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Countertop convection ovens


Martin Fisher

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A cursory search didn't reveal a forum topic devoted to countertop convection ovens in general.

 

On the inexpensive, low-end of the scale, $59.00, there's this extra-wide B&D that will supposedly accommodate 9"x13" pans and a 12" pizza.

I think a small hole could be drilled in the center of the back for a permanently mounted, threaded, temperature sensor so the temperature of the oven can be adjusted more precisely.

 

"BLACK+DECKER Extra Wide 8-Slice Toaster Oven, Stainless Steel, TO3250XSB"

GUehGJ1.png

Source: walmart.com

:smile:

 

 

 

 

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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There's this older thread, which is primarily about countertop models.

 

I'm still a big fan (get it) of my 11 year old 1/4 sheet Cadco oven, but those are now selling for over 600 bucks. I did not pay nearly that amount back then, and I'm not sure if they're still made in Italy, so I can't say if it's still a good rec this time.

 

 

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So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."

So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

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3 hours ago, Joe Blowe said:

There's this older thread, which is primarily about countertop models.

 

I'm still a big fan (get it) of my 11 year old 1/4 sheet Cadco oven, but those are now selling for over 600 bucks. I did not pay nearly that amount back then, and I'm not sure if they're still made in Italy, so I can't say if it's still a good rec this time.

 

 

My half-sheet Cadco is still going strong after 19 years.  I finally looked up the purchase date and it was in April 1998.  I got it because I was no longer catering and had no need to bake large batches so didn't need to use the big commercial gas oven I had then.  Last year I got the Oster convection oven with French doors because the one thing about the Cadco that I don't like is that a 15 inch pizza pan will not fit in it.  

The Oster accepts it easily.  

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"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I looked at the Oster at Costco last week, and was somewhat tempted. I just don't have a use case for it at present.

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“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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  • 6 months later...
On 9/3/2017 at 5:51 AM, DiggingDogFarm said:

A cursory search didn't reveal a forum topic devoted to countertop convection ovens in general.

 

On the inexpensive, low-end of the scale, $59.00, there's this extra-wide B&D that will supposedly accommodate 9"x13" pans and a 12" pizza.

I think a small hole could be drilled in the center of the back for a permanently mounted, threaded, temperature sensor so the temperature of the oven can be adjusted more precisely.

 

"BLACK+DECKER Extra Wide 8-Slice Toaster Oven, Stainless Steel, TO3250XSB"

GUehGJ1.png

Source: walmart.com

:smile:

 

 

 

 

 

I was gifted this "poor man's" convection oven for Christmas.

It works quite well.

Said to accommodate a 9"x13" pan, but I found a Nordic Ware 11.25" x 15.75" 'jelly roll' sheet pan that fits it perfectly!

 

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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I've had an eye on the counter-top Cadco and Wisco convection ovens for years.

When this piece-of-junk GE range dies, I will NOT have another kitchen range!

I plan to have a good counter-top convection oven and an induction hot plate.

I don't use more than one burner 99% of the time, I can pair the induction burner with the Waring Commercial hot plate that I already have, when needed.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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I don't know if a convection fan for a countertop oven is of much practical use.

Convection is to facilitate conduction. In an electric countertop oven most of the heating is done by IR radiation. Convection has no effect on IR.

 

dcarch

 

 

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1 minute ago, dcarch said:

I don't know if a convection fan for a countertop oven is of much practical use.

Convection is to facilitate conduction. In an electric countertop oven most of the heating is done by IR radiation. Convection has no effect on IR.

 

dcarch

 

 

 

I think it certainly does make a difference.

This 'toaster oven.' performs noticeably better than toaster ovens I've had in the past.

It's faster and heats more evenly.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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3 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Steam.

 

 

 That would be nice, but what's currently 'affordable' is too small.

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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We had a microwave and were thinking about replacing it with a toaster oven or convection oven.  In the end we decided to get the GE Profile Convection/microwave.  It is everything we need although I wish it had more power on the microwave side.

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  • 4 years later...

I recently got a new convection oven.

There's a lot to explore, including how to use it.

I'm wondering if I made the right purchase or if the air fryer is better than it is. Comments are welcome if you own a convection oven too

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Welcome!

 

I have an oven at home that can operate as a conventional  oven or a convection; the convection setting activates the fan.  Convection bake is low fan speed, convection roast is faster fan speed.  I usually set the temp about 25 degrees lower when using convection and I also start to check for "doneness" sooner than I would otherwise; things cook faster in convection mode.  I own a bakery where we have commercial convection ovens so using one at home was not a learning experience.


