Tovala Smart Oven

[MetsFan5]

2 hours ago, cdh said:

Is there a way to manually set the oven to do stuff, or do you need to have bought an ingredient kit with  a code to scan to make it do anything?  If so, I wonder whether there is a community devoted to reverse engineering the codes so you can tell it specific stuff to do...

Yes, you can set the temperature and time and cooking method (baking, steam, broil and air fry as well as “toast”) manually. The user manual has suggested methods and temperatures for various things like a chicken, reheating things (there is a reheat button) etc. 

 

When scanning a dish’s code, the machine knows what time, temperature and cooking methods (s) to use. I believe the machine used steam and broil to cook the shrimp but I didn’t watch it cook. 

[rotuts]

@MetsFan5

 

thank you for that.

 

So , if one has this oven , one can just use it as a CSO.

 

very interesting.

[MetsFan5]

4 hours ago, rotuts said:

@MetsFan5

 

how did the meal  taste ?

 

would you buy this again ?

 

in  terms of the oven itself 

 

the scan feature doesn't seem to save you much effort 

 

the meal kit might say cook in the CSO  for  X minutes at XYZ F

 

thank you for sharing your experience and taking us step by step 

 

through the oven's us and the Tovela meal kits.

 

I was under the impression that the ' smart ' feature

 

was a unique oven cycle , custom tailored for each kit .

 

but I might be missing something, for sure.

 

The meal itself was surprisingly good. I would order it again. I didn’t have any pans to wash, just silverware and a bowl I mixed the slaw in. The shrimp came with a small aluminum baking tray. 
 

 The oven cycled through different cooking functions while cooking the shrimp— I did not watch them all, but scanning the QR code prompts the oven to use the methods needed to best cook the meal. 
 

The oven as mentioned, can be used manually. Tovala has partnered with various companies— Trader Joe’s, Kirkland/Costco, Ore Ida, Amy’s, Pillsbury, etc so that their QR codes for cooking these products works with the oven. 
 

 The meal was salty and I love salt. It wasn’t overly salty to my taste but I imagine it would be for a lot of people. The serving size was generous. I didn’t manage three tacos so I ate the shrimp mixed with the slaw and tossed the extra tortilla. It was my only meal of the day and I was stuffed, not unpleasantly though. 
 

 

 So far I’m pleased with it; the oven wasn’t a large investment and I am not obligated to order weekly meals, only 6 meals in total over I think 6 months time. Meals are generally $9.99 and you can upgrade proteins and order “premium meals” like crab stuffed sole, filet mignon, etc. 

 

Setting it up was super simple— the hardest part was wrestling the oven out of the box. The app allowed me to connect the oven to my wifi, which is how the scan feature works. As directed, before using I washed the sheet pan and air fryer basket and manually set the oven to cook at 450 for 20 minutes. My phone gets a push notification when the cooking time is complete (the oven turns off but the residual heat can over cook things, obviously) which is nice as well. 
 

If anyone is interested, I can continue to document cooking the meals I have and I’ll also be testing out the toast feature and doing more “manual” cooking. 

[MetsFan5]

I should also add that just in terms of convenience this really was a success for me. 
  
I know “how” to cook but it’s not enjoyable for me, especially when cooking for one. I also hesitate while cooking proteins at times and this alleviated that issue.
 

Had I made this meal and purchased the ingredients I would have been left with 5-10 servings of left over slaw, had to buy fresh herbs, a lot of pantry ingredients, would have a ton of left over tortillas, etc. and would have a sink of dishes to wash.
 

 

[BeeZee]

When my Uncle used this product, it was for similar reasons. He really didn’t know how to cook much, so having some of these meals available meant that when he came home after a long day at work, he didn’t order something more unhealthy to be delivered

[gfweb]

14 hours ago, rotuts said:

@MetsFan5

 

excellent source of at least two of the major food groups 

salt and sugar .

 

its working on the third  :  Fat.

They want it to taste good  🙂

[rotuts]

@MetsFan5

 

thank you for your detailed report .

 

I had not thought about the WiFi , which makes sense for the variable cooking cycle.

 

does the oven get instructions over your phone while cooking ?

 

or does the oven gets its instructions once , via your phone app after you scan ?

 

its very interesting that other vendors , esp TJ's have meals that use the bar-code system and

 

WiFi.  Ill have to ask @ Tj's net time Im  there

 

( wrote that down on my Tj list )

 

what most important is that its more or less also a CSO for manual use.

