Should You Buy A Countertop Steam Oven? | Equipment Review

Steam ovens are restaurants’ best-kept secret. Does the smaller consumer version deserve a space in your kitchen?

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[ebulldog]

I love my APO, I’ve had it for almost two years
It connected easily and is fun to use
There is a bit of a learning curve but what serious appliance doesn’t
The main thing to remember is keep your face away from the oven door when opening
The oven lost signal once due to a firmware update
I reached out to Tech support and they had me back in business in 5 min, just needed the reset sequence
Our APO is a regular part of our meal planning we use it once or twice a week

[norberteng]

I bought my Anova Precision Oven when it first came out. I never have a WIFi connectivity problem. Love it.

[lizzieboredom]

I bought an Anova a few months ago. There is definitely a learning curve, and the app needs quite a lot of work; but I got it on my wifi pretty easily. One of my earliest and biggest gripes is that you can't turn on the oven light without the app (unless I'm missing something, please chime in if you know). Overall, very satisfied with the Anova.

[toddbuddy]

I have no problem using the app. No problems connecting at all. Use my oven all the time.

[MR__BLACKBIRD]

i bought it the 1st black friday deal years ago. fantastic oven! i have a GE profile double oven that's great but i use the APO as the workhorse. i swear if it breaks i'm ordering one immediately after. i rarely use my microwave and double oven. if you're reheating leftovers and you have patience, there's no beating this! if you are not a foodie or don't cook, clearly won't be for you. holding a brisket @ 150 full steam for 10 hours will make any beginner look like aaron franklin. really really impressed with it, so much i will pre order the 2nd gen whenever they decide to release it.

[akaimon]

ATK ought to do some checking to see if the product they nominate is even available. To the public to purchase….

[falovepa]

There is a learning curve on the Anova, and the wifi needs an old phone or tablet to set up, but I love mine! I use it more than my regular oven or microwave. Once you get the app working, it's a dream.

[imakenoise]

I love my Anova … except that it has failed twice. They replaced it under warranty after about 18 months. But the new replacement oven failed after 6 month. There are NO repair stations and the manufacturer doesn’t service them either. $999 straight to the landfill!

[chadr.]

I have the Anova and connecting the app has never been an issue.

[hunseder]

I find it interesting that you did not like the Anova in your review of smart ovens 8 months ago, but now it's your favorite steam oven. As for connectivity, the Anova needs to connect to a 2.4GHz WiFi and cannot use a 5 GHZ signal. If your router can't provide 2.4 GHz signal, the oven won't connect. Once I addressed that issue on my router, the oven connected fine and has been very reliable ever since (over a year). The app works great, and I get real-time updates on oven status as cooking progresses. I can setup a recipe and send it to the oven as well.

[CarEnthused]

Finally a solid look at the anova oven!

[jorabie]

I have an anova and I dibt agree with your statement about connecting to the App. I’ve had no problems at all. Love sitting on my couch and directing cooking. I have a built in Thermador in a different house and the Anova at a much lower price point is not only very comparable in function but in some instances surpasses it. I also have Tovala ovens ( which you didn’t review). While not having the same level of steam, I use it multiple times a day.

[bethmahoney]

I love my Anova Precision Oven. I’ve had it for two years now and I use it more than my Joule sous vide stick and more than my full size oven. It connects with my phone with no problems. I use it to finish off meats after I have smoked and wrap them. I air fry wings and chicken nuggets. I bake keto breads. I steam roast pork tenderloins, chicken, and ribeye roasts using sous vide mode then finish with a broil or bake mode. I love it.

[brianbouchard]

I didn’t need that spare money anyways.

[bostonbesteats]

I've owned one of the very first Anova ovens for the past 2 1/2 years, and I also moderate a combi steam oven cooking group on R, where there are many APO (as we call the oven) users. In polls we've conducted, for 61% of users it has completely replaced their conventional or convection oven, and 73% also find it equivalent to or prefer it to their immersion circulators for sous vide cooking (which can be done with or without a bag). It also air fries and 49% find it as good as or better than their dedicated air fryer. It really is a remarkable appliance that brings professional combi steam oven cooking to the home kitchen at an affordable price (combi ovens are ubiquitous in restaurant kitchens). That said, it does take some experience to understand how to use steam in cooking, and there are some issues (such as the wifi connectivity ATK mention, which a significant minority of users experience). But definitely put me in the "I can't live without it" camp. This is the future of home cooking.

[bigusdallastexamas]

In general IOT devices can be far more finicky on networks than smart phones or laptops. I'd hazard a guess that the issues you had were equal parts network related and anova hardware related. WiFi frequency 2.4 vs 5 GHz, Channel width, Band Steering, QOS, Multicast settings, WiFi Security type, etc. can all cause issues for devices like this. In another environment the user may experience no issues at all.

[aarontomaselli]

I like the Anova Oven, it eaisly replaces the microwave. I just use manual mode and it works fine. I also like the fact that some water pools at the bottom. It makes for easier cleaning, just wipe it with a paper towel. Much easier than rubbing the interior with baking soda and cleaning it the hard way.

[jasonlucas]

I consider a steam oven because I steam dishes with Chinese recipes like fish, lobster with ginger sauce, and seafood. I can use a stovetop and a wok, but I need to hang around the stove. The steam oven'll turn off after the set time.

[CarolAnne]

I had an Anova and liked it very much. The only reason I don’t have it anymore is I moved and didn’t take it with me. I found the phone app worked ok.

[donasay]

I've used the ANOVA a few times over the past two weeks. A lot of the functionality of the oven is locked behind downloading the app. The icon's and settings are not intuitive without looking at the manual, especially setting target temperatures using the temperature probe. The app is great on iPhone, but I had connection problems that took a long time to figure out on my Android. It's probably another case of the app developers focusing on apple during design and then doing a poor job porting to android.