At home we also have a Breville Smart Oven Pro, because I wanted more oven space at home for the holiday chaos and it also functions as an air fryer so I didn't have to make room on the counter for yet another device ;)  The kid  uses the air fryer more than I do and he's been pretty happy experimenting with it; mostly with chicken, and reheating things like mozzarella sticks, and other batter/breaded coated things for snacks.

 

What model did you get?

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I have a Breville Smart Oven Air.  I rarely use the airfryer mode.

 

After a couple years of fooling with it I've decided I'd rather pan fry.

 

But I love the BSO in general. If only it had steam.

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My Samsung range is conventional, convection and has an air fryer option, too. I have never used the air fry option, but I use the convection 80% of the time. I also have a separate air fryer that I have used once or twice. I just haven't really made friends with it. Rather like the Instant Pot that it sits next to in the cupboard.

Deb

Liberty, MO

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Over in the Air Fryer topic, I recently posted some comments from the Wirecutter's air fryer review where they chose a Cuisinart convection toaster oven as their top option.  This is what they had to say about the convection oven vs pod-style air fryer:

Quote

Get the Cuisinart oven if:

  • You have room in your kitchen for a larger oven.
  • You have a family or larger household, and/or want to be able to cook larger portions of food at once.
  • You want to make a variety of foods, such as baked goods, toast, frozen pizzas up to 13 inches, or roast chicken as big as 6 pounds.
  • You want the option to adjust the convection fan’s speed or turn it off completely.
  • You don’t want to buy extra accessories (like baking trays or pizza stones) to get the most out of your appliance.
  • You don’t mind turning your food to achieve even browning while cooking.
  • You like to avoid nonstick coating, which lines the baskets in most pod-shaped air fryers and tends to wear off quickly.
  • You want faster cleanup.

Get a pod-shaped air fryer if:

  • You don’t have room in your kitchen for a larger oven.
  • You mainly want to cook frozen food or smaller portions of food.
  • You don’t want to bake, make toast, cook a 13-inch frozen pizza, or roast a large chicken.
  • You don’t mind having a single convection fan speed that you can’t adjust or turn off.
  • You don’t mind paying for extra accessories (like a rack or cake pan) in order to make full use of your air fryer.
  • You prefer a more casual approach to cooking your food, and you find tossing it in a basket to be less cumbersome than turning it by hand.
  • You’re okay with some uneven browning.
  • You don’t mind more cleanup—including the extra care necessary to prolong the life of the fryer basket’s nonstick coating.

 

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18 hours ago, JeanneCake said:

Welcome!

 

I have an oven at home that can operate as a conventional  oven or a convection; the convection setting activates the fan.  Convection bake is low fan speed, convection roast is faster fan speed.  I usually set the temp about 25 degrees lower when using convection and I also start to check for "doneness" sooner than I would otherwise; things cook faster in convection mode.  I own a bakery where we have commercial convection ovens so using one at home was not a learning experience.


At home we also have a Breville Smart Oven Pro, because I wanted more oven space at home for the holiday chaos and it also functions as an air fryer so I didn't have to make room on the counter for yet another device ;)  The kid  uses the air fryer more than I do and he's been pretty happy experimenting with it; mostly with chicken, and reheating things like mozzarella sticks, and other batter/breaded coated things for snacks.

 

What model did you get?

I posted my model in another thread, I bought a convection oven from HYSapientia on Amazon and I use it pretty much all the time now.

By contacting the manufacturer they informed me that a convection oven can be used as an alternative to an air fryer, mine is even allowed for my kids, they can easily learn

Edited by Tom1 (log)
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17 hours ago, gfweb said:

I have a Breville Smart Oven Air.  I rarely use the airfryer mode.

 

After a couple years of fooling with it I've decided I'd rather pan fry.

 

But I love the BSO in general. If only it had steam.

That one is great too, although I haven't tried it

Edited by Tom1 (log)
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I have an old grill rack with an enamel pan under a wire rack that I often use in the convection oven to get air circulation under the food. You might look for something like that or a wire rack that you can prop up over a metal tray.

 

My convection oven is from Europe so smaller than an American oven but larger than a countertop unit.

It's almost never bad to feed someone.

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On 10/27/2022 at 11:36 PM, haresfur said:

I have an old grill rack with an enamel pan under a wire rack that I often use in the convection oven to get air circulation under the food. You might look for something like that or a wire rack that you can prop up over a metal tray


That’s a good idea. I tend to use these pizza screens (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) for that purpose. They’re aluminum, not non-stick like the baskets that come with air fryers so I wipe on a bit of oil. They come in many sizes. 

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