I recently moved to a new home, and finally I can design the kitchen according to my own ideas. I will inevitably choose some kitchen appliances I like to fill this small space, so the steaming oven has become my first entry point.
I was dazzled enough when I chose the oven before, but I didn't expect the steaming oven to be more difficult to choose. It is mainly a combination of a steamer and an oven, and some have added the function of a microwave oven, so the parameters to be considered naturally become more.
So this article mainly shares the selection method of steam oven from my personal point of view, and gives some suggestions to small families (less than 5 people) with a small budget (less than 3,000 yuan). If you are also worried about the purchase of steam oven, I believe this article can give you great help.
Friends with limited time, please drop down to the bottom to see the recommendation (= ω =).
Literally, we can regard the steaming oven as a combination of steaming box and oven, which has two main cooking functions: baking and steaming. Some steamers also have microwave function, which can heat food. What used to require n machines can now be done in a steam oven.
The history of steaming oven entering the domestic market is not long, and it has only developed to the fourth generation:
At present, the main brands of steamer in the domestic market are Midea, Cardo, Boss, Siemens, Panasonic and Vantage. It is recommended to determine the budget before buying, and then choose the brand and model according to the specific situation.
Although the development history of steaming oven is not long, it is a kitchen appliance worth starting from any aspect.
1, with high utilization rate and small floor space.
For me, who especially likes tossing food, the oven steamer is almost a necessary appliance at home, but the kitchen area is relatively small, and it seems a bit difficult to start steaming and oven at the same time, and I am worried about the low utilization rate.
The steamer has powerful functions, such as steaming, roasting, fermentation and drying. And the kitchen utilization rate is particularly high, which can not only meet the cooking needs, but also minimize the floor space, especially the embedded steaming oven directly embedded in the cupboard, which can keep the whole kitchen environment clean and tidy, and the cooking mood is even better ~
2, can be steamed and roasted, saving time, effort and worry.
The biggest advantage of combining steamer and oven is to save time, effort and worry. For some ingredients that need to be steamed first and then baked, you don't have to spend a lot of effort to move the position, and you don't have to stare at the heat all the time. You just need to put it on the steamer, and you can achieve the same effect.
Besides the functions of the oven and steamer, the steamer has also developed a steam roasting mode, which allows the heating tube to emit steam while working, and keeps the humidity in the cavity, which helps to keep the fresh and juicy taste of meat ingredients.
For example, if you cook a roast chicken, it is easy to roast dry wood, but if you use the steam tender roasting mode, you can keep the meat fresh and tender on the basis of roasting, and since I opened the new steam tender roasting mode, I am no longer afraid of getting angry when eating barbecue ~
3, bring your own recipes, very friendly to Xiaobai.
Although the steaming oven is very powerful, don't think it will be difficult to control, because most steaming ovens will specially design some simple electronic recipes for Xiaobai. All you have to do is put the ingredients in the steaming oven, choose the corresponding recipes, and wait for the birth of delicious food.
Although my personal affection for the steaming oven has soared, I have to point out some shortcomings. We should try to weigh the pros and cons before starting.
1, the bottom water is difficult to clear.
No matter whether the evaporation mode of the steaming oven is direct injection or indirect injection, it can't escape the bad problem of water accumulation at the bottom.
This kind of stagnant water is mainly composed of two parts, one is condensed water, and the unheated cavity will become stagnant water due to condensation when it meets steam, and the other is supersaturated water. When the steam concentration in the inner cavity reaches the maximum, the continuously injected steam will become supersaturated water.
Preheating the machine before starting the pure steaming mode can reduce the condensed water to a certain extent, but it can't achieve the effect of no accumulated water at all. In addition, some brands will also be equipped with water absorption balls to clean the "waste water" left in evaporators and water pipes, and they should be carefully cleaned after each use.
Don't worry about scale. Basically, all steaming ovens have a descaling mode. If the usage rate is frequent, the scale can be cleaned regularly once a week. In addition, if you are really worried about the influence of scale on the machine, you can also use filtered water/distilled water instead of tap water.
2, the heating speed is slow
Although some steamer has the function of microwave oven, it is not recommended that you use it as a microwave oven. After all, the heating rate is really too slow. What an ordinary microwave oven can do in two or three minutes takes more than ten minutes, which is also one of the shortcomings of the steamer. I suggest that you don't expect too much from this function.
