Cooking times will be much longer than metal
type dishes.
Cleaning steam oven after every use
Due to the high amount of water generated during use
of steam functions it is recommended to wipe down the
interior of the oven after every use. The heating plate
element at the base of the oven will dry a lot of the re-
maining water in the oven although there may be excess
water on the door and sides of the oven that should be
wiped down with a dry cloth. Care should be taken when
doing so as the interior will be hot following use. The door
should also be left open to allow for the drying process to
be achieved more quickly.
Spill tray located at the front of the oven needs to be
wiped out of any excess water expelled during cooking.
•
If possible, use dark black finished or silicone-coated enamelled tins, because they ab
-
sorb the oven heat particularly well.
•
Only preheat the oven if this is specified in the recipe or in the tables.
• Heating the empty oven requires a lot of energy. Therefore, energy can be saved by
baking several dishes one after the other, because the residual heat is used optimally.
• Switch off the oven about 10 minutes before the end of longer baking times to use the
residual heat to finish cooking.
Energy saving tips