Combi-steam is the single biggest functional difference between Steel Cucine's Genesi and Ascot ranges and its Enfasi and Oxford ranges — and it's also the feature people are most likely to have heard of but not fully understand before they buy.

What it actually does: a combi-steam oven adds a controlled steam function alongside the usual convection, grill and fan-assisted modes, all in the same cavity. Rather than a separate steam oven and a separate conventional oven, you get both in one unit, on Genesi and Ascot reaching up to 315°C with a dedicated steam-clean cycle. In practice, that means you can roast a chicken with genuinely crisp skin while the meat stays juicier than a dry convection oven typically manages, because the steam prevents the surface moisture from evaporating too quickly. Bread and pizza doughs rise better and develop a properly crackled crust — professional bakeries have used steam injection for exactly this reason for decades, and Steel Cucine even includes a dedicated 28°C "rising" setting for proving dough before you bake it.

Where it earns its keep day to day:

•       Reheating leftovers without drying them out — steam stops rice, pasta and roasted vegetables turning rubbery in the microwave-avoiding way that a normal oven often does.

•       Multi-tray cooking — combined with Genesi's INNVENT even-heat system, you can cook fish, vegetables and a dessert on different shelves without flavours transferring between them, because each tray sits in its own steam-regulated micro-environment.

•       Healthier cooking with less oil, since steam-assisted roasting and baking reduces the need for extra fat to stop food drying out — a genuinely useful side benefit rather than the headline feature.

•       Cleaning — the steam-clean function loosens baked-on residue using only water, rather than a chemical oven-cleaner cycle.

Is it worth the upgrade over a multifunction oven? If you bake bread or pastry regularly, cook a lot of fish or poultry, or simply want fewer separate appliances on your worktop, yes — it's a genuine, daily-use upgrade rather than a marketing feature. If your cooking is mostly quick weeknight meals and you rarely bake, Enfasi or Oxford's multifunction ovens (reaching 265-315°C depending on model) will do everything most households need at a lower price point. Full specifications for combi-steam and multifunction ovens across every model are on our FAQ page, and you can see combi-steam as standard equipment on the Genesi and Ascot collections.