Mini Ovens

jack.mitchell

jack.mitchell

jack.mitchell

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Joined
15 Apr 2008
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West Didsbury, Manchester
Does anyone here own a mini oven? I find that 90% of the time I'm pre-heating a massive oven for 20 minutes to cook a jacket potato or some sausages.

What I'm specifically asking about is energy efficiency, time needed to heat up and do they cook food evenly? I've browsed about the intenet a bit and seen whats on offer but most seem tailored as a full solution, i.e. with hobs included which I don't care about because I do already own a full oven.

Oh, and in before "I need a full oven to cook my manly dinner."
 
oven? Pah, I use an open fire


edit: sensibly though, I'll try and find you the link of something a friend bought for a tiny uni bedsit..
 
Simples... microwave/grill/oven = win

I've had one for a while now, and for those times as you said, when a full oven is just too much, the convenience of a microwave with built in fan oven, is just what I needed, cost me just under a ton, and I needed a new microwave anyway.
 
yeah those micro/oven/grill combos are pretty awesome.
Great for some foods as you combo cook, eg jacket potato, microwave nuke for fast cooking but with convection as well for crispy skin.

Pizzas are great done by microwave and grill at the same time.

Or JML do a halogen glass "bowl" shaped cooker for about £60, we got one and its great, almost instant heat, lovely crispy effect from the heat at top, you can do a whole roast in it as well.
 
I suppose they are just an electric oven at the end of the day (those combi ovens).

Never thought of using mine like that and I've owned it for over 4 years. :o
 
jacket spud = microwave
sausages = george foreman type grill.

yeah doesnt taste exactly the same on the spud, but faster less agro.
 
Efour2 said:
jacket spud = microwave
sausages = george foreman type grill.

yeah doesnt taste exactly the same on the spud, but faster less agro.
Click to expand...

That's why you use a combi microwave. get's nice and crispy on the outside and only takes the same time to cook as putting it in a microwave.:D

OP, yep a combi microwave is what you're looking for.:)
 
Ok, these combi microwaves sound like the best option. I was under the impression that they were just microwaves with a fan and some posh settings. Anybody got one to recommend or a good brand for this type of item? I'm really looking to spend £100 maximum, as I mentioned earlier this would take over 90% of the duties of my oven unless I've got friends coming round etc..
 
The one that I have, is a Daewoo KOC-9Q1TSL, and I think it is completely awesome, I was a little nervous before I bought it, but it is well worth it.
 
jack.mitchell said:
Ok, these combi microwaves sound like the best option. I was under the impression that they were just microwaves with a fan and some posh settings. Anybody got one to recommend or a good brand for this type of item? I'm really looking to spend £100 maximum, as I mentioned earlier this would take over 90% of the duties of my oven unless I've got friends coming round etc..
Click to expand...

I've got a big panasonic - big enough for a 12" pizza (this was a requirement!)

Heats up to 200 in about 5mins.

I got the one with a turn table because it was all they had but you can get it without a turntable - it has shelves like a real oven and a grill that covers the whole top of the oven (no turntable os it has to).

Get this one.
 
We have a Panasonic too, seems they are the best, but probably expensive. Ours probably isn't quite as big, although not by much but it doesn't have shelves etc,just a metal tray to put on the turntable and then a grill tray that stands on top of that.:)
 
jack.mitchell said:
Ok, these combi microwaves sound like the best option. I was under the impression that they were just microwaves with a fan and some posh settings. Anybody got one to recommend or a good brand for this type of item? I'm really looking to spend £100 maximum, as I mentioned earlier this would take over 90% of the duties of my oven unless I've got friends coming round etc..
Click to expand...

Few things to look for:

i) Steel interior. The coated ones often bubble and break after a while. The steel ones are more expensive, but last longer so they're cheaper over time. They're also very easy to clean. EDIT: Thinking about it, I expect all combi ovens are like this.

ii) Shape of the interior. Fully rounded corners are a good idea because there's nowhere for moisture and crumbs to get stuck. That makes cleaning much easier, especially as the back of a microwave is a little inconvenient to get to.

iii) Does the turntable rotate when used as an oven or grill? That might well be handy for ensuring even cooking, but it does make it impossible to use the usual rectangular baking trays because they're too big to rotate inside the oven.

I've had a DeLonghi ED8525S-SBD (catchy model number!) for I forget how many years. 850W microwave, 1KW grill, 2KW fan oven. Recently, the exterior of the door came off in my hand (surprise!), but that's the only thing that's gone wrong and it wasn't really a problem. The exterior of the door isn't actually the door. It's just a clip-on cover with a handle on it. Over the years, the plastic clips had weakened with the door being opened thousands of times. So I glued the door back on with a few drops of superglue where the clips had been.

Combi ovens are generally designed as microwave ovens first and foremost, but they work well enough for grilling and conventional cooking if you have suitable cookware. The heating elements slightly reduce the effective height of the oven, which is sometimes a minor issue with microwaving tall stuff like pouches of rice.
 
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Telescopi said:
I've got a big panasonic - big enough for a 12" pizza (this was a requirement!)

Heats up to 200 in about 5mins.

I got the one with a turn table because it was all they had but you can get it without a turntable - it has shelves like a real oven and a grill that covers the whole top of the oven (no turntable os it has to).

Get this one.
Click to expand...

It costs almost 3 times the OP's stated budget. I'm assuming it's the 32L model, as that has a 13" turntable.
 
Angilion said:
It costs almost 3 times the OP's stated budget. I'm assuming it's the 32L model, as that has a 13" turntable.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't really care for size that much - if I want a 12" pizza then I'll just man up and use the big oven. The one mentioned earlier seems pretty good and can be had within price range, can you see anything obviously wrong with it?

http://www.daewooelectronics.co.uk/...lderguid=DD695DCA-E930-41AC-BD76-1F59753A64B1

The fact that it's also had a good review above helps too :rolleyes:
 
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