KennethT

It's the burnt hair which makes it special....

Headless fish head curry with mahi mahi.

Sambal grouper..... Cucumber salad

The verdict is in! The new CSO and turbo roast feature is fantastic. I used the same temperature/time setting as usual with the old CSO using the same type of fish cooked the same way. The fish in the new oven had a crisper crust but was still moist and juicy inside. Both my wife and I agreed that the fish was better this time than normal. I'm a believer!

Fan in the oven ceiling.

Yes, there are a few new features - air fry and turbo roast. Unlike the original CSO, there seems to be as large variable speed fan in the ceiling of the oven. The fan speed depends on the cooking mode - both air fry and turbo roast use the high speed fan, turbo roast uses steam while air fry does not. The door seal is the same as the original, although it's now on the unit rather than the door itself, and is not selective, however, I wonder if the vent at the back is selective - further investigation is necessary. I think I'm going to try the turbo roast mode for the grouper tonight and see how it goes.

Either for lunch or dinner, I plan to make some grouper. Typically, I pan fry it to get a crust, and then 10 minutes on convection bake at 350 to bring up to temp. Usually, this time in the oven winds up getting the crust a little soggy. What say ye about using the air fryer function as opposed to convection bake?

It does make the footprint smaller taking up less counter space - and I think it has a much more modern look - especially with the touchscreen as opposed to buttons... although that's just one more thing that might not last that long. Also, looking at the competitive countertop ovens, they all look similar, with the controls on top rather than the side.

It seems like the everything vent. When I run on convection bake, I feel a slight warm breeze coming out then too.

While in the Loire, I once had an aged crottin that I still dream about.

Very! So far.... especially since it's our only oven. We don't have a regular range or wall oven.

Worst comes to worst, you can open the box wherever it is left and take it in piece by piece. Or if you can pick up one edge, try to get an old towel under there and then you should be able to drag it.

Yes to both.

@Shelby Fake potato salad? Is that like fake plastic trees? <music reference/>

That is correct.

My parents grew blackberries, raspberries and blueberries - most years the birds and other fauna got the fruit long before we considered picking...

I think we've talked about this before, but if you can't find candlenuts (kemiri in Malay/Indonesian) in your local Asian store, you can find it on Amazon - but it's ridiculously expensive... if you'd like, I can get some locally (really cheap) and mail it to you. To me, macadamias are very different and in a dish which uses a lot of candlenuts, I think would be noticeable.

Interesting - in my initial burn-in / cleaning, it seems as though the steam function works slightly different from the 300N1. The water does not leave the reservoir via gravity - it seems like it's pumped. When you turn on the steam function, you hear a slight sound of a motor turn on and pulse. Also, the water reservoir has an air inlet at the bottom of the tank with a tube that extends near the top of the tank - no more glug glug glug....

Give it a couple weeks...

Also, some people had questions about warranty - I've read through the warranty thoroughly (it's only 1 page) and it does not say anything about not using in Canada. It only references using on 120V only, and that using with a "converter" would void the warranty. If there is a defect within the 3 year warranty period, I would need to return it to an address in Canada and include $10 (I assume CAD, not USD) for return postage... ha! I am very curious as to what they would say if I had a defect here in the US. There is absolutely no mention in the warranty about only using in Canada, NOT using anywhere other than Canada, or that the warranty does not apply when used anywhere other than Canada. Hopefully, I'll never have to find out.

For those following along with my ISO thread, my CSO-500C arrived today... Some photos for comparison with my almost defunct 300N1: Side by side. L-R on both units is practically the same, as you'll see in the photos below - the same rack (the original one from the 300N1) fits in the 500C, and is actually slightly looser. Front to back, the 500C is maybe 3/4-1 inch deeper and is seems a bit taller as well. The old 300N1 - note how far to the front the rack extends... The 500C - the rack is quite a bit further back from the front edge. One other thing I've noticed, after just plugging it in and running the oven to burn off any film remnants, when you open the door, the oven light turns on automatically.

Just to follow up on this... thanks to the kindness and efforts of a few wonderful Canadians, I am now a proud owner of a CSO-500C!!!! It arrived only 2 days after pickup, so I'm very happy. Currently cleaning it and getting it ready for its first use.... Thank you everyone who has contributed thoughts, research, purchase and shipping! This community is what makes eGullet great, even on top of all of the combined accumulated knowledge stored here.

Years ago, when I used to do "fancy cooking" I did a take on a dish we had at Atelier Robuchon - it was a cabbage roll (using savoy cabbage) stuffed with sous vide squab breast and foie gras. While I mostly focus on SE Asian stuff now, sometimes I think back to those days rather fondly...

According to Politico: A White House official, granted anonymity to discuss the negotiations, said the administration plans to impose the tariff only on goods that do not comply with the 2020 USMCA, though the ultimate details will be up to Trump to decide. Fingers crossed...

@liuzhou what about those tree stump cutting boards I've seen? I don't know what type of tree those cross sections are made from.