combi microwave - do i need new cookware / baking tins?

artichoke

Hi all

i am considering buying this....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000FLBLUM/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

but have just thought....

can you use conventional baking trays and cake tins in it? mine are all metal so i guess you can not use them in a microwave BUT what do you use when baking a cake or making pizza, or roasting potatoes / meat in a combi microwave?


I have never had a combi microwave so have no idea if this is a silly question..

i cook everything from scratch and this will not be a moneysaving purchase if i have to buy all new equipment to go with it.....

unless someone knows of some good deals on anything new i might need:rolleyes:

also if anyone has anythoughts on the combi cooker i have found on amazon they would be most welcome ..... is it a good deal do you think?

or do i need a 32 litre one if i am cooking for 2 adults and 2 kids?

It will be my only oven for a good few months while we save up for the kitchen renovations....

any advice appreciated

thanks

art

Bongedone

You don't need to use it in combi mode, but can use it as an oven/grill. I have one as a back up device.

If you use the combi microwave mode then the normal microwave rules apply. No metal etc.

The combi microwave mode heats like an oven but sends bursts of microwave energy through to speed up the cooking time.

EDIT: The fan assisted oven is excellent for making cakes and Yorkshire pudding as it spins, so that it cooks evenly.

artichoke

thanks

so if i am say baking a cake or cooking a pizza - what is the best bay way to cook it ? in normal oven mode or in combi mode?

and if i need non metallic baking tins does anyone know where to get them?

i have no idea if i am doing the right thing buying this machine!

help

Bongedone

They are good machines and the one your planning on buying is a good one. They don't use as much electricity as a normal oven. It will just take practice. The instruction book that came with mine cooked a chicken in 45 minutes instead of 1h 20 in a normal oven.

I would just use it as a conventional oven for cakes etc. If you want to use the combi microware mode will require Pirex dishes etc.

Remember that you never have to use it in combi mode. It is a microwave, fan oven and grill. You can use them seperately of in "combination".

artichoke

hi

and if you used it in combination for say cooking pizza what type of pizza tray would you need?

if you use non -metallic cake tins etc what are they made of?

i am just trying to work out if i will need any more 'stuff" as this will be my only oven for at least 6 months:eek:

art

Bongedone

I have always just used conventional for those things. I very rarely use it in combination mode. All I can say is Pyrex for roasting etc. Cakes I just use normal tins but in conventional mode.

I am sure somebody on the forums uses their to its full capacity.

csarina

I have had a combi micro wave for years. If you want to ue the oven facility it cooks slightly quicker than a conventional oven because of the fan. I have a Panasonic and cakes etc I cook at 20o lower than in my normal oven, you will get better results if you pre-heat the oven