In the Kitchen with… Sven-Hanson Britt

What is your inspiration?
Fantastic ingredients are what excite me. We have the most amazing produce in the British Isles due to our different seasons, so we are lucky enough to enjoy a completely varied cookery year. 

Why steam cooking?
When you have taken the time to carefully source ingredients, you want to ensure that they are respected during the cooking process – steaming is a great way to do this. Thanks to the precision and accuracy that Miele steam and steam-combination ovens offer, it is easy to emulate techniques used by the professionals to create restaurant results at home.

What are its benefits?
Steam is the optimum cooking method for retaining food’s vitamins (broccoli will retain 50% more vitamin C than when it is boiled in a pan), minerals and nutrients as well as preserving its taste and texture. There is no need to use any cooking oils to keep food moist, and seasoning can take place once your dishes are cooked.

With a temperature range of 40°-100°C, fast heat-up times and Miele Multi Steam technology, you can precisely cook (to within 1°C) a wide range of produce, including vegetables, delicate fish, meat, sushi, soufflés, pasta, dim sum, rice, pulses, desserts and even eggs, allowing you to create individual dishes or complete meals.  

What else can you do with steam cooking?
For those more hectic days, Miele also offers an Automatic Programme. This works out the precise cooking times and temperatures for more than 100 different dishes, including breads, cakes and meats.

With this programme you can combine up to three different ingredients, with the temperature, timing and sequence set, allowing you to prepare a complete meal without any flavour crossover, which is all ready for the table at the same time. If you are not able to eat straight away, it automatically keeps your food warm for 15 minutes after the programme has finished – perfect!

The benefits do not stop there, as you can also gently defrost frozen food, prove dough, extract juice, melt chocolate, blanch food before freezing, reheat cooked food, make yoghurt, and even sterilise baby bottles and jars.

Sven is a regular visitor to Bradburys Exeter, where he demonstrates the benefits of the latest Miele appliances, including combi-steam ovens and the ideal accompaniment to steam, a Sous-Vide drawer.