Cuisinart Combo Steam/Convection Oven (Part 3)

[Okanagancook]

Cut it in half and start with 350 for 8 min on bake steam.  May need more time and a flip.

[Kim Shook]

On 11/11/2019 at 11:09 PM, Okanagancook said:

Cut it in half and start with 350 for 8 min on bake steam.  May need more time and a flip.

Thanks so much.  It worked just fine.  Got a little dark on top:

Nothing that gobs of butter wouldn't fix:

[Okanagancook]

It never ceases to amaze me how well that little oven rejuvenates leftovers.😍

[Ann_T]

On 7/22/2019 at 8:24 AM, Okanagancook said:

I had three fairly large shrimp that I wanted cooked to go in a veggie stew.  I put them in a small pyrex bowl and steamed them at 200F for 8 minutes.  Wow, beautifully moist and cooked perfectly.  Who knew....only trouble is I only have two left to go in the stew 😋

 Thanks @Okanagancook. This was just what i was looking for.   I have some Argentina frozen shrimp that I wanted to steam tonight and a quick search brought up your post.

[Anna N]

On 11/14/2019 at 1:26 AM, Okanagancook said:

It never ceases to amaze me how well that little oven rejuvenates leftovers.😍

I have often wondered how well it might sell if it was renamed The Leftover Oven. 

[Okanagancook]

2 hours ago, Ann_T said:

 Thanks @Okanagancook. This was just what i was looking for.   I have some Argentina frozen shrimp that I wanted to steam tonight and a quick search brought up your post.

Oh crap, thanks @Ann_T, I had forgotten about this and I am about to add those same Argentina shrimp to some cooked gumbo..so will use the CSO...need to add this to the spreadsheet! 😃😃

[PositiveMD]

Wanted to get your thoughts. I'm getting on getting a supplementary oven. 

 

I'm deciding between the CSO or the Breville Smart Oven Air.

 

It looks like they're both on sale right now.

 

The CSO being $159 and the BSO Air being ~$320 after some coupon stacking?

 

if you had to choose between the two, which would you get?

[dtremit]

Costco appears to be carrying the CSO for $129:

 

https://www.costco.com/cuisinart-combo-steam-and-convection-oven.product.100147110.html

 

They picture the older model without Steam Clean, oddly. Deal good through 12/2.

[dtremit]

20 minutes ago, PositiveMD said:

Wanted to get your thoughts. I'm getting on getting a supplementary oven. 

 

I'm deciding between the CSO or the Breville Smart Oven Air.

 

What do you want to use it for? I have both (well, my Breville is a slightly smaller model), and IMHO they both do things that the other can't do (well).

[ElsieD]

I have both and if I didn't mind that the CSO could not fit a quarter sheet pan, I'd get the CSO.

[PositiveMD]

I was thinking of using it to do veggies if I'm cooking a protein; but looking through the threads it looks like most people here use these ovens instead of their main one.

 

I primarily use my main oven for baked goods (like bread, cakes, cookies, etc...) and roasts. 

 

Is that enough information? From what I'm seeing a lot of people use the CSO to do toast(?). 

 

Is that one of the primary things that the CSO does better the BSO? I'm seeing the main benefits of the BSO as able to fit a quarter sheet pan, and possibly the dehydrating and proofing feature. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

@PositiveMD think steam.  (You might want to hang on and wait for the anova steam oven, if they ever bring it to market.)

 

[gfweb]

4 hours ago, PositiveMD said:

Wanted to get your thoughts. I'm getting on getting a supplementary oven. 

 

I'm deciding between the CSO or the Breville Smart Oven Air.

 

It looks like they're both on sale right now.

 

The CSO being $159 and the BSO Air being ~$320 after some coupon stacking?

 

if you had to choose between the two, which would you get?

Tough one. I love both.

 

BSO has larger oven...air fry...fruit drier...longer bake times...programmability 

 

CSO is a better toaster and has steam which it the big thing. Great for reheating, tomato peeling etc etc. 

 

 

[Okanagancook]

It’s obvious to me...buy both🙃

[Okanagancook]

As others have noted, the steam feature and the toast function alone are worth getting the oven.  The fact that people are buying ‘spares’ in case, God forbid, production  comes to a halt...I have a spare....gives you an idea about how cherished they are.  I use mine more than twice a day.  I love the warm feature for getting my plates warm for dinner...pet peeve is food served on cold plates.

 

i am a big fan of air frying and others love the other features of the Breville.  I don’t have one because I have a nice food drier and an air fryer.

 

Christmas is coming.

