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6 About this book Worth knowing: Steam cooking - then and now Cooking with steam goes back thousands of years and has its roots in China. In the home of steam cooking double walled containers have been used for more than 1000 years to keep the food being cooked separate from the water. This method of cooking gained a foothold in the 1970s with professional steam ovens first being used in the catering industry. A short time later this technology found its way into domestic households. Due to more awareness around nutrition, more and more people these days are discovering the benefits of this gentle type of cooking for themselves. Steam cooking with Miele The steam oven is a true all-round talent and ideal supplement to your oven and cooktop. Whether you are making individual side dishes or a complete meal in one cooking process, your Miele steam oven lets you do it all. But that’s not all: your Miele steam oven can also defrost, reheat, blanch, bottle, extract juice and disinfect. The principle of Miele steam ovens is as simple as it is e‡ective: unlike cooking on a cooktop, food is not sitting in water so it won’t leach out and mineral loss is therefore limited. The water needed for cooking is heated up outside the cooking compartment. Pure steam is injected into the cooking compartment and gently envelopes the food. At the same time, oxygen is expelled from the compartment meaning food will not oxidise. It will therefore retain its colour, aroma and vitamins in optimum condition. By regulating the temperature electronically and the individual temperature setting, every type of food can be cooked at exactly the right temperature. Perfect results are assured, even with delicate food such as fish, paté and souŠés. The rapid transfer of heat and automatic cooking processes also ensure food is cooked to perfection - and it cannot burn or boil over.