A steam oven is an innovative kitchen appliance that uses steam to cook food, helping to preserve its natural flavors, moisture, and nutrients. Whether you're steaming vegetables, fish, or grains, a steam oven delivers consistently tender, flavorful results without the need for excess oil or fats. The key advantage of using steam is its ability to maintain food's vitamins and minerals, making it a healthier cooking method. In this blog, we’ll explore the differences between full steam ovens and combination steam ovens, how they work, and why they might be a great addition to your kitchen. From speeding up meal prep to enhancing the texture of your favorite dishes, steam ovens offer a world of benefits for both experienced chefs and beginners alike.

For more information on different oven types, you can check out our detailed comparison of steam vs electric ovens.

How Do Steam Ovens Work?

Steam ovens come with different ways of generating steam. Some models have a built-in water tank that you manually fill, which then feeds into an evaporator to produce steam. Others use external steam generators that inject steam directly into the oven.

There are also plumbed-in models that connect to your kitchen’s water supply, eliminating the need for manual refills, offering a more convenient option for those who use steam frequently.

In terms of functionality, combination-steam ovens generally offer more versatility, with the ability to adjust the level of steam and dry heat. These ovens can even switch to a full steam mode, running at 100% humidity for dishes that need gentle, even cooking. While pure steam ovens are excellent for cooking delicate, moist dishes, combination steam ovens bring that extra flexibility, making them perfect for a broader range of meals.

Understanding the Two Main Types of Steam Ovens: Full Steam vs. Combination Steam

First, we’ll dive into the two main types of steam ovens: full steam ovens and combination steam ovens, each offering unique features and benefits.

Full steam ovens – dedicated solely to steam cooking.

A full steam oven is a kitchen appliance that uses only steam to cook food, delivering wet heat directly into the oven cavity. Think of it like a stovetop steaming basket, but with more precision, efficiency, and control. It gently cooks food by creating moisture, helping retain flavour, texture, and nutrients. For example, when you steam vegetables, they stay bright, tender, and packed with vitamins—without any of the dryness that can come with baking or roasting.

Combination steam ovens – steam and traditional convection, giving you more cooking options.

A combi steam oven, on the other hand, combines both steam and traditional convection heat (dry heat) in one unit. This allows for a versatile cooking experience where you can choose to use steam, convection, or a blend of both. This combination is great for achieving that golden-brown, crispy exterior on foods like roast chicken or baked pastries, while keeping the inside incredibly moist and tender. Think perfectly roasted vegetables, crispy-skinned chicken, and bakery-quality bread—all thanks to the steam and convection working together.

Steam Ovens vs. Combi Steam Ovens: Which Is Right for You?

Pure steam ovens

Pure steam ovens operate at a max temperature of 100°C (212°F) with 100% humidity—just like a stovetop steamer. These ovens are ideal for steaming vegetables, fish, rice, and other foods that benefit from a moist cooking environment. Because they don’t rely on dry heat, pure steam ovens are often more affordable, but they’re not as versatile for roasting or baking.

Some people opt to have a separate pure steam oven installed as well as their regular convection oven. This obviously requires more kitchen space (and money) and will mean that you will need to transfer from the steam oven to the convection oven if your food needs browning or crisping.

Combi steam ovens

Combi steam ovens (sometimes called convection steam ovens) are designed to offer the best of both worlds. You can choose to cook with only steam, only convection heat, or a combination of both. This makes them ideal for a wider range of cooking styles, from steaming to roasting to baking. With a combi steam oven, you can create dishes with crisp exteriors and tender, juicy interiors, like a perfect roast chicken or flaky puff pastry. They're a more expensive investment, but if you want maximum flexibility, they’re so worth it.

And you don’t have to sacrifice design either, Fisher & Paykel offer a range of combi-steam ovens that have a sleek minimal design. Some models are even handle-less which reinforces the minimal aesthetic and uses touch-to-open technology – the perfect marriage of luxury and convenience.

Why Invest in a Steam or Combi Steam Oven?