 

I would be interested in seeing the cooking instruction for other meals if you have the time.

 

I don't know what the deep sales prices are

 

but if its also a manual CSO  might be worth it for some  just for that 

 

and an occasion Tj's ( or other While Im Here ) meal.

 

thank you for sharing your experience.

Edited April 6 by rotuts (log)

[blue_dolphin]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

but if its also a manual CSO  might be worth it for some  just for that

It looks like a nice little oven. 
They currently list 2 models. The “Pro” version ($50 more) has a steam setting but the base model apparently does not. 
I can’t tell whether it can do steam+bake or steam+broil like the CSO or if it’s just a straight steam setting. 
The ovens alone are $249 or $299 (for the Pro) with a $50 meal credit and no meal purchase requirement. 
Or, you can pay $69 or $119 (for the Pro) and agree to order meals 6 times within 6 months. 
It looks like each meal order has to be a minimum of 4 meals, or up to 12 meals. Shipping is a flat $10.99/order. 
Nutrition info is available on the website. They offer gluten-free, low carb, vegetarian and “calorie conscious” options. No low sodium options listed.  
Looks like enough options that you wouldn’t get bored. 
Most meals are single servings for $12.99.
If you ordered the minimum 4 meals x 6 orders, you'd be paying $15.74/meal for a total of 24 meals at $378.  Pricier than efficient home cooking but much less than takeout. 
 

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

its very interesting that other vendors , esp TJ's have meals that use the bar-code system

Tovala has lists of the items that work with their bar code scan feature on their website here here. I searched for the TJ's items and there are 180 listed. 
 

Edited April 6 by blue_dolphin
To add TJ's (log)

[rotuts]

the pro oven looks like a buffed up  CSO 

 

 

and non steam

 

 

Ive seen the second configuration in the past @ BB&B  in the distant past.

 

guessing $ 349  no meals would be the CSO clone-rice.

 

if you lived on take out , might be an option

 

Looked at the TJ's offerings :

 

most would cook in a CSO with just temp and time settings  some in an AF 

 

w temp and time.

 

 

[ElsieD]

Where does the water go and how much goes into the machine?

[blue_dolphin]

16 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Where does the water go and how much goes into the machine?

There's a little cap that flips up on the top of the oven, right above the button panel, in the front, right corner. 

The manual says to pour 1 cup of water into the reservoir.

Better be careful to avoid pouring it down the front of those buttons! 

 

 

Edited April 6 by blue_dolphin
to add photo (log)

[MetsFan5]

@blue_dolphin thank you for explaining the pricing and functions much better than I ever could have (especially using an iPhone)! 
 

You can manually set it to both bake and steam or broil and steam. 
 

 I will post the cooking instructions for the other meals as I make them. 
 

 

[MetsFan5]

I used the toast feature in the oven. It has toast levels between 1-5, 1 being the lightest. I set it for level 2. Here are pictures of the bread being toasted. You can see that during the toasting process, the oven used both steam and baking features as indicated on the dial screen:

 

[MetsFan5]

The outcome? The toast looked good. To be fair the bread was slightly stale but the toast sucked. It was dry and crumbly throughout, burned on the bottom (I did not take a picture of the bottom of the toast) and the only thing it may have been good for would be making bread crumbs. 
 

 I did not replenish the water that was used during the steaming of the shrimp prior to making the toast. So I will try again— the oven makes a noise and a signal when the water reservoir is full, so I’m not always measuring the amount. 
 

The deceitful toast:

 

 

Edited April 7 by MetsFan5 (log)

[rotuts]

@MetsFan5

 

the feature on the CSO that helped it make fantastic toast 

 

( not all agree the CSO makes fantastic toast )

 

is that the oven is sealed .  toast on the CSO is dry heat

 

but the moisture in the bread release steam while the bread toasts

 

you get that steam when you open the door

 

the surfaces are crispy , but the center of the toast is not dry.

 

does your unit have a special toast button ? 

[MetsFan5]

4 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@MetsFan5

 

the feature on the CSO that helped it make fantastic toast 

 

( not all agree the CSO makes fantastic toast )

 

is that the oven is sealed .  toast on the CSO is dry heat

 

but the moisture in the bread release steam while the bread toasts

 

you get that steam when you open the door

 

the surfaces are crispy , but the center of the toast is not dry.

 

does your unit have a special toast button ? 

it does have a toast button, that’s what I used. It cycled between steaming and baking. I was very disappointed— I love toast and the CSO seems to be great at that. 
 

