Delicate items like fish can easily be steamed in a combi oven; the same unit can provide the kind of browning many baked goods need.

Photo by Alto-Shaam

It may be that combi ovens are not yet a kitchen mainstay but they are starting to come close. Today their popularity has grown so much that they are commonplace in many types of operations. The units are so useful and versatile that if you ask chefs to name the most productive pieces of equipment in their kitchens, invariably the combination oven/steamer is singled out at the top of most lists.

Many will say the combi is the heart of their hot food production lines. Others vouch for the units being responsible for finishing more items on the menu than any other piece of equipment.

The really great thing about a combi is that many menu items can be wonderfully baked, roasted, and steamed in one unit. Products that all too often tend to dry out during conventional cooking come out tender and moist in a combi. It's no wonder chefs like combis so much — versatility is the name of the game in today's kitchen.

Essentially an oven/steamer can do everything that a steamer or a convection oven can do and in many cases better than either. They can run in any of the three operating modes: steam, convection, or steam and convection.

Some models offer additional specialty modes using hot air and steam to defrost, rethermalize, poach or gentle steam, and warm. Many types of red meats and poultry products are well adapted to combination cooking because they can be prepared so many ways.

Steaming of vegetables and fish, of course, is easily done. Some users say their best baked pastries and rolls come from their unit. The steamer/oven operating in the combination mode provides forced air convection for even browning along with steam for moist heat, a very effective technique for preparing many types of food.

The combination mode is especially well suited for producing less shrinkage in meats than typical ovens. Breads and rolls baked in the combi mode will be fluffier and have more oven spring than those baked in traditional ovens. Rethermalizing leftovers and heating prepackaged frozen convenience foods also works well in the combi mode to reduce drying and over-browning.

There are other reasons to use the equipment. The combination oven/steamer can save space. Space is the ultimate premium in many operations these days. As we all know today's kitchens are shrinking because we can't afford the luxury of space found in many older kitchens. The combi takes up about half the area of a convection oven and steamer that may free up space for other items or just some badly needed work space. The space saved can translate in to cost savings as well.

Using less exhaust hood stainless steel and the ongoing cost of exhausted air-conditioned air over only three or four feet of reduced length can represent a significant ongoing energy cost. The hood cost along with the savings due to reducing or consolidating pieces of equipment can be significant, but the typical combi is still expensive.

There is a new type of combi that promises to make owners happier about the cost of these units. Several manufacturers have engineered a lower cost line of combi ovens that will appeal to the operation on a budget. The newer type of combi is a boilerless unit. The expensive boiler is eliminated and the resulting steamer/ovens cost about 15-20% less. The only drawback is slightly reduced steam output needed in high volume fast cooking. In many applications the difference in the units is not noticeable. These new boilerless units have opened up an additional market for combi ovens to make them available to even more operations. There is an added benefit to the boilerless combi: reduced liming problems due to hard water. Over half of combi maintenance problems are due to excessive scale and lime build up which can be eliminated in a boilerless model.