If you’re on the fence about whether a steam oven is worth it, consider the flavour and texture benefits. The ability to cook with steam means you don’t need to rely as much on added fats to achieve delicious, moist food. Roasting vegetables or cooking meats in a combi steam oven results in perfectly moist dishes with crispy, golden exteriors—without dousing everything in oil. For example, steam-cooked chicken remains juicy and tender without needing to be fried or heavily coated in fat.

Another significant benefit is the time-saving factor. Steam ovens cook food faster than traditional ovens—often up to 30% quicker. They also require less preheating, meaning your meals are ready in a fraction of the time, which is perfect for busy weeknights. In a family setting, you can cook multiple dishes—such as protein, vegetables, and grains—at once using multiple shelves, streamlining the entire meal preparation process.

Plus, if you’re aiming for a healthier cooking approach, steam ovens help retain more nutrients compared to methods like roasting, grilling, or frying. Steaming preserves vitamins and minerals in vegetables and meats better than most other cooking methods, making it an excellent option for those looking to maximize nutrition without compromising on flavour.

If you’re a less experienced cook or too busy to faff around with cooking, the combi-steam ovens from Fisher & Paykel can turn you into a gourmet cook with a number of great innovations.

Touchscreen interface: enables you to cook with a favourite method, hero ingredient, cooking function or recipe. Your oven can guide you through the steps, or change the temperature and heat type automatically, depending on your selection.

SmartHQ App: this app is for use on all the Fisher & Paykel combi-steam ovens. It offers remote control guided cooking, and real-time alerts, making the cooking experience even easier. Plus SmartHQ allows for firmware updates that enhance functionality, keeping your oven at the cutting edge of cooking technology.

Flavorly Integration: delivers professionally curated recipes and step-by-step guided instructions to help you achieve restaurant-quality results from your combi-steam oven at home. Trying new dishes and experimenting with flavour has never been easier.

Key cooking advantages with Combi-Steam

Cooking Delicate Proteins Like Fish with Precision

Combi-steam ovens are particularly effective for cooking delicate proteins, like fish, which can be tricky due to their fragile texture and tendency to dry out. Fish requires careful temperature control and often benefits from shorter cooking times, both of which steam ovens are designed to support. By using low temperatures and moisture control, steam ovens gently cook fish without drying it out. Some models, such as combi-steam ovens like the Fisher & Paykel even offer a sous-vide function, which is perfect for gently cooking proteins like salmon before guests arrive and simply applying a quick sear to reheat.

Baking Perfect Sourdough and Artisan Breads

If you're a keen baker, a combi-steam oven will completely transform your bread-making. Baking sourdough at home can be challenging, especially when aiming for a golden, crunchy crust and a soft, airy crumb. Professional bakers often use steam injection to achieve this, and steam ovens allow you to replicate that process at home. For those accustomed to using conventional ovens and Dutch Ovens to get the ‘bread spring’, steam ovens make it much easier to achieve an open, airy crumb and a chewy, glossy crust. Fisher & Paykel’s combination steam ovens, like the OS60NDBB1, let you adjust the steam settings to tailor it to the ideal level for bread baking, not just sourdough, but all types of breads.

In comparison, standard convection or conventional ovens lack the moisture control needed for the crust and crumb textures of good bread. While a few conventional models have steam-assisted functions, they typically don’t allow the precise steam control that Fisher & Paykel’s steam ovens offer.

Achieving Juicy Roasts with a Crispy Exterior

Combi-steam ovens are perfect for creating delicious roast dinners, even with lean cuts like pork loin or fillet. The steam helps keep the interior juicy, while the dry heat develops a crisp, golden-brown skin. The result is roast meat that’s perfectly juicy inside, with an evenly cooked, crisp exterior that doesn’t rely on extra oils or frequent basting.

The Verdict

While a combi steam oven might cost more upfront, its versatility in cooking and the added convenience of combining steam with convection heat make it a worthwhile investment for those who cook a variety of meals. Whether you’re steaming delicate fish, roasting a golden chicken, or baking perfectly moist bread, a steam oven brings out the best in your ingredients. And with faster cooking times and the potential for healthier meals, it’s a smart addition to any kitchen.