With over 25 years of experience in recipe development and appliances, I can help you understand how to use steam ovens and combi-steamers to their full potential. See my In-home cooking class page for Sydney metro customers here.
Recipe development & testing
APPLIANCE MANUFACTURERS:
Would you like unique recipes developed and tested for your brand – include your own logo and highlight specific functions with unique features. Available for your own customers and cooking classes. Could also save your company valuable time and money in reducing service calls and unhappy customers!
Email trudy@cookwise.com.au
Magazines, food blogs or food suppliers
MAGAZINES & MEDIA:
Would you like any of your recipes tested and adapted to be cooked in a steam oven or combi-steam oven? These appliances are rapidly becoming an important part of the family kitchen as more and more people chose a steam oven over a microwave. Now is the time that chefs, food magazines and media in general acknowledge that some recipes and ingredients NEED to be adapted to provide cooking instructions for these appliances as well as traditional cooking times and methods.
Interested? Email trudy@cookwise.com.au
Product testing
Are you a food supplier or grower that needs your product tested in a steam oven for accurate and reliable instructions? Have you been contacted by a customer who has a steam oven and wants to cook your product in it? I can help by optimizing cooking times and methods for your product in a steam oven or combi-steam oven.
Email trudy@cookwise.com.au
Recipe conversion or appliance help
Are you an owner of a steam oven or combi-steam oven who would like your family favorite recipes adapted to cook in your new oven but have no idea how or where to start? Don’t know how to use your new appliances and would like some ‘one on one’ help?
Email trudy@cookwise.com.au I just might be able to help you!
Sorry I have had to remove my phone number due to the amount of spam.
we have just purchased Miele ovens, including the steam combination oven and I’m so grateful to find your website 🙂
Most of our family is vegan, so most of our cooking is vegan
Very rarely, we cook eggs or fish for those of us that eat those products, but the majority of our cooking contains no dairy or eggs or animal products
I would be most grateful for any advice that you can give me regarding recipes for vegan food and also for baking bread
Many thanks
Ilana
Hi Ilana,
Thanks for your message. I am currently in NZ for a week but if you would like me to do some work for you then please email me at the address on the site. I would need you to advise what you are actually looking for ie converting some of your old recipes to now cook in your new combi? New recipes and your budget? Please also tell me where you live, if you have any experience in using the combi and what models you have?
Regards Trudy
Hi Trudy ,
Would love to chat on the phone as I have too many questions/comments to put in an email. One quick question though. Would blanching/steaming Warragul greens in the steam oven be sufficient to remove the oxalic acid?
I was delighted to find your site as I was frustrated with the instructions that came with my AEG combi steam oven. I am still experimenting but I am amazed at how much longer food takes to cook compared with your timings and I assume that is because I have a much bigger oven. What a pity you had to leave the worlds most liveable city!!!!! Regards Irena
Hi Irena,
Yes Warragul greens need blanching for only 1 minute to remove the acid (which by the way is only toxic in large quantities). So steam for 1 minute @ 100oC which is the same temperature as boiling water. To be honest if your large AEG takes longer to get to temp than about 3 min then I would blanch them. Your steam oven is also an ‘evaporative steamer’ so that is why it takes longer plus the cavity size.
Back in Sydney now. Email me to let me know what you want me to do.
Regards Trudy
Thanks for the infoTrudy. Another query I have is whether I need to preheat my steam oven. I was interested to read that the AEG oven is an evaporative steamer which would explain why I have noticed there isn’t as much steam in the oven at the end of cooking, so maybe this answers my question. What are the benefits or more importantly the disadvantages of an evaporative steamer.
Regards, Irena
Hi Irena,
You certainly don’t need to pre-heat on Miele. I suggest you contact the manufacturer on that question.
Regards Trudy
Hi Irena,
I was just answering a question for a lady who has a “BS” full size AEG combi steam oven and discovered that these ovens only have 25% or 50% steam, not full 100% steam as Miele does. Maybe that is why you have been having issues with your timing? You can’t use this oven as a full ‘steam oven’
Regards Trudy
Hi Trudy
The BS actually has 5 preset steam functions: full steam which I assume is 100% steam, with a maximum temp of 96c, 1/2 steam with a maximum temp of 110 c, 1/4 steam with a maximum temp of 180c, eco steam maximum temp 96c which I have never used as it involves preseting the cooking time and steam regeneration maximum temp 110 c, which according to my manual is for reheating food . I actually use this function whenever I am trying one of your recipes which calls for 100c and full steam as I can reduce the temperature to 100c and the function appears to be full steam judging by the amount of steam generated. By the way, I am interested in your comment that the AEG is an evaporative steam oven . What are the benefits or otherwise of this? Thanks for your input Irena
Hi Irena,
Yes, your oven has these preset combi settings that bring on the elements as well as generates a certain percentage of steam but it doesn’t (I think) allow you to generate ‘just steam’ at lower temperatures. Please correct me if I am wrong. For example I can steam – STEAM only @ 40oC to 100oC with NO elements coming on. Your regeneration function MAY bring on an element (which would be fine for reheating as they suggest). You may be able to find out this information from the manufacturer. When you ‘steam rice’ does it feel dry on the top layer?
Please let me know as I would be interested to find out. You have a full size oven, it wasn’t made to be able to be a stand alone steam oven from my past training.
There are various comments on the blog about evaporative steam versus steam injection that you can read but basically evaporative is slower (except for Gaggenau that goes to 110oC to cook root vegetables) I prefer steam injection for the beauty of control of temperature, speed and no cavity to clean out. Everyone has their preferences and if you have worked out exactly how to cook everything you want in your oven then well done!
Regards Trudy
Thanks Trudy,
I have learnt a lot from your emails. You are correct in saying that the elements come on as well when I use a steam function, even on the dough proving setting. I can’t remember from the last time I cooked rice in the oven as to whether it was dry on top. The rice tasted starchy and I wasn’t happy with it but I will try again soon and let you know.
BFN Irena
Hi trudy, I have tried lots of your steam oven recipes now and absolutely love them. I’ve made the creme caramel, chicken and spinach gow gees, porridge, steam oven rice, steamed lemon and coconut pudding, pumpkin, pea and feta risotto, thai fish skewers numerous times, sous vide steak is absolutely amazing!!!, steamed prawns, cranberry pistachio shortbread, pomegranate & haloumi salad! Everyone has turned out PERFECT!!
Just wondering if you have a pork bun recipe. I would love to try them but would only go to effort with one of your recipes as guaranteed to work. Let me know. Thanks…jackie
Hi Jackie,
Glad you are enjoying my recipes! I have converted Dan Lepard’s Chinese steamed bao recipe from Good Food to the steam oven but haven’t published it yet. The buns (like the lotus leaf buns) were a LOT of work but fabulous in the steam oven and I used the Pulled pork meat already published. I need to work on a more traditional Chinese pork bao someday…
Regards Trudy
Hi Trudy,
I just got my very first steam oven, a Gaggenau. Like so many other people, I have been looking all over the internet to find recipes for steam oven cooking, but to no avail:-( Thank you for providing steam oven owners with fantastic and adapted recipes, just one question: in a lot of the the recipes you write e.g. “Steam @ 100°C for 5-7 min ” (Spicy Sri Lankan Fish) or “Cook @ 100°C for 12 minutes”(Chinese Steamed Bao) but you don’t specify the moisture percentage. Could you please clarify, as my oven can be set to all different kinds of temperatures and steam/moisture settings?
Regards Stig
Hi Stig
Thanks for your email. When I refer to “Steam” then that means moisture, so steam only. I usually always say Steam except for the Bao recipe which was referring to cooking only in a “Steam oven ”
Other brands make Steam only ovens unlike your Gagganau. When I am cooking in the “Combi steam oven ” like you have I will always refer to “Combination Mode say 130oC (radiant heat) + 30% moisture “.
I hope that helps. Go and have a cooking class on your product anywhere you can as you really will benefit from it. You have a great product but you will need to learn how to use it.
Good luck,
Regards Trudy
Hi Trudy,
I just received a very welcome and long-awaited gift in the mail – an AEG steam combi oven cookbook. It is written for Australian cooks and beautifully produced, the recipes look very practical and yummy. Can’t wait to try them.
Regards
Catherine
Hi Catherine,
That’s great AEG really did need to give their customers this as the ovens are different to all other brands. I had heard that they were doing something with Women’s Weekly which was never released so they must have decided to do a specific book after all.
All the best.
Regards Trudy
Hi Trudi
I was wondering how to get a look at one of these recipe books.I have had my oven for over 3 years & rarely use it as I find the recipe book that came with the oven is really poor. I have tried & usually fail miserably & go back to using the convection side as I know I can get results from that. Unfortunately the reason I bought the combi steam oven was for the steam benefits but I dont seem to have got far with that side.I am desperate to get onto some good every day recipes that work well for the family.
Regards
Georgina
Hi Georgina,
Sorry I haven’t written a book yet but there are heaps of recipes on my blog or you can email me for a cooking class in Sydney metro.
It is such a great appliance, I agree you need to use it!
Regards Trudy