Cuisinart Combo Steam/Convection Oven (Part 3)

[Kim Shook]

Did a couple of things in the CSO today and yesterday with mixed results:

 

Beets – There are multiple directions for beets.  I tried 40 minutes at 400F super steam – still crunchy.  Another 10 minutes – still crunchy.  Tried 450F bake/steam for 15 minutes – finally done.  I’m thinking that the fault was in the beets and not the CSO.  I’m guessing that beets in July are somewhat elderly vegetables.  They all had the greens cut off and my MIL says that indicates they are older. 

 

Sorry for the lousy picture!  Between the blur and the glare I think I've triggered a migraine 😉 !

 

Skinning tomatoes – there are two different directions for skinning tomatoes in the CSO PDF – one says steam at 210F for 5+ minutes.  I tried that and got up to 10 minutes with no looseness at all.  The other says super steam at 400F for 9 minutes.  I did this for 5 minutes and it was perfect.

 

I have a suggestion, though.  The directions that call for super steam are at the beginning of the vegetable section instead of down with the tomato directions.  I just happened to catch sight of the word “tomato”.  Could someone move this down to the other tomato directions?

 

[rotuts]

@Kim Shook 

 

beets :

 

do you have aniPot ?   

 

pressure steaming beets in a basket above the water works vey very well

 

you cool a bit and then peel.  I did them in quarters the last time I had fresh beets

 

the also do well in the CSO, as you have done

 

if you want a bit of carmelizatrion

 

i cant give yo0u times and and temps for either

 

as I cant find my RedBook.

 

 

[Okanagancook]

Hi Kim:  as the originator of the spreadsheet, I have tried (with my limited technical skill) to re-organize it so like items are grouped together.  It is a little monster that has grown requiring a bit of love and attention.  Thanks for bringing this up.  I will send a revised Spreadsheet to @Smithy for posting.

cheers

Edited July 7, 2020 by Okanagancook (log)

[Smithy]

10 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Hi Kim:  as the originator of the spreadsheet, I have tried to re-organize it so like items are grouped together.  It is a little monster that has grown requiring a bit of love and attention.  Thanks for bringing this up.  I will send a revised Spreadsheet to @Smithy for posting.

cheers

 

I've put in the updated spreadsheet; it's still pinned to the top of this forum.

[robirdstx]

13 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

I've put in the updated spreadsheet; it's still pinned to the top of this forum.

Thank you. Can you supply a link?

[weinoo]

I find beets, both young and old, to work best in the steam girl when wrapped in foil, first rubbed with a little olive oil, salt, and maybe some herbs thrown in the package for good measure.

 

Then I do the steam/bake for a good 45 minutes if bigger beets.

[lindag]

I do mine now in the IPot.  Very easy and fast, usually 12 minutes or so depending on the size.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, robirdstx said:

Thank you. Can you supply a link?

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/156892-cuisinart-combo-steamconvection-oven-timetemperature-index/

 

[Kim Shook]

I know that everyone knows about the wonderful tomato-peeling properties of the CSO, but have you tried peaches?  I did the other day when I needed to prep about 8 for freezing before they went south.  Worked perfectly.  I carved a little "X" in the bottom of each peach, put them in the pan "X" up, and super steamed them at 400F. for a few minutes (I think it ended up being 7).  What a joy not to have to deal with the pot of boiling water and pull the peaches out only to find that they haven't been in long enough.  

[Keri AH]

Is this the Cuisinart model being discussed: Cuisinart Combo Steam & Convection Oven (CSO-300N)?

 

If so, do you know why it's no longer available on Amazon? (https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CSO-300N-Convection-Steam-Stainless/dp/B019XOZYEA) Is this the same item at WS? (https://www.williams-sonoma.com/m/products/cuisinart-combo-steam-and-convection-oven/)

 

Thanks!

[KennethT]

2 minutes ago, Keri AH said:

Is this the Cuisinart model being discussed: Cuisinart Combo Steam & Convection Oven (CSO-300N)?

 

If so, do you know why it's no longer available on Amazon? (https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CSO-300N-Convection-Steam-Stainless/dp/B019XOZYEA) Is this the same item at WS? (https://www.williams-sonoma.com/m/products/cuisinart-combo-steam-and-convection-oven/)

 

Thanks!

Yes that's it.  Cuisinart recently discontinued it, but some stores are still selling what stock they have left.

[Keri AH]

23 hours ago, KennethT said:

Yes that's it.  Cuisinart recently discontinued it, but some stores are still selling what stock they have left.

Any idea on why it was discontinued?

 

I've found only a few sites that still have these in stock to sell (including some that would ship from Australia (!!)) but I'm now concerned about purchasing something discontinued. And I certainly wouldn't want to contemplate a possible adjustment with an overseas supplier.

 

I'm especially interested in this for bread baking, with steam, so if the steam function was the point of failure/concern then I wouldn't want to pursue a discontinued item.

 

I have contacted Cuisinart to see if they have (or plan) a future model with the steam function. I see they have many, many variations on a small oven but, so far, haven't found one that does steam. Given the popularity of bread baking I'm puzzled on why they would drop that -- unless there's some fundamental flaw/difficulty in that kind of feature.

 

Do the fans of the combo/steam functionality here have alternatives worth considering?  Thanks!

[Keri AH]

How long does it take to preheat to 450-degrees (for steam baking bread)? (I have a combo microwave/convection - not Cuisinart - that takes over an hour to reach 450.)