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, Okanagancook said:

As others have noted, the steam feature and the toast function alone are worth getting the oven.  The fact that people are buying ‘spares’ in case, God forbid, production  comes to a halt...I have a spare....gives you an idea about how cherished they are.  I use mine more than twice a day.  I love the warm feature for getting my plates warm for dinner...pet peeve is food served on cold plates.

 

i am a big fan of air frying and others love the other features of the Breville.  I don’t have one because I have a nice food drier and an air fryer.

 

Christmas is coming.

 

How does the food drier work?😉

[Okanagancook]

It’s an Excalibur.  Fantastic driers.  Lifetime warrantees.

Disregard this response as I miss understood the question.

I don't know how the Breville food drier works.

edited 10:24 am Nov 18

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by Okanagancook (log)

[dtremit]

18 hours ago, PositiveMD said:

I was thinking of using it to do veggies if I'm cooking a protein; but looking through the threads it looks like most people here use these ovens instead of their main one.

 

I primarily use my main oven for baked goods (like bread, cakes, cookies, etc...) and roasts. 

 

Is that enough information? From what I'm seeing a lot of people use the CSO to do toast(?). 

 

Is that one of the primary things that the CSO does better the BSO? I'm seeing the main benefits of the BSO as able to fit a quarter sheet pan, and possibly the dehydrating and proofing feature. 

 

I'd say that if you are fine with continuing to use your main oven to do most of your baked goods, go with the CSO. 

 

The CSO will do great things for roasts -- the steam will let you cook the meat "low and slow" and then sear it up at the end. A CSO roast chicken is a beautiful thing. As @gfweb mentioned, the steam is great for peeling fruits, and it's also fantastic at roasting peppers so the skin slips right off. It is also amazing for heating up leftovers that are otherwise difficult to reheat.

 

The downside of the CSO is its size and (in my opinion) the configuration of the top heating elements which amplifies that issue. Any baked good taller than a sheet cake is likely to get overbrowned on top. For straight up baking, the BSO has better heating elements and shields over them to disperse the heat.

 

I will mention that the toast is a matter of some disagreement -- I find no real difference between CSO and BSO toast, but I am not picky about toast. 

 

Finally I will note that a CSO will fit quite nicely on top of a BSO.

[kayb]

I don't have and have never used a BSO, but I am here to tell you, I love my CSO and would buy another one tomorrow if mine quit. Things I'd keep in mind:

 

1. How often to you NEED to put something bigger than 12 x 12 in your oven?  I can bake two loaves of bread, or a chicken, or a small beef roast, etc., in mine. It fits most of the frozen dishes I've wanted to cook in their freezer trays. It's in its element roasting a half-dozen chicken thighs, or three or four chicken breasts.

2. How many leftovers do you eat? The CSO has No Match for reheating leftovers.

 

If your baking consists primarily of cookies, layer cakes, sheet cakes, the CSO is too small. But that's why I have a conventional oven as well.

 

I find the convection function does well enough at crisping things I want to bake and crisp (i.e., tater tots, frozen snacky things, etc.) to make me not long for an air fryer. I, too, have a separate dehydrator, so that's not a issue for me.

 

[blue_dolphin]

I'm on team CSO because I think the steam-bake and steam-broil functions really bring something new to the cooking toolbox.  I don't have a BSO so perhaps it's capable of many things my wall ovens (which have a dehydrator function, but not airfryer functions) do not.

One thing to consider is that the CSO has a steam vent which should not be situated directly underneath a cabinet when in use so you need to either have some vertical space above the vent or the ability to pull it out while running the steam functions.  This only a concern on steam. You can toast, bake, broil or warm plates with no worry.

Edited November 18, 2019 by blue_dolphin
to finish sentence (log)

[Anna N]

I would definitely shed tears if my CSO stopped working but I will hold a full blown wake the day my BSO finally gives up the ghost which it is threatening to do imminently. 

[PositiveMD]

Ok you all have convinced me. I just ordered my CSO.

[Okanagancook]

👏 you’ll love it.

[TdeV]

If one wanted (just) a way to toast spices or nuts, is a CSO or BSO faster or simpler than a conventional oven?

[blue_dolphin]

37 minutes ago, TdeV said:

If one wanted (just) a way to toast spices or nuts, is a CSO or BSO faster or simpler than a conventional oven?

 

I toast nuts in the CSO.  It heats up much more quickly than my wall oven.  Since it has a timer shut-off, there is a bit less chance of incinerating them, though they can still overcook on the residual heat if they are abandoned in the oven. 

I generally toast spices in a small skilled on the stovetop so I can stir them frequently.  Haven't tried that in the CSO.