3. Steaming and baking cannot be carried out at the same time.
The difference between having a steaming oven and having both a steaming box and an oven is efficiency. The latter can be steamed and roasted at the same time. However, if there is only one steaming oven, only one dish can be cooked at a time, and of course the cooking efficiency is slightly inferior.
However, personally, this shortcoming is not a shortcoming. After all, the advantage of steaming oven is integration, which is more suitable for small families. Small families generally do not have to pursue efficiency issues. If they insist on simultaneous production, it is more appropriate to buy a separate steaming oven.
1, look at the budget
There are high and low steaming ovens. If there is no budget choice, the biggest possibility is that the wallet is empty and stepped on. First of all, I suggest that you strictly control the budget.
I sorted out the positioning, price range and characteristics of major brands. Prices fluctuate frequently, for reference only, subject to the official. Click to view a larger image.
After some consideration, the steaming oven in the price range of 2000~3000 has complete functions and is more suitable for small families with little budget. The oven brands in this range mainly include Midea, Kaidu, Vantage and Supor. Although the boss and Panasonic also have corresponding series of products, the cost performance is not high.
2. Look at the capacity
The capacity of a steaming oven below 3000 yuan is generally 20L~40L, which is suitable for small families with 2~4 people. Generally speaking, it is recommended to choose a large capacity as much as possible, so that the experience will be better. In addition, it can also be selected according to the size of the ingredients that are often cooked.
3, see the installation method
There are two ways to install the steaming oven-desktop-embedded.
If it is a new home, it is embedded, powerful and occupies a small area. It doesn't seem to interfere with the place. However, when choosing an embedded oven, you must pay attention to the size and reserve the socket in advance. After all, the steaming oven belongs to everyone. If you accidentally buy the wrong one, you have to bear the freight for returning it yourself.
If the home has been decorated, or in special places such as dormitories and apartments, it is more convenient to choose a desktop steaming oven. Although it is not as good as embedded storage, it can be moved at any time, which is convenient to purchase and use without installation. The disadvantages are obvious, that is, small capacity and weak function.
4. Look at the control mode
Like the oven steamer, the traditional steaming oven can also be divided into two types: mechanical and touch.
The difference between them lies not only in the convenience of operation, but also in the appearance. Although the mechanical control is convenient and quick, it is difficult to clean because of the addition of buttons on the panel, and it looks not concise enough.
Touch control seems to be less convenient than mechanical control, but it has strong operability and many electronic touch modes to choose from. In addition, most touch-controlled steaming ovens can also be networked and directly controlled through mobile APP, and the operation or cleaning difficulty is much lower than that of mechanically controlled steaming ovens.
5, look at the liner material
At present, there are mainly three kinds of steamer liner materials: stainless steel, enamel and others. The first two are the biggest differences between the third-generation steaming oven and the fourth-generation steaming oven.
From the actual situation, I suggest that friends with a budget of less than 3,000 yuan choose stainless steel liners. There is a simple reason. A good enamel liner costs a lot, and you really can't buy anything good within 3000 yuan …
As for other materials, I don't recommend them. For example, linings made of galvanized aluminum and galvanized steel are not only difficult to clean, but also extremely durable. In less than two or three years, they will give you various problems such as deformation, corrosion and rust. There is no need to spend money to find them uncomfortable.
6. Look at the baking configuration
The baking configuration is also a heating tube. Personally, this is the most critical part of choosing a steaming oven, and the wrong choice will directly affect the baking effect.
At present, most steaming ovens adopt the design of upper heating tube and back heating tube, and the baking effect can only be said to be qualified. It is best to choose the configuration of upper heating tube+lower heating tube+back heating tube for all-round baking.
Upper heating pipe+lower heating pipe+rear heating pipe >: upper heating pipe+lower heating pipe > upper heating pipe+rear heating pipe > single heating pipe.
7. Look at the temperature control mode
Temperature control methods are mainly divided into independent temperature control and unified temperature control. We always see businesses vigorously promoting the advantages of independent temperature control. In fact, it is uncertain whether independent temperature control can play a role in the baking process.
The so-called independent temperature control is to control the temperature of the upper and lower tubes respectively, so as to better control the color of food. This concept is not difficult to understand, but it is difficult to realize for some small-capacity ovens, because the space in the cavity is limited and the hot air will soon gather together.
So I suggest that if the capacity of the steam oven is less than 30L, there is no need to struggle with the temperature control mode. If the steamer capacity is more than 40L, the model with independent temperature control mode can be preferred. After all, something is better than nothing.