[Kim Shook]

1 hour ago, Keri AH said:

How long does it take to preheat to 450-degrees (for steam baking bread)? (I have a combo microwave/convection - not Cuisinart - that takes over an hour to reach 450.)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that you really do preheat on the bread setting.  The direction manual says to go ahead and put the food in the oven while it preheats because the time is so minimal.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, Keri AH said:

How long does it take to preheat to 450-degrees (for steam baking bread)? (I have a combo microwave/convection - not Cuisinart - that takes over an hour to reach 450.)

 

I preheat my CSO for an hour and a half or so on convection bake and briefly on steam bake before baking on the bread setting.

 

[weinoo]

Yes - even though the instructions may say otherwise, I do the same. It's nice to get all the parts good and hot before bread or pizza, especially if I'm putting the small pizza stone in there.

[FauxPas]

On 7/7/2020 at 4:04 PM, weinoo said:

I find beets, both young and old, to work best in the steam girl when wrapped in foil, first rubbed with a little olive oil, salt, and maybe some herbs thrown in the package for good measure.

 

Then I do the steam/bake for a good 45 minutes if bigger beets.

 

I'm confused. If you are going to wrap them in foil, why use the steam setting? They will create steam inside the foil (like wrapped baked potatoes do), but does the steam oven add anything through the foil? I cook them on steam-bake but without any foil and I think it gives them a bit more flavour than with foil. Then I peel them and if I have time, it's then that I might toss them in oil and season them a bit and throw them back in the oven for a couple of minutes to reheat them.

 

Or I just use Nonna Pia's Glaze. I can make my own balsamic reduction, but I like this company and I really like some of their products. It's become my go-to quick glaze for beets. 

[ElsieD]

2 hours ago, FauxPas said:

 

I'm confused. If you are going to wrap them in foil, why use the steam setting? They will create steam inside the foil (like wrapped baked potatoes do), but does the steam oven add anything through the foil? I cook them on steam-bake but without any foil and I think it gives them a bit more flavour than with foil. Then I peel them and if I have time, it's then that I might toss them in oil and season them a bit and throw them back in the oven for a couple of minutes to reheat them.

 

Or I just use Nonna Pia's Glaze. I can make my own balsamic reduction, but I like this company and I really like some of their products. It's become my go-to quick glaze for beets. 

 

Thumbs up for Nonna Pia's Glaze.  I have tried them all.  Delicious.

[weinoo]

11 hours ago, FauxPas said:

 

I'm confused. If you are going to wrap them in foil, why use the steam setting? They will create steam inside the foil (like wrapped baked potatoes do), but does the steam oven add anything through the foil? I cook them on steam-bake but without any foil and I think it gives them a bit more flavour than with foil. Then I peel them and if I have time, it's then that I might toss them in oil and season them a bit and throw them back in the oven for a couple of minutes to reheat them.

I dunno why, I've just had good results with this method and it makes for a quick cleanup.

[KennethT]

On 7/16/2020 at 2:57 PM, Keri AH said:

Any idea on why it was discontinued?

I gather that it had a relatively poor repair record. @Shelby took hers apart to take care of a clogged water line - she documented it here somewhere.

 

I imagine if you're somewhat handy you could fix most of the problems that come up. Or you could do what others have done here and get a spare (or two or three).

[chromedome]

51 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I gather that it had a relatively poor repair record. @Shelby took hers apart to take care of a clogged water line - she documented it here somewhere.

 

I imagine if you're somewhat handy you could fix most of the problems that come up. Or you could do what others have done here and get a spare (or two or three).

Yeah, somewhere upthread someone cited a 20% in-warranty failure rate. You get that in what's already a niche product with a limited market, and it's likely to be not long for this world.

 

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

I gather that it had a relatively poor repair record. @Shelby took hers apart to take care of a clogged water line - she documented it here somewhere.

 

I imagine if you're somewhat handy you could fix most of the problems that come up. Or you could do what others have done here and get a spare (or two or three).

 

8 minutes ago, chromedome said:

Yeah, somewhere upthread someone cited a 20% in-warranty failure rate. You get that in what's already a niche product with a limited market, and it's likely to be not long for this world.

 

And their mistake (though not for us, the consumers) was a friggin' 3-year warranty! When stuff starts failing after 2.8 years, you have a problem.

[dtremit]

On 7/16/2020 at 2:57 PM, Keri AH said:

I'm especially interested in this for bread baking, with steam, so if the steam function was the point of failure/concern then I wouldn't want to pursue a discontinued item.

 

I know there is disagreement about this, but I would also think carefully about the size of the loaves you want to bake, the pans you want to bake them in, etc. and make sure that the CSO is *big* enough for what you want to do.

 

I bought mine originally intending to use it for bread, and I have more or less given up on that; anything more than about 3" tall burns, in my CSO, as there's no shielding on the top heating elements. I know there's a few other people here who feel similarly.

 

That said, others here love it for bread, and if you make smaller loaves more frequently, it may be perfect.

 

It turns out I love mine for non-bread use cases, so I don't regret buying it one bit.

 

As for alternatives -- I think several of us have high hopes for the Anova oven — *if* it ever ships. I think someone else upthread was trying another alternative as well, but I can't recall which or who. That said, countertop steam ovens are pretty common in other countries, so I'm hopeful that a good alternative will emerge over time.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I typically use the CSO to bake half kg boules, sometimes larger.  I have had burning of the top but rarely, and I think only when the bread has had some other problem.  I offer dozens of photographs in the bread topic as evidence.

 

Modernist Bread specifies baking a 850 g boule in the CSO.

 

 

[dtremit]

@JoNorvelleWalker - I think the boules I've had trouble with were closer to that 850g size. 

 

I really do wonder if there was some kind of production change at some point that altered how the top heating elements cycle. 

 

I have been meaning to see how far I can push the thing on the SuperSteam setting, where it only heats from below.