While achieving healthy, restaurant-quality dishes at home used to be a challenge, a trio of advanced cooking appliance features is changing the game for skilled culinarians and cooking enthusiasts, enabling dedicated cooks to deliver sumptuous meals with greater efficiency and less chaos.
Here’s a look at three exceptional cooking tools that used to be the sole province of professional kitchens, but are now available from the best premium and luxury appliance brands, offering everyone from serious home cooks to busy families the opportunity to create a restaurant-quality experience at home.
Steam Ovens: Harnessing the Power and Versatility of Moisture
When water vapor fills the steam oven chamber, food cooks in moisture, boosting flavor and texture while preserving color, vitamins, and minerals. Bon Appétit calls the steam oven “a Swiss army knife for your kitchen” for its versatility—from creating bakery-worthy bread, pie crusts, and pastries to cooking moist chicken, juicy cuts of meat, delicate fish, tender vegetables, and fresh-tasting leftovers. Plus, food cooks faster than in conventional ovens.
More luxury brands are offering steam ovens and ranges, including:
- SKS offers Steam-Combi convection technology in Wi-Fi-enabled wall ovens and pro-style ranges. Some models include an internal high-definition camera to identify food items and suggest recipes and cooking modes.
- Thermador steam convection ovens (pictured above) offer 17 Cooking Modes, a multi-point temperature meat probe, True Convection baffle system, and Wi-Fi capabilities with access to curated recipes. The 48-inch Pro Grand Range has a secondary, dedicated steam convection oven.
- Wolf plumbed and non-plumbed models combine steam and convection, some featuring a Dual Convection System, and include various cooking modes, an eight-inch touchscreen, digital sensors for automatic adjustments, and the ability to save up to fifty recipe presets.
Sous Vide: Precise, Consistent Cooking for Perfect Results
Sous vide offers unparalleled control and consistency, slowly cooking vacuum-sealed food in a precisely controlled water bath. Ovens with air sous vide mimic the water bath with advanced convection, often combined with steam. Some ovens can even create a sous vide environment without water or bags. Sous vide provides precise doneness, preserves nutrients, and enhances flavor and tenderness for meats, vegetables, eggs, and desserts like cheesecake and custards.
Here are some of the ways top brands are incorporating sous vide technology:
- LG Studio Air Sous Vide and Steam Sous Vide modes cook vacuum-sealed food in the slide-in range or the wall oven cavity, mimicking traditional sous vide results. Some models also offer ProBake Convection and Air Fry.
- SKS uniquely offers a built-in cooktop sous vide system, allowing precise water-based cooking, followed by a quick sear to perfect flavor and texture. Sous vide is also available in some wall ovens and ranges as a dedicated mode or combined with convection.
- Electrolux offers Wi-Fi-enabled, large-capacity wall ovens with patented air sous vide technology that doesn’t require vacuum-sealing food.
Warming Drawers: The Secret to Seamless Meal Timing
Warming drawers are lifesavers for home cooks and avid entertainers who appreciate streamlining food prep, relaxing or mingling with guests before meals, and having complete control over when food is served. Typically installed under ovens or cooktops, they use fans to evenly distribute heat and keep cooked food at a safe, consistent, and ideal temperature for hours. High-end drawers feature adjustable temperature and humidity settings to actually preserve food color and quality—unlike an oven on low that dries out food or makes it soggy. Warming drawers are also ideal for proofing bread, reheating baked goods, slow cooking, melting chocolate, and warming plates for an elegant presentation.
These high-end drawers each feature bread-proofing mode and size, style, and installation options with primary distinctions between temperature and humidity control mechanisms, capacity, and luxury features:
- Monogram models feature variable degree (80°F to 210°F) and humidity (crisp to moist) controls with steam vents, and an elevated half rack. Some models feature automatic shut-off features.
- Thermador models feature three temperature settings, up to 2.3 cu. ft. capacity, SoftClose®, automatic shut-off timer, convection mode, and hidden touch controls. Some models feature a moisture selector.
- Wolf indoor and outdoor models feature superior air circulation, variable degree (80°F to 200°F) control, humidity control with steam vents for proofing bread, an automatic shut-off timer, soft-close technology, and a hidden touch control panel. A 24-inch model is designed specifically as a cup warming drawer with a 40-teacup capacity.
Besides their functional appeal, high-end steam ovens, sous vide options, and warming drawers can empower your clients with culinary creativity and confidence while adding sophistication, value, and a health-conscious edge to any modern kitchen. When you and your clients are ready, stop by our showroom and let our knowledgeable team help you explore these and other quality appliances.