8. Look at the steam mode
Although steaming is not as exquisite as baking, I still want to buy something good. Different steam modes have effects on the taste of food, and the cleaning difficulty after use is also different. There are three main steam modes in the steamer: transpiration, direct injection and double direct injection.
The transpiration system has been basically eliminated. Direct injection system is the steam mode adopted by many brands at present because of its high cost performance. The only disadvantage of double direct injection system is its high cost, which is more used in high-end models. However, these two steam modes cannot avoid water accumulation, and it will take some time to clean up after use.
9. Look at the location of the water tank
There are two main types: built-in water tank and external water tank. It is recommended to give priority to external water tanks. When water needs to be added, water can be added directly without opening the cupboard door, which will not affect the cooking process, and the operation is faster and more convenient.
But after understanding, I found that most desktop steaming ovens have built-in water tanks, mainly because the capacity of this oven is relatively small. The design of the large water tank basically does not need to add water when cooking, and friends who choose the desktop steaming oven can ignore this.
10, depending on intelligence.
In the era of smart home appliances, human-computer interaction has also become one of the key points of marketing. For the steaming oven, I only pursue two aspects, one is safety and the other is convenience. In terms of safety, functions such as child lock and preventing potential safety hazards are indispensable, and in terms of convenience, functions such as reservation, intelligent menu and self-cleaning mode are indispensable.
This is also the difference between steaming ovens with different prices. Often the higher the price, the higher the intelligence. Some steaming ovens can also be networked, and it is convenient to operate the menu directly on the mobile phone interface. However, this is only for people in the new era. If you want to buy it for the older generation, you'd better choose a user-friendly interface.
After a week of groping and sorting, I finally found several steaming ovens that meet my expectations. I have made a list of the corresponding key parameters, hoping to help some friends who are worried about buying a steaming oven.
There are not many models available for desktop steaming oven. After all, embedded is the mainstream. Comprehensive parameters and configuration, I personally recommend these three models.
1, Vantage steaming oven multifunctional household electric steaming box desktop
Brand model: Vantage) ZK-30i6
Recommended index:
Highlight: The 30L large-capacity design is more than enough for a small family. The independent temperature control mode of the upper and lower pipes is very powerful, and the price is particularly good. Friends with low budget can focus on it.
2. caston table steamer SV3080DEB-B7
Brand model: CASDON)SV3080DEB-B7
Recommended index:
Highlight: Kaidu's steaming oven focuses on high value and high strength. This appearance is very pleasing to the eye in the kitchen, and the configuration corresponding to this price is also quite satisfactory. Although there is no excellent side, it can meet the needs of ordinary families and is more suitable for young families.
3.CASDON)ST40DZ-H8 Steam Oven Desktop Household Steamer 40L
Brand model: CASDON)ST40DZ-H8
Recommended index:
Highlight: Only used people know how cool 40L is, and the design of external water tank is so practical. The only deficiency may be a unified temperature control mode, but there are three heating pipes and no bicycles.
Although there are many models of embedded steaming ovens, the price range is relatively large, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands. I have adjusted some models that are in line with the budget and have good configuration. Personally, I recommend these models.
1, Supor embedded steaming and baking machine
Brand model: Supor) ZKQD40-709
Recommended index:
Highlight: This steaming oven can be regarded as a cheap fighter. Not only the price is less than 3000 yuan, but also it has WIFI intelligent control. You can operate on your mobile phone after networking. The liner is coated with stainless steel and medical stone, which greatly reduces the difficulty of cleaning. In terms of capacity and function, it is a cost-effective choice for small families and small budgets.
2. caston embedded steaming oven 56L.
Brand model: CASDON)SR56B-GW
Recommended index:
Highlight: Kaidu's professionalism in the steaming oven is beyond doubt, which is vividly reflected in this one. There are two main highlights. One is the double direct injection system, which makes the heating more uniform and fast. The other is the water-proof design, and the heating plate is added at the bottom, which greatly reduces the steam water accumulation and has a particularly large capacity, which is worth considering.
3. Vantage steam oven integrated machine is embedded.
Brand model: Vantage JZKD 50-I 23003
Recommended index:
Highlight: The design of double heating pipes and the configuration of double direct injection system are still relatively rare in the steaming oven, especially for machines under 3000, and Vantage's steaming oven is one of the best, with high configuration and large capacity, and the use experience can only be described as 666, which is very suitable for families with high requirements for steaming and baking.