F .BLUMLEIN Steam Convection Oven

[md8232]

21 minutes ago, Keri AH said:

Perhaps you can help me out.  I've noted, with some surprise/curiosity, that several people (across various threads here) are very, very into using these ovens for TOAST. No disrespect, but why would someone spend hundreds of dollars for toast (as in a "toaster oven") when there are perfectly good toasters for a few dollars? (If we spend more that $3.99 for a toaster at the thrift store I'm feeling extravagant!) When I first started looking for a new combi countertop oven I was initially put off by seeing them listed as "toaster oven" -- I want to bake, not toast -- but now I'm scratching my head: people *do* actually appear to get these (just) to make a piece of toast -- and to be quite into the whole experience/result. What am I missing? 

One person wanted to boil water for tea. 
Go figure. 

[chromedome]

2 hours ago, Keri AH said:

Perhaps you can help me out.  I've noted, with some surprise/curiosity, that several people (across various threads here) are very, very into using these ovens for TOAST. No disrespect, but why would someone spend hundreds of dollars for toast (as in a "toaster oven") when there are perfectly good toasters for a few dollars? (If we spend more that $3.99 for a toaster at the thrift store I'm feeling extravagant!) When I first started looking for a new combi countertop oven I was initially put off by seeing them listed as "toaster oven" -- I want to bake, not toast -- but now I'm scratching my head: people *do* actually appear to get these (just) to make a piece of toast -- and to be quite into the whole experience/result. What am I missing? 

I think counter space is an issue for many here, especially given that we're collectively prone to gadget accumulation. Also, thanks in part to Alton Brown, Mark Bittman et al, there's a prejudice against mono-tasking kitchen appliances (ie, toasters).

 

[gfweb]

eG is a toast cult

[Kerry Beal]

Here is my reply from the company - 

 

Hello Kerry,

 

Thank you forletting us know about this issue. 

 

As a responsibility company, we respect copyright and abide by laws and regulations. We will investigate this matter, and correct the cookbook if we make a mistake. Moreover, we have removed the recipes from our official website and Amazon.

 

Thanks again for bringing this to our attention.

 

Regards,

Shirley

Fblumlein Customer Support

[TdeV]

4 hours ago, Keri AH said:

Perhaps you can help me out.  I've noted, with some surprise/curiosity, that several people (across various threads here) are very, very into using these ovens for TOAST. No disrespect, but why would someone spend hundreds of dollars for toast (as in a "toaster oven") when there are perfectly good toasters for a few dollars? (If we spend more that $3.99 for a toaster at the thrift store I'm feeling extravagant!) When I first started looking for a new combi countertop oven I was initially put off by seeing them listed as "toaster oven" -- I want to bake, not toast -- but now I'm scratching my head: people *do* actually appear to get these (just) to make a piece of toast -- and to be quite into the whole experience/result. What am I missing? 

 

@chromedome is right, it's about counter space. I need to remove some existing appliances.

P.S. I'm also the person who wants to boil water (so I can get rid of the microwave).

[Chris Hennes]

2 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

As a responsibility company, we respect copyright and abide by laws and regulations. We will investigate this matter, and correct the cookbook if we make a mistake. Moreover, we have removed the recipes from our official website and Amazon.

So basically, they had outsourced the cookbook to someone and didn't bother to make sure anyone had secured the rights to anything at all. Good thing they don't print the things! It's a lot easier to take down a PDF file than recall a bunch of boxes loaded with copyright violations.

[Kerry Beal]

27 minutes ago, Chris Hennes said:

So basically, they had outsourced the cookbook to someone and didn't bother to make sure anyone had secured the rights to anything at all. Good thing they don't print the things! It's a lot easier to take down a PDF file than recall a bunch of boxes loaded with copyright violations.

True that!

[gfweb]

39 minutes ago, Chris Hennes said:

So basically, they had outsourced the cookbook to someone and didn't bother to make sure anyone had secured the rights to anything at all. Good thing they don't print the things! It's a lot easier to take down a PDF file than recall a bunch of boxes loaded with copyright violations.

I want to know who did the cookbook.

[TdeV]

I think it was probably somebody's nephew.

[TdeV]

Or niece.

[chromedome]

9 hours ago, TdeV said:

I think it was probably somebody's nephew.

 

9 hours ago, TdeV said:

Or niece.

 

I'm guessing they put it up on a freelance site like Odesk at a fraction of the pay any reasonable freelancer would expect, and someone basically gave them what they paid for.

