You should look at the Sharp combo oven. Can sit on the counter or be built in. It is a lot less than it's European built in counterparts.

DO you steam a lot of food now, are you going to make a lifestyle change to do this? In 8-10 years you are not going to see any return on a 2500-3000 dollar steam oven when you go to sell so you can discount or eliminate that from your decision.

Just got the sharp AX-1200 today for my mom and we marveled at how it steamed chinese dumplings and ease of use. It was a cinch to fill up the reservoir and there is no waiting for the steam- you just hit "start" and the timer starts counting down, you see the steam within minutes. The cavity seems fine for a 2nd oven, much bigger than most microwaves. It also does convection baking, and microwave. Without the trim kit it is 24" if it sits on the counter. If your are going to build it in, it needs 30" due to side clearances with the trim kit. It was $861 from Amazon with free 2 day shipping since I am an Amazon Prime member (actually we did the $3.99 one day shipping and it really arrived in one day!)

For myself, I have a discontinued Gaggenau steam oven bought new off Ebay but my kitchen installation is months away so it is still in its packaging.You can buy them on ebay for about $1500, they are plumbed units so there is increased installation cost.

We have a Gaggenau Combi-steam oven and we use it daily. This was my must-have appliance and it has exceeded our expectations -- it was expensive but we would do it again.

It is convection, so it does double-duty as an oven, not just steaming. Steam can be added to higher (than steam) temperature for baking or roasting without drying out the food, or zero steam for recipes that require dry heat. The oven capacity is smaller than a conventional oven, but it can hold a 13" x 9" casserole dish, and the smaller size means it heats more quickly and is perfect for small family use.

It can hold several trays of food, and these can be mixed, so you could do an entire dinner in the oven. We purchased some half trays for versatility.

It is plumbed, so no filling water containers or wiping it dry.

Reheating a plate of food in the Combi-steam takes about 10 minutes, and does not dry the food out the way a microwave does. We choose the microwave or the steam for reheating depending on the type & texture of the food.

"Reheating a plate of food in the Combi-steam takes about 10 minutes, and does not dry the food out the way a microwave does. "

This can be remedied easily. Simply put a couple of drops of water and cover your food with another plate. That will compensate for the moisture lost in the fridge, and creates steam to heat the food, just like the steam oven. I can heat up a full plate in 2 to 3 minutes this way! Just be careful when you take the food out and remove the plate as the steam can be quite high!

Another hint: touch the center of the plate. If it doesn't come close to burning your finger, then the food is not warm enough. Just run the microwave for a few more seconds.

Above is one of the main reasons we passed on steam oven :). The other was the small size, lack of self-cleaning, high cost, etc.

But the Sharp has a steam clean function. Does anyone have experience with cleaning their Sharp steam oven? does it work?

I, too, am looking for a steam oven/steamer. I also need a microwave but not a convection oven. (I ready have a range and a double wall oven) Any suggestions?

I also really wanted a steam oven that could function as a regular convection oven, but I didn't want to pay Gaggenau prices. After much debate, we ended up purchasing an AEG steam/convection oven from Euro-line Appliances in Canada. Our kitchen is currently being installed, so I haven't yet used the oven, but I'll report as soon as I have some first-hand experience with it.

Thanks for all the input. I'm still in a dilemma about the steam oven. I thougth I was pretty close to taking the financial plunge with Miele 30" Masterchef oven and Miele Steamer oven as the saleswomen told me I could do all the cooking/baking I currently do in my two conventional ovens in one Masterchef convection and that would allow for my second oven to be the steamer. I asked three of my friends who are cooks and have convections and two hardly use the convection feature and the other says that when she bakes multiple trays in her convection (kitchenaid), the pastry doesn't come out the same as if she does a single tray at time. The other two friends have Thermadores. I feel like I am back at square one again since it makes a huge difference to me if I cannot cook 4 racks at a time in convection like the saleswomen says - she has worked for Miele for 22 years and brought the product to the Northeast. I think the next step may be to bring a batch of bread rolls or something to her test kitchen and try it out. I never thougth this decision would be so nerve racking - maybe if cost were of no consequence, this would be easier. Meanwhile, I will keep reading all the posts on this forum. Truly, the best source of info and ideas.

From all I have read here the Miele oven is renowned for its ability to cook 4 racks evenly with convection. Someone has a great picture of that.

For the Sharp steam oven. a puddle of clean water gathers at the bottom of the oven after steam use. The machine reminds you to refill the water reservoir and empty the drip tray each time, so you can't for get it. It also tells you to wipe the oven dry but I found that if the oven is used a lot as we did during Thanksgiving weekend, I would just wipe it out once at the end of the day. We didn't need to use the steam clean because it was mostly clean water to sop up with towels. At the end of the day, there is a "drain" function that clears out the tubing when the reservoir is removed. It took 8 minutes. After that, I would empty the drip tray and leave the oven open a crack so that it could completely dry overnight. This is my mother's oven so I don't have access to it now.

You should also take a look at in counter steamers. gaggenau makes one that will cook most everything the miele steam cavity does, but requires less electrical power, can use other fluids besides water, and can fit in a dead corner of counter space rather than giving up a cabinet.

Thanks for the tips. I am signed up for a Miele demo dinner next Wednesday so they can show how all their products work. They are using the steaming oven to make a cake and the sales rep told me of a recent woman who came in and baked 4 sheets of cookies and only the few cookies on the top back did not come out even. The rep consistently bakes 3 sheets with no problem. She also explained that the Miele in convection mode has the fan running in the back along with the heat coming from the back (vs. heat coming from bottom as other convections may do) which results in more even baking. The Miele does have a cooking unit on the bottom and on the top, too, but in convection, these are not on. I am leaning towards single Masterchef with a Steaming oven but will let you know what I learn from next weeks demo. Thanks again for everyone's valuable input.