Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
lwlittle46_gw

Wolf Steam Ovne

lwlittle46
9 years ago

Been looking at the Wolf Steam oven for our new house; however, I've seen mixed reviews on it. On the other hand most of the reviews on the GE Advantium seem to be very positive. Any thoughts on which you would choose based on personal experiences?

Comments (9)

  • plllog
    9 years ago

    I have a Gaggenau combi-steam oven and an Advantium. Both are great. I will use them interchangeably when I need a plain convection oven. Otherwise there's no comparison.

    The steam oven steams.

    The speed oven uses a combination of heat sources (hot air, radiant and microwave) to cook faster. It also is a fully functional microwave oven.

    They do different stuff.

    If I could only have one, I'd choose the steam oven and a countertop microwave, but if you have a hectic life outside the home, where twenty minutes difference in the cooking time will decidedly improve your lifestyle, then the Advantium wins. Having both is better.

  • mjocean
    9 years ago

    Hi,
    We LOVE out Wolf steam convection oven! Great for steaming vegetables, baking (especially bread) slow roasting, fish, ribs, reheating food (although I recommend to also have a microwave) - everything. There are no cookbooks out there yet so other than manufacturers instructions you are on your own. It's fun to experiment. I can't comment on the Advantium as I never researched it and have no experience.
    Good luck, MJ

  • philwojo99
    9 years ago

    I would agree with plllog, but as mjocean said I only have the CSO as well, and have never used the Advantium.

    I don't think you can go wrong with either one to be honest though.

    We love our CSO and hope to not ever have to be without one again.

    Phil

  • ChristyMcK
    9 years ago

    We've been using our Gagg combi-steam oven for about 3 weeks now and so far it's fantastic. We don't use our microwave very much and so didn't consider the Advantium - we were more concerned with having a 2nd oven. We've used our microwave a bit since the Gagg was installed, almost exclusively to heat up water.

    I think it depends on how you cook. If you use a microwave a considerable amount perhaps the Advantium would get more use. Otherwise a CSO can really expand your cooking experience.

  • Mistman
    9 years ago

    Agree with Christy, we have a micro drawer but since discovering the wonders of steam/conv it's been relegated to heating water, softening ice cream, melting butter and thawing mostly. Oh and making smores, the kids love watching the marshmallow expand on top of the graham cracker, then we add few choco chips and squish it all down w/another cracker, takes about 20 secs to have a yummy smores :) My DW used to use the micro for veggies ALOT, now it's steam, no comparison. We considered an Advantium but basically replaced it with the steam oven, healthier.

  • barryv_gw
    9 years ago

    I have no experience with the Advantium, but wanted to throw in one more use for the steam oven - cheesecakes. When I make them in the regular oven, it is pretty tough, you have to pull them out while still jiggly in the center and even then, you sometimes get a crack when it cools. Instead, you put the ingredients in the springform pan, cover the pan with plastic wrap or aluminum foil ( I used plastic wrap ), use a rubber band to hold in place, then cook on steam at 190 F - Even if you cook it until it is all the way done, it doesn't crack when it cools down. Made 3 in the last week, no cracks.

  • plllog
    9 years ago

    The Advantium had better be used for more than a microwave!! It's a very good microwave, but way way too much to spend for just that. Plus, microwaves degrade over time. The speed features of a speed oven are very good, but it's a steep learning curve to understand what to do and how to take the best advantage of it. It's a very different way of cooking. And it does have its uses. I'm not a great at it, nor at explaining it, but there are times when it's invaluable. It's also a great convection oven, and larger on the inside than the combi-steam.

    Steaming is steaming. There's nothing you can do in a combi-steam that you can't achieve by more conventional (and less expensive) means. The thing is, most people don't want to bother. If you want to steam large volumes of vegetables, dumplings or tamales, it does it practically at the flick of a finger. If you want to poach chicken or eggs or fish, there's none of the fuss. Just put it in and turn it on. If you want a moist environment for bread or roasts, there it is, just set it and go. This is especially true if it's plumbed. If you have to use a tank, you could just as well set up a conventional oven for steam. It does give you the ability to leave the apparatus in place, however.

    The real question is, what do you want to use your second oven for? How best will one serve your needs?

  • lwlittle46
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    If we had an Advantium I think our use would be as follows:
    ..reheating leftovers
    ..heating water for tea, etc.
    ..small oven baking including bread, meat loaf, small roasts, etc.

    We usually steam veggies stove top. IN our last house we had a 48" GE Monogram range and we used the small oven all the time and rarely used the big oven but we also had a 27" wall oven. Net - we had one more oven than we needed.

  • plllog
    9 years ago

    I don't know about the Wolf, but the Gaggenau combi-steam has the "regenerate" setting which will evenly warm a dished up plate of food, getting the different densities and textures all warm, and none of it getting weird. Definitely the best thing for leftovers. There are leftovers that do fine being zapped, especially if it's just the main, rather than a finished plate, but the results in the Gaggenau are far superior. I think the Wolf might have something similar.

    For tea, check this experiment I did a couple of years ago. I've always used a kettle of one kind or other. The Advantium can't touch it for speed, except on gas.

    Either one will do your small oven baking.

    I have to say that I haven't noticed a big difference between using a bigger or smaller oven. I use my Advantium as an oven only when the other two are full, or for the kind of little tidbits that one might put in a toaster oven, like a tray of frozen borekes (appetizers). The reason I use it for the latter is that it's convenient to the fridge and freezer, rather than walking across the kitchen. It's also more convenient for things that need to be turned over because the opening is longways, whereas in the Gaggenau combi-steam it's shortways (Wolf might be different). I know the big oven will need more energy to heat up to begin with, but I don't think it takes much more to keep it going. Mine is well enough insulated that if it's being used regularly it stays above room temperature, whereas the combi-steam and Advantium both cool down faster.

    The combi-steam isn't ideal for making tea, though, of course, it can be done. Otherwise, both will suit your list.