[palo]

As well it brings doubt onto the accuracy of the recipes and their application to this product.

 

As an aside, I saw the recipes as possibly modifiable for the CSO so I saved a copy of it.

 

p

[Kerry Beal]

I certainly didn't follow their instructions for cooking a whole chicken or it would have been raw.

[ElsieD]

I find it strange that for the price of this oven, that the manual would be that bad.  If I were in the market for this type of oven, the quality of the manual would make me question the quality of the oven.

[Kerry Beal]

15 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I find it strange that for the price of this oven, that the manual would be that bad.  If I were in the market for this type of oven, the quality of the manual would make me question the quality of the oven.

Seems to be a good quality product - but when you read more about it - it's a company that is making higher quality items in China with a view to improving the reputation of 'made in China'. 

[gfweb]

5 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Seems to be a good quality product - but when you read more about it - it's a company that is making higher quality items in China with a view to improving the reputation of 'made in China'. 

By making it appear to be German?

[Kerry Beal]

2 minutes ago, gfweb said:

By making it appear to be German?

I'm sure that's part of it!

[rotuts]

I don't mind ' Made in China "

 

or anywhere else .  if its of reasonably high quality.

 

AAPL is mostly made in China :

 

 

in the mid 50's  there was a lot of imported ' junk'  from recovering Japan , 

 

" Made in USA "  but USA in this case was a non-entity in Japan.

 

" USA " was a fake place in Japan.  not to be confused w U.S.A

 

now w Amazon , and it issues w ' reviews '   cheap and poorly made stuff comes from china 

 

and other savy places , via a corrupted "  rating " system Amazon is slow to deal with 

 

why ?  15 % of a 5 USD piece of Junk ,  time a billion :  not small change.

 

If I got whole chickens , or items that would fit in the FBSO

 

Id consider getting one.  just not these days.

 

but baking bread , well .....

 

Im waiting for my Amazon   " subscribe and save " C-19 Vaccinations kits :

 

my health insurance would pay , I get 2 - 3 different manufactures vacc's

 

column A  , B  , C , D    : select 3 :  Oxford , Modena , etc

 

each delivered every 3 - 4 - 6 M , depending , and using a diabetic ( insulin ) needle

 

boost myself up , from time to time.

 

Pre  M.R. , possibly 

Edited August 4, 2020 by rotuts (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I guess old habits die hard - 

 

e-mail from today - quite easy to find the pictures online that they have used

 

On Aug 14, 2020, at 9:07 AM, F.BLÜMLEIN <support@fblumlein.com> wrote:

 

HOME STEAM OVEN RECIPE FREE SHIPPING on orders over $50 F.BLÜMLEIN UPDATES - AUGUST 2020 Steamed Chocolate Pudding Using our oven's steam mode, you can easily make this classic dessert with light and airy taste. Whether you enjoy it with ice cream or chocolate sauce, it's a perfect choice for your afternoon indulgence.  Get The Recipe More Delicious Dessert Recipes Stories From Our Customers It's much more convenient than I thought. "It has a wide range of uses. I'm using it to steam corn, fish, and green vegetables. Sometimes I put four things in at the same time - steam rice, veg, fish, and soup." - June Works Great. Highly Recommend! "The unit came packed very well for protection and was delivered on time. It came with instructions and f.blumlein has an online cookbook. This proofs the dough as well as bakes it. It makes things pretty simple and the results are great." - PAR Photos of What You Cook We love to hear stories about how customers enjoy cooking with their F.BLÜMLEIN steam oven. Share your cooking journey with us by tagging us and using #cookwithfb. About Us Support Privacy Policy 6140 N Hollywood Blvd Suite 110 Las Vegas, NV 89115   No more special offers and delicious recipes?  Unsubscribe

[teonzo]

If these guys are persevering, then you should contact the copyright owners of those photos and point out what's happening. There is a bit of difference between receiving an e-mail from a customer saying "guys you are using photos from other sources" and receiving an e-mail from the copyright owner saying "I own the copyright of that photo, I'll contact my lawyer".

 

 

 

Teo

 

[dtremit]

On 8/4/2020 at 11:43 AM, Kerry Beal said:

Seems to be a good quality product - but when you read more about it - it's a company that is making higher quality items in China with a view to improving the reputation of 'made in China'. 

 

I'm going to preface everything below with a big caveat -- it is not meant as criticism — just context.

 

There is a huge and growing industry of companies trying to bridge the gap between Chinese manufacturers and Western consumers. They typically do not design products in house — they find manufacturers in China that are already making a product, and put together a marketing strategy to make sales of that product successful in the West. Sometimes they will customize it slightly, other times not.

