Combination Microwave Ovens - Any Good?

[Dos_Box]

I'm just about to get a new house and the kitchen in there has a 'traditional' gas cooker in it. Obviously this will need changing but this won't be happening for about a year yet, so in the meantime I'm going to need something that will cook food such as roasts etc. far more rapidly than the gas oven.

A combination microwave (microwave with a convection fan oven built in) seems to fit the bill very nicely indeed without taking up too much space, but I do need to know if they are any good or not?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[elsiegee40]

I have one and just don't get on with it. That might be me though. I am a good cook, but prefer hob and oven (even slow ones) over the combi. I grew up with a traditional gas cooker though.

[Dos_Box]

I will still need to get a microwave anyhow and if I can get something which will be saving me cooking time with useful features added in too then so much the better.

[NB9457]

Mines great, just cooked a pizza in it, warms up in about 3-4 minutes too. Great for me as I'm on my own, so using the microwave oven for smaller meals is actually cheaper too as it uses less electricity. Food Cooks fine and tastes exactly the same, defiantly was a good buy for me!

[Martin]

One thing to bear in mind is that a "combo oven" capacity is usually quite a bit smaller than a traditional oven, so not only can you get less (and smaller) stuff in there, but when you open the door you tend to lose a larger percentage of the heat that has built up.

 

That being said, i have managed with just a combination microwave (currently a Panasonic model) for getting on for twenty years - and haven't starved to dead yet

 

Cheers,

 

mb

[LeMarchand]

My aunt swears by her halogen cooker - but you'd still need a microwave.

[SpuffMonkey]

My uncle likes his halogen oven too - but there is only him in his household. I don't like the combi either and use a conventional gas cooker almost exclusively - not really sure what features you're looking for that a normal oven doesn't give you??

[elsiegee40]

Even pro kitchens are moving to halogen hobs. I was at a talk by Monica Galetti a couple of years ago and she was saying Le Gavroche had just changed over to halogen and they had to retrain the entire team to get used to them.

 

A gas oven works fine; just like a non-fan electric you have to let it warm up and it's slightly hotter at the top and slightly cooler at the bottom... which actually can be pretty useful. You get used to it. In my view gas warms up quicker than older non-fan electrics. Fan ovens cook food slightly quicker than both non-fan and gas, but unless you're cooking the Christmas turkey, it rarely makes that much difference.

 

People who aren't used to gas tend to be scared stiff of it. Especially if the oven has a pilot light rather than electric ignition. It's worth getting an oven thermometer so you can test out temperatures. Gas 6 should equate to non-fan 200C, but it's worth finding out what you actually get at the various temperatures; especially if you're not the kind of cook that can just make it up as you go along and go with whatever oven temperature you appear to be getting.

Edited March 1, 2017 by elsiegee40

[witch]

I have had many combo microwaves and tbh we only ever used the microwave part after the first flush of excitement. Their capacity is small. My sister absolutely swears by her halogen cooker.

 

As for an oven - I much prefer gas to electric - far more controllable

[Sagima]

I have one. It's quite good for cooking pizza. Pretty rubbish for anything else but if your oven is broken then it is better than nothing

[ricki]

I have a hob oven and combi microwave and each is good for different things I would not go back to a normal microwave

[Domino]

Matt Inman sums up my feeling on microwaves pretty well (warning, naughty language)

 

[Dos_Box]

Thanks all, it's nice to see that people use them for more than just heating beans

[CAM]

Las time I used my microwave I nearly set fire to my shiny new flat. So most of my cooking is now done on the hob.

 

Admittedly user error but the stench of cremated haggis still lingers when I open the microwave door.

[LeMarchand]

I have had many combo microwaves and tbh we only ever used the microwave part after the first flush of excitement. Their capacity is small. My sister absolutely swears by her halogen cooker.

 

As for an oven - I much prefer gas to electric - far more controllable

 

Yep, we have a grill/micro that we bought as we didn't have a grill at the time. Results were poor and so it now never gets used for grilling even when it would be easier than waiting to use the grill in the oven.

 

Haven't used a gas oven for years, but now very used to my electric fan one and don't think I'd like to swap it. For the hobs - gas all the way. Used to have various electric ones and they're very hard to control. Ditto the halogens I have used, though I'll concede that maybe I needed training/experience.

 

Heading back on topic, is the gas oven condemned or is it just the "time to warm up" factor?

[MYK-IT]

I've had a combi microwave for quite a few years now. I admit don't use the convection oven that often, as I mostly microwave, steam or grill my food... although use the combi mode for jacket (sweet) potatoes. Yum! Just enter weight and press start!

 

Mines a Panasonic, 1Kw and really good capacity (can fit a pizza in it) Similar to this latest model:

https://electrical.coop.co.uk/small-appliances/microwaves/combination/panasonic-nnct555wbpq-slimline-combination-microwave-pan-mic-nnct555wbpq-w/

 

Update.

Mines not a steam microwave, but i use something similar to this http://www.qvcuk.com/qvc.product.805055.html which allows steaming and (better at evenly) grilling and can be used within any microwave (subject to size).

Edited March 1, 2017 by MYK-IT

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Not a huge fan of the Microwave in general tbh (though it is great at warming a bottle of milk!).

 

I love a gas hob and fan electric oven. Best of both worlds

[NikChillin]

Combo microwave brill for Jacket pots and pies as the crust stays crispy, also great at Christmas when you need another oven. I had a Halogen once but it wasn't any good for more than two meals, also got very hot and I wouldn't like to use it when grandchildren visit. Now I use an Induction hob and electric oven, great for speed on the hob, better and safer than gas and easy to clean.

[eyetea]

What are induction hobs like at cooling down? I currently prefer using a gas hob as when you turn it off it's pretty much instantly cool. Same if you've gone from a high heat and just want to simmer something gently.

[ChickenDhansak]

I bought a Panasonic combi oven/microwave back in 1989 and it still works. You could get a decent sized chicken in it to roast but little else but it turned out some decent meals. Can't believe it is still going altho' it gets used more as a microwave these days so my daughter tells me.

@eyetea The Bosch induction hob I have is excellent and cools down reasonably quickly. It is easy to control the cooking temperature (ie going from boil to gentle simmer) and as an indication I can normally wipe off any spills within 5 minutes of turning it off without the J Cloth catching fire

[Dos_Box]

Thnaks for the advice everyone. I think I'm going to need one, the exiting gas oven isn't very large and if I were to try and do a roast I don't think there would be much room for anything else!

[howartp]

Revamped our 30 year old kitchen last Easter.

 

Was a regular floor-standing main oven with top-oven/grill, plus separate worktop microwave.

 

Now got built-in stacked single oven plus combi oven/microwave/grill.

 

Use all combinations for various things and love it. Christmas Dinner is great as the combi fits more in than the top oven used to, and it's fanned if we want.

 

Peter

[NikChillin]

What are induction hobs like at cooling down? I currently prefer using a gas hob as when you turn it off it's pretty much instantly cool. Same if you've gone from a high heat and just want to simmer something gently.

 

The heat comes from the pan but the glass is usually cool fairly quickly, unlike ceramic which takes far linger, it also doesn't radiate the heat other forms of cooking do while standing over the hob.