Buying a Combi Oven - What You Need To Know | JD Catering Equipment – JD Catering Equipment Solutions Ltd

What do you need to know?

A combi oven (also known as a combination oven or combi steamer) is one of the most advanced and versatile appliances in a professional kitchen. By cooking with steam, convection heat, or a combination of both, a combi oven can handle an impressive range of tasks – from baking bread and roasting meat to steaming vegetables and regenerating pre-cooked dishes. Because combi ovens are often among the largest and most expensive pieces of commercial kitchen equipment, it’s crucial to choose the right model for your operation. Selecting the best combi oven for your kitchen can improve efficiency, consistency, and food quality, while also saving time and reducing waste.

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What can a Combi Oven cook?

A combi oven makes preparing breakfast easy, allowing chefs to cook large quantities of bacon, sausages, eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes simultaneously, while delicate pastries can be baked to perfection.

Through lunch and dinner service, combi ovens deliver consistent, tender results for roasted meats, grilled steaks, steamed fish and crisp vegetables.

They can also hot-hold dishes, ensuring perfectly cooked joints or other mains are ready when needed. Even desserts like soufflés and crème brûlée can be cooked with precision.

With a combi oven, chefs can handle every service efficiently while maintaining high-quality, consistent results.

How does a Combi Oven work?

A combi oven combines the principles of a convection oven with steam cooking to give chefs maximum control and versatility. Fans distribute dry heat evenly throughout the cabinet, just like a standard convection oven, while steam can be injected to raise humidity levels as needed. This combination of heat and moisture seals in flavours, improves yield, and speeds up cooking.

Combi ovens can also remove moisture by venting steam, which helps food cook faster and develop the perfect crisp, making them ideal for dishes like bacon or pork crackling. By adjusting heat and humidity, a combi oven allows chefs to achieve consistent, high-quality results across a wide range of recipes.

What to look out for when buying a Combi Oven?

When buying a combi oven, it’s important to choose one that suits your kitchen’s needs. The right oven can save time, improve consistency, and make cooking more efficient.

Here are five key things to check before making your purchase:

✔ Size and Capacity – Ensure it fits your kitchen and can handle the volume you need.
✔ Durable design: robust construction for heavy-duty kitchen use.
✔ Programmability – Pre-set programmes and intuitive controls make cooking faster and easier.
✔ Ease of Cleaning – Self-cleaning or easy-to-clean systems reduce downtime and labour.
✔ Energy Efficiency – Efficient models save on running costs and are kinder to the environment.
By keeping these factors in mind, you can pick a combi oven that delivers consistent results, improves workflow, and meets the demands of a busy kitchen. The best combi oven is the one which meets all the demands of your kitchen.