 

The best example? Instant Pot. You might have noticed that a lot of other, off-brand pressure cookers on the market look a lot like the first couple of Instant Pot models. That's because...they're the same pressure cookers. What Instant Pot did was to customize the controls for a North American audience, and build a support ecosystem around it. I think their later models show a lot more customization (but I think I came across the OEM of one of their air fryers as I was looking into the steam oven). 

There is a huge wholesale / white label business in China that will produce, label, package, and ship just about anything you could possibly want to sell. The wholesale market in Yiwu is made up of a series of eight story buildings that stretch for seven kilometers. (If you want to go down a rabbit hole, this video is a really interesting watch -- but it might ruin souvenir shopping for you.)

In any case — if you look at the F. Blumlein website, there's a note at the bottom that it's "Powered by SainStore." If you go to SainStore.com, you'll see that they

Quote

...want to remove the negative stigma of “Made in China.” We partner with manufacturers to transform their products into internationally-recognized brands by enabling them to create a complete and immersive brand experience.

 

The name rang a bell for me, because they're the same people behind SainSmart, which markets a lot of stuff to hobby electronics enthusiasts. (They sell a lot of mini CNC routers.) 

 

F.Blumlein, SainStore, and SainSmart all have the same mailing address in Lenexa, Kansas.

 

I suspected I could track down the F Blumlein oven in China, and I did -- at least, on a Chinese-market ecommerce site, marketed under the Timzuu brand, and marketed by the Dongguan Tianzhuo Electric Co, Ltd. under the Timzuu brand:

 

https://detail.1688.com/offer/585827555804.html

 

For what it's worth, it lists for more in China -- about $562 US.

 

They also make this amazing "European Style" variant (looks like the same oven inside):

 

They also have a website for the Timzuu brand that's a heck of a lot more impressive than the F.Blumlein one.

 

TL;DR version: what I think that means is: either the manufacturer or marketer of the Timzuu oven wanted to sell the thing in the US, contracted with SainStore to create a US brand to market it under, and F.Blumlein was born. I suspect SainStore is responsible for the slightly questionable manual and the plagiarized recipes; I also suspect they have almost nothing to do with the design and manufacturing of the oven.

 

Will F.Blumlein be around in five years? Your guess is as good as mine; they could be the next Instant Pot, or they could be lost to history. But I suspect the manufacturer will still be around, and that someone will be able to sell you one of their ovens.

Edited August 18, 2020 by dtremit (log)

[dtremit]

Incidentally, if we're really lucky, someone will import their 58L combi oven: 

 

http://www.timzuu.com/l_cp/showproduct.php?lang=cn&id=29

Somewhere in between the XL and XXL Miele in size, and seems to be $1000 in China...

[dtremit]

Also, what appears to be a close relative is sold by Whirlpool in Hong Kong:

 

https://www.whirlpool.com.hk/english/productinfo/cooking/steam-oven

Obviously the interface is different, but the user manual might be useful (English starts halfway through):

 

https://www.whirlpool.com.hk/media/wysiwyg/Downloads/CS2320_user_manual_p.pdf

[dtremit]

(Man, I must have been really bored yesterday.)

[KennethT]

@dtremit I've worked alongside the appliance industry for 30 years (not in it, but my company makes components used in various appliances).  It is not uncommon for a single manufacturer to make many different brands' specific appliance.  For example, many electric ranges of many different makes are actually made by one company, but sold through all the different manufacturer's sales lines, even though those manufacturers aren't related in common ownership. So, as an example, Frigidaire may make models for Whirlpool, GE and Maytag - some of them they are related to, and others they are not.

 

In smaller industries (like my specific one for example) it is common for a single Chinese manufacturer to make many slightly different private label versions of essentially the same product.  In fact, it goes so far that the original manufacturer doesn't even have a brand of its own - all it does is make products under other companies' labels.  My company is one of the last of its kind in our industry, actually designing, manufacturing and warehousing in the US and not simply buying and reselling the Chinese competition.  In every case I can think of, the Chinese manufacturer isn't out looking for new markets (other than at trade shows for wholesale) - so they depend on US (or other countries) companies who want to pretend to be a manufacturer, when in fact, they're really an importer/distributor/marketer.  This seems to be the case with the Blumlein oven - a US company saw the oven at a trade show (or online), saw the sales/marketing opportunities and set up a private label with the manufacturer.

 

At least, that would be my guess...