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Although traditional boiler-based steamers have been operating in professional U.S. kitchens since shortly after World War II, the technology and performance of contemporary steamers continues to evolve. Bob McLoughlin, VP of Sales for Stellar Steamers, an AFE company, noted that though the descendents of the original pressure steamers of the late-‘40s (with locking doors) are still in use, their sales now represent less than 10% of the $100 million U.S. steamer market.
 “We started seeing ‘pressureless’ boiler-based steamers in the 1950s. They originally offered operators a cooking method that was safer than pressure steamers, without the over-cooking and product shrinkage that commonly occurs with roasting,” McLoughlin added. “One drawback that has characterized boiler-based steamers from their inception through today, however, is that both gas and electric models use electric elements or heat exchanger tubes immersed in water. This inevitably leads to scale build-up elements or tubes, creating an insulating coating that cuts heat output and can even lead to burn-outs and the need for replacement parts.”
Partly in response to this ongoing operating concern and the commensurate need to regularly de-lime boiler-based steamers, the first boilerless models debuted in the U.S. market in the early 1990s. Even though kitchen staff had to add water by hand to this early equipment, boilerless steamers cooked foods gently, preparing healthful products, though lower BTU output meant they were slower in production than boiler-based models.
“The earliest boilerless steamers helped to create a perception that they couldn’t match boiler-based models’ performance, although this is no longer true,” McLoughlin remarked. “Our current Stellar boilerless models preheat incoming water to provide a rapid recovery to set cooking temperatures. No other steamers have this feature.”
Stellar helped to create the water-line connected boilerless steamer in 2001, when it introduced its initial models with “auto fill” features that eliminated staff water handling. “Surprisingly, a lot of people in our industry still equate ‘boilerless’ with ‘connectionless’ when it comes to steamers,” McLoughlin related. “Stellar has demonstrated that the two technologies are separate and that boilerless should be synonymous with high efficiency and performance.”
Other ways Stellar’s current Altair II and Sirius II steamers out-perform competing models includes a design that cools outgoing condensate without consuming additional water. Stellar also heats the entire cooking cavity, instead of just the water reservoir. This allows the cooking cavity to become a radiant heat source, providing cooking temperature up to 230 degrees, thus cooking foods faster with more retained moisture.
“Boilerless steamers such as those from Stellar are now being recognized as superior in energy efficiency and reduced water consumption by environmental agencies across the nation,” McLoughlin commented. “The Denver, Colorado, water district, for instance, is now offering $350 rebates to every end-user who switches from boiler-based steamers to a boilerless model.” Stellar’s three models Capella, Altair II, and Sirius II have all earned the Energy Star rating.
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