When I was finalizing my purchases, I was considering Gaggenau and Miele too. I didn't think there was a huge difference in function. I thing the Gagg looks nicer, and if you have a Gagg oven it pairs nicely. I could easily have gone either way, but the deciding factor was the permanent water connection. However that won't be a factor in for you in Europe. In theory I like the variable steam options on Gagg, but I'm sure I could have made the Miele single option work just fine. Until this post, I didn't even pay attention to the "steam without pressure." So apparently I could have lived without it! I suspect it doesn't make a huge difference in most cases. One thing I do like about the Gagg is the side oven opening. I don't feel like a slide out rack would be particulally beneficial. Again, I'm sure if I had the slide out rack, I would say , "I couldn't live without it!" Perhaps I'm not being very helpful at all, but I think that both are very good options. It might be a qustion of price or style, but in terms of function, both have their relative pros and cons that seem to balance each other out.

Fortunately, I have a relatively large pantry (vs. a much smaller kitchen). So when I got the Miele Speed oven, I just moved my old Sharp microwave and my ancient, beloved, toaster oven into the pantry. Now, about 8 months after the remodel, I still use the toaster oven for toast, having never even tried to toast in the Miele. And the pantry's microwave gets used to do something quick (like melt butter) while the Miele is pre-heating, or baking, or whatever. Though these things only happen occasionally, its been often enough that I haven't seen my way to tossing out either old oven. The drawback, of course, is that there are 5 ovens in my little kitchen/pantry area, which seems excessive. And I suppose the pantry has less counter space for canned beans or whatever... As for the Miele's combination mode, I've only begun to explore this by using it to reheat things like casseroles -- Alton Brown's "Cauliflower Say Cheese", last night. Master Chef expects me to know how much these things weigh, which is a struggle, but last night's guess turned out just fine. Oh yeah, if you select Defrost mode, the Miele speed oven will heat in the range of 75 to 125 degrees. This setting is useful for cooking "raw" foods at 104. I did think about a steam oven as well, but there really was no way to fit it in there.

The really worrisome part here is that no one has stated the importance of canning low acid foods in a pressure canner. Miele puts a disclaimer about the USDA recommendations on the top of their instructions and yet gives instructions that don't follow them. If you follow USDA guidelines, you would not be canning in a steam oven to begin with but in no case would you be canning low acid foods with it. From Miele's instruction book page 62 I can't even think of any vegetables that would follow USDA guidelines canned this way. Tomatoes require the addition of acid now. Even if you could guarantee the contents of the jar reached 212F throughout, this is not hot enough to kill some pathogens that form heat resistant spores. A pressure canner allows the temperature to get to 240F. "vthomas99 I have been using a Miele Steam Oven for Canning since 2010 with MUCH SUCCESS!!!" Anecdotal evidence in no assurance of safety. It is the by guess and by golly "Nobody we know has gotten sick doing it this way" vs the use of scientific methodology to prove what food preservation methods eradicate pathogens. "I know that the FDA is not up to date on steam canning!!" The FDA does not deal with home preservation of food. If you go to their website they have quite a bit on commercial steam canning though. The USDA is the branch of the Department of Agriculture that provides research based advice on home preservation of food. Have you read any of their current articles about this subject? They consider this to be one of their "burning issues". Steam Canners They are in the forefront but approach the issue with extreme caution. Foodborne illness can be a lot more than an upset stomach and a case of the scoots, especially for the young, the elderly and the immunosuppressed. I have personally seen people die from foodborne illness but some have lived and lost their kidney function or a limb(s) because their circulation shut down during the course of their illness. "However, it is just as good a method through the Miele as through a conventional canner!!" Even if they say a steam canner is ok for acidic foods, that does not necessarily mean a steam oven would be OK. "MY goodness! Steam is steam!" I would have thought that there would be similarities between a steam canner and steam oven but there are many factors to be considered and they would need to be tested separately. From the above article--- "Sufficient studies and peer review have been completed that we are now able to say that as long as certain critical controls at various steps in the canning process are achieved, USDA and NCHFP process times for canning acid or properly acidified foods (pH of 4.6 or below) at home with properly research based recipes and procedures can be used. The research looked at temperature distribution in the steam environment surrounding the jars in a dome-style steam canner, heating patterns of several different food types during processing in the canner, and the contribution of standardized cooling procedures at the end of the process time. Some of the key controls in addition to the acidity of the food product are knowing that the canner has had the air vented out of the steam before processing begins, and that the pure steam is at the temperature of boiling water at the start and during processing. Jars must be preheated before filling with food and cooling prior to processing must be minimized. Processing times must be adjusted for altitude, and must also be 45 minutes or less, including any altitude modification. The processing time is limited by the amount of water the canner base will hold, and the canner cannot be opened to add water or for any reason at any time during the process. Finally, cooling of jars must take place in still, ambient air without any forced, more rapid cooling. The slow cooling of processed jars is important to the overall food safety of the whole canning procedure. " "But Miele is SO MUCH MORE CONVENIENT and less of a hassle to use than a canner which I used before many times! I won't can any other way NOW!!! ENJOY! VICTORIA - HOUSTON TX" It is your choice, but being critically ill can be pretty inconvenient and a really big hassle too. It is also one thing to eat foods yourself that have not been preserved in proven safe ways but hopefully you are letting others know this if you give them food you have processed. They have the right to know so they can make the decision themselves as to whether they want to eat it. There is a bit to know about canning and there is lots of legitimate info out there. The USDA website is one and Ball Canning is another. This is not something to go by what you think might be OK or by what other people do that seems to work. Take advantage of what science has shown us.

(Cross-posted in other Miele Steam Oven threads) We bought a Miele DGC 6800 Combination Steam Oven (non-plumbed) and a few months later on a whim descaled the unit. Right after the descaling process, my Miele steam oven gives me a 'Fault 20' whenever I try to do steam cooking. The regular convection cooking works fine. Wish I had something else! It's out of warranty even though we probably used it about 20 times. Now Miele is asking for $150 for a technician to come out and pay an additional $90/hr for labor + $ for parts!