 I am going to try to make toast using manual settings. I think I will visit the CSO index for times and temps. 
 

 It was really bad toast. I would rather eat microwaved bread with butter than that toast. 

[MetsFan5]

Also, looking ahead at the meals I have, one is appealing to me right now, but it’s too much food for me (I had onigiri and a salad for an early dinner). 
 

I’m craving a pizza but have this meal, which I wish the bar codes had separate bar codes for each item (I suppose I could make both and try the reheating feature out but I’m not that hungry):

 

[MetsFan5]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

@MetsFan5

 

the feature on the CSO that helped it make fantastic toast 

 

( not all agree the CSO makes fantastic toast )

 

is that the oven is sealed .  toast on the CSO is dry heat

 

but the moisture in the bread release steam while the bread toasts

 

you get that steam when you open the door

 

the surfaces are crispy , but the center of the toast is not dry.

 

does your unit have a special toast button ? 

 

 Yes it has a toast button and I used that and felt it was a total failure. 
 

 

 The oven is sealed. I did not flip the toast as the instructions didn’t say to do so. I saw the steam function on but either the water reservoir is empty or close to (and why didn’t this highly intuitive machine alert me is that was the case)  because the toast was horrible. 

Edited April 7 by MetsFan5 (log)

[rotuts]

@MetsFan5

 

good toasters use full blast heat

 

until done to your liking.

 

a failure of the Breville 'IQ ' u its id that the heating element ' cycles '

 

no point in that Id say.

 

you do have to watch the toast until you get the idea on times the suit you

 

thank you for taking the time to include us in your Tovala adventures.

 

P.S. : I hope you find perfect kits that suit you 

 

for your remainder meals.

Edited April 7 by rotuts (log)

[MetsFan5]

@rotuts thanks. I am enjoying how easy and mess free this oven is. The meals so far (3 out of 4) have been better than expected. The serving sizes are too large for me so I generally eat 1/2 to 1/3rd. 

[Smithy]

My sister is considering a countertop oven. Based on your experiences, I've told her that the Tovala is worth looking at. Thanks for your reports! Keep them coming, please!

Edited April 9 by Smithy
Corrected misspelled word (log)

[MetsFan5]

The other night I had their turkey burger with tots meal. 
 

  The tots were a bit undercooked but the exterior crisped up in the (provided and maybe reusable) aluminum pan and were good. The turkey burger was juicy, flavorful and surprisingly good. It was a very generous turkey burger— (I did check the internal temp at its thickest it was 160F before resting). 
 

i could only eat about 1/3 of the burger.

 

 I continue to enjoy the meals. I’ve placed future orders and am thinking as long as I keep salad ingredients and raw veggies on hand, this has me relaxed. 
 

 I do plan to go to TJ’s and get some of the products that align with the Tovala bar codes in the near future. 
 

Turkey burger cooking, prep and instructions:

 

 

 

Edited April 10 by MetsFan5 (log)

[MetsFan5]

 I have tried various sets from the meals. The Udon is as good but the rest is absolute trash. To be fair, I don’t have high expectations but one time the pasta burnt at the top and the other time it came out like a soup. 
 

 That said, the proteins cooks well and are juicy and flavorful. From my experiences the over steams most of the time and then bakes and sometimes broils. 
 

 Their Asian centric meals to me have been the best. Yet the pasta meals are there most popular. As someone who tends to make sauce from scratch I know I should stay away from Italian (for lack of a better term) meals. 

Edited April 23 by MetsFan5 (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Just curious, @MetsFan5, do they offer you any way to provide feedback on the meals?  
Personal taste is one thing but burnt pasta or pasta soup sounds like a real failure of their products that I’d hope they'd want to correct. 
 

It is interesting that the pasta meals are their most popular as quick pasta dishes are my go-to meals to toss together in a hurry so I probably wouldn’t pick them. 
 

Thanks for all the updates!

[MetsFan5]

16 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Just curious, @MetsFan5, do they offer you any way to provide feedback on the meals?  
Personal taste is one thing but burnt pasta or pasta soup sounds like a real failure of their products that I’d hope they'd want to correct. 
 

It is interesting that the pasta meals are their most popular as quick pasta dishes are my go-to meals to toss together in a hurry so I probably wouldn’t pick them. 
 

Thanks for all the updates!

Yes, in the app you can rate each meal and comment on any issues you’ve had. 
I’ve noticed some meals marked as “revamped” which I’m assuming means they changed something about the item to cook it better.