Whether you use a stove top, grill, microwave, oven, airfryer, etc… you will find that there are both pros and cons to using each. Air-fryers have been getting all the buzz on the market, but I am here today to highlight steam cooking and a relatively new product that I have found to be quite incredible.
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The guest of honor for this post is the Sharp – SuperSteam Steam Oven (Model:SSC0586DS). This machine deserves special note because it combines all the benefits of an oven and a traditional steamer into one semi-convenient appliance.
The benefits of Steam intervention in your daily cooking.
For those who have never used steam in your cooking process, it is the preferred cooking method for many health conscientious individuals. Truth be told, straight-steamed food has never appealed to me, the food becomes bland and often times soggy. This is why the Sharp SuperSteam oven is actually quite wonderful, it combines the positive aspects of an oven (high temperature, crisp food, and versatility for cooking different categories of food) with the positive aspect of steaming (hydrated food).
Hydrated food is an overlooked quality when it comes to cooking, many times you accidentally overcook chicken or vegetables in the oven and it’ll come out unpleasantly dry. The steam not only prevents food from drying out, but it miraculously rehydrates whatever else you place into it. That 4 day old stale bread? Rehydrated! AND tasting as good as it was when it was freshly baked!
The Pros and Cons of the Sharp SuperSteam Steam Oven.
The Pros:
- Cooked protein (steak,chicken,fish) comes out tasting incredible and juicy! If you want perfection, you will have to give it a quick sear on the grill or cast iron (this will be mentioned in the Cons section).
- Veggies come out perfect!
- No preheating or defrosting necessary as this machine packs a massive 1750watt cooking highway (cooking range between 160F and 485F)
- Re-hydrates and toasts bread to perfection, be it old bread or new.
- Revitalizes old fridge pizza to perfection
- Easy to operate and clean.
- Bake/Reheat, Grill/Broil, Keep Warm, Pizza, and Toast functions are integrated in the easy to use LCD menu.
- Stainless Steel and modern looking. Dare I say looking Sharp?
- Timer max 60 minutes before needing to refill 6oz water reservoir.
- I need to reiterate… this thing cooks to PERFECTION.
The Cons:
- One more relatively large device (24lbs) in your kitchen (Outer dimensions 19.7″w x 9.3″h x 19.3″d).
- Small internal dimensions (12.5″w x 4.6″h x 12.5″d)
- Takes longer to cook than a microwave.
- Protein will brown, but it’s not as brown as I like on my steak. I fully recommend searing on a cast iron for thick steaks.
- Not good for baking cakes or bread from scratch because of how small the internals are.
- Pulls a lot of wattage when used at max temperature, make sure no other device is running on the same wall socket.
- While both included trays can be used together when cooking, the items on the bottom tray better be relatively flat as there isn’t much space.
- Relatively expensive at $330, but good value in my eyes.
- Obviously this isnt going to be as good as built in wall steam ovens or Combi Ovens. If price and space isn’t an issue buy those ($5000-$30,000). Honestly though why even compare things in such drastically different price ranges. (I did because people on other sites say its not as good as a $20,000 combi oven… nooo really?).
Example of a Cooked Steak
In the picture below you will see the two pretty thick pieces of steak that I had “grilled” in the Sharp SuperSteam oven, the top piece shows the side cooked for 12 minutes and the bottom is the same cook time, but flipped. I then flipped the top one and put it back in for another 10 minutes. I do recommend searing it on a cast iron after the fact, but by no means was it necessary! Let the meat rest for 10 minutes or so and enjoy!
See Page 2 for buying recommendations.