8
OPERATION
Steam Cooking Guidelines
COOKING WITH ATMOSPHERIC / PRESSURELESS
STEAM
• Atmospheric or pressureless steaming is perfect for a
la carte cooking. The door can always be opened dur-
ing cooking to add or remove pans of food, to season
food or to check on its progress.
• Multiple products can be cooked at one time because
there is no crossover of cooking flavors in atmospher
-
ic steam. Large and small portions of food can be
cooked at the same time.
•
Less attention is required to cooking foods and over-
cooking is rare.
Recommended Uses
a la carte
preserving
stewing
thawing
blanching
rethermalizing
simmering
poaching
Typical Foods
casseroles, fresh
or frozen
vegetables, fresh
or frozen
seafood, fresh or
frozen
desserts
pasta
rice
fruits
potatoes
cereals
eggs
meats
poultry
prepared foods
sauces
and much more
Tips on cooking frozen product
• Preheat cooking compartment.
•
Break up frozen vegetables or product, if possible.
• If product is an ice block, set it in the pan on its nar-
rowest side. This allows the steam to contact a great-
er surface area.
• Thawing is faster and better for the food in atmo-
spheric steaming.
•
Make sure frozen product is uniform in size to get
best results.
• Season vegetables AFTER steaming.
•
Less seasoning is required because steaming pre
-
serves natural flavors.
• When reheating prepared foods, stir occasionally to
speed heating.
• Shallower pans will allow faster cooking times.
Blanching
Many foods can be blanched in atmospheric steam be-
fore being finished in ovens, fryers, or on grills and grid
-
dles. This reduces total cooking time, helps ensure com-
plete cooking and a moist product. Potatoes, poultry and
seafood are excellent examples. Blanching before frying
reduces grease absorption by food products.
Tips on pan use
• For faster cook times, 2 ½” deep perforated pans are
recommended.
• It is not necessary and we do not recommend cover-
ing most pans of product. When cooking with only one
pan, place it in the center of the cooking chamber.
• Use solid pans where appropriate: scrambled eggs,
rice, beans, dehydrated foods, prepared casseroles,
sauces, cake or other desserts (you can bake a cake
in atmospheric steam), and when you want to prevent
food from dripping on a lower pan.
• When cooking proteins (meat, poultry or seafood)
use a solid catch pan under the perforated pan. Ac-
cumulated juices can be used for soup stock, gravy
or broth.
• Protein foods (meat, poultry or seafood) can be
cooked in perforated or solid pans. If you are batch-
cooking protein foods use perforated pans and place
a solid pan on the bottom rail. All the juices will then
accumulate in this pan for later use and to keep them
out of the water reservoir.
• When atmospheric steaming, a pan cover can in-
crease the cooking time up to 400%. Items such as
frozen casseroles, meat loaf, or sauces can be cov
-
ered to avoid excess condensation.
• Root vegetables should be steamed in a perforated
pan.
• Eggs can be hard cooked out of the shell and then
chopped to avoid peeling shells.
• Always cook potatoes in perforated pans. This allows
steam to circulate properly.
