Does anyone have a convection oven? Like it?

Butterfly

Butterfly

SF VIP
Location
Albuquerque, New Mexico USA
I'm trying to decide whether to buy a countertop type convection oven/oven combination. Does anyone have experience using a convection oven? Does it cook much faster? Do you like the results you get when using it? Do you have a recommendation as to brand?

I've read a zillion reviews, of course, but it's hard to know what to believe. I'm interested in cooking chicken breasts, fish, roasting veggies, etc. I'm not particularly interested in how they do on pizza (a lot of reviews are about pizza) because I hardly ever eat pizza.

I have an old countertop oven that is giving up the ghost. I don't like using my regular oven, particularly this time of year, because it heats up my kitchen so much.

Any comments and/or suggestions or stories of your experience with convection would be greatly appreciated.
 

I have an inexpensive Oster toaster oven with convection that works fine but is not in the cooking miracle category.

I chose the inexpensive Oster because no matter how good a housekeeper a person is the toaster oven becomes disgusting after a few years and I would rather replace it than fret over scrubbing it.

I bought it at the local Walmart a couple of years ago for approx. $50.00 and I use it for cooking every day but I've never baked anything in it.

My only complaint about using a countertop oven is that they discourage the use of Pyrex casserole dishes. I'm still looking for some inexpensive cookware that is convenient to use. I mainly use the shallow pan that came with it a round cake pan and a rectangular brownie pan.

https://www.oster.com/oster/oster-designed-for-life-6-slice-toaster-oven-silver/TSSTTVDFL2.html
 
I absolutely love convection roasting and baking. There is a regular convection and true European convection, go for the latter as it has 3 circulating fans.

There is a bit of a learning curve, shallow pans work best for roasting to allow for air circulation, baking is a dream as you will find that there are no burnt bottoms.

Cooking time is decreased by a bit, for example a roast chicken split in half will take about 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes, depending on size, I use a thermometer.

You will love roasted potatoes, a little drizzled olive oil will turn the lowly tater to a gourmet delight. I always do them along side any meat. Carrots, not so good unless very small pieces.
 

Convection cooking cooks the product more evenly because it circulates the heat with a fan.

The oven in my stove doesn't work now and the part I need is no longer available to fix it. ( Built in obsolescence) . So I bought a toaster oven, but without the convection feature. The burners still work.

For one person, it is adequate enough for small meals. I like it.

For cleaning. On a warm summer day I take it outside and spray the inside with oven cleaner and cover it with a garbage bag and leave it overnight. In the morning it's an easy clean with paper towels. They do become messy. The cookware for these toaster ovens is available in the dollar stores. They make spring form cake tins, and baking trays in small sizes. They are a good value and are the Betty Crocker brand. Good quality and good price.

I have a twin window fan and exhaust the heat outside when cooking. My kitchen doesn't have an exhaust fan although I have installed a ceiling fan.
 
We have convection ovens at work. They cook things faster but, if your baking something that will brown, turn the product halfway through to get an even color. Things can burn faster for sure. I wish I had one at home.
 
Mine is a convection/microwave combo. We got it mainly because I never liked firing up the big oven, just cooking something for the two of us. I like it, for both functions. When the time should come to replace this one (it is my second) I would go with the combo again.
 
I have had mine for so long I don't recall when I bought it and it has never once malfunctioned. Good for broiling and baking up to 450 degrees F and heats up instantly where my oven takes about 15 minutes to get to 450. The reviews I have read on present day ovens are not very flattering so I hope mine keeps chugging along.
 
Lee said:
I absolutely love convection roasting and baking. There is a regular convection and true European convection, go for the latter as it has 3 circulating fans.

There is a bit of a learning curve, shallow pans work best for roasting to allow for air circulation, baking is a dream as you will find that there are no burnt bottoms.

Cooking time is decreased by a bit, for example a roast chicken split in half will take about 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes, depending on size, I use a thermometer.

You will love roasted potatoes, a little drizzled olive oil will turn the lowly tater to a gourmet delight. I always do them along side any meat. Carrots, not so good unless very small pieces.
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I asked my wife about ours and what she told me was a virtual replicate of you post.
So now I don't have to do all that typing. She loves ours.
 
I have convection in both my range and microwave. I tried them both for several things and I didn't see any advantage except for baking cookies which I only did for the neighborhood party. I hate cooking so I keep meals simple. I didn't have the interest to really learn how to use them. Not sure why I paid the extra, except the salesman was convincing. One of my friends did use the range one to do a prime rib and it was fantastic. I think if you love to cook and take the time to learn all about it, it is a great feature and worth the extra.
 
I have a convection oven in my stove/oven and use it occasionally. It's good for crispy things. I made some Chex Party Mix tonight and used it to make it crunchier. I wouldn't use it for meats, as it could dry them out. {It might be alright to partly cook meats using convection.} Cakes and breads need time to rise, so I don't use them with it either. Caramel corn cooks well in one.

I had a large countertop convection oven/toaster that I used almost everyday for 9 years. When it played out, I didn't replace it because I needed countertop space more than another oven. I like them for certain types of cooking. They save time and energy.
 
I just have a cheap combo toaster/convection oven. I use the convection part mainly for baked potatoes especially in the summer. I think the insides are more fluffy and do cook faster.
I tried cream puffs once. I read that they use a convection oven in bakeries because they come out dryer so I gave it a try. It did work well and not soggy at all but still a lot of work to make.
 
We have a toaster oven with the convection option. The instructions read if I use the convection feature to set the oven temperature 25 degrees lower than what the recipe calls for. It seems to work well either way but I'm still just a novice cook, cooking simple items. Ours is a Cuisinart and we've had it for a year or so. We like it ..
 
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I use the Nuwave Pro Plus that is round with a dome on top. It uses convection, conduction and infrared cooking technology. I just cooked chicken thighs and cornbread in it yesterday. I use it almost daily. It can be used for a lot more than pizza. It is not a toaster oven, but I make toast in it sometimes. I cook my bacon in it too.
 
Love to cook and have a counter top convection oven. Think of it as a nice "baker" with a circulating air browning feature. We were in the food manufacturing biz and used industrial convection ovens for baking. They are wonderful for "browning". However, if you don't want too brown tops on cakes or pies, simply turn the air feature off if you have one, or turn the temps down 25°. They are great for "crisping" up french fries, etc.
 
Marie5656 said:
Mine is a convection/microwave combo. We got it mainly because I never liked firing up the big oven, just cooking something for the two of us. I like it, for both functions. When the time should come to replace this one (it is my second) I would go with the combo again.
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Marie, what brand is it? Where did you find it? My microwave appears to be dying also, so a combination one would be great. I mainly just use the microwave for heating stuff up, not for real cooking, but I'd miss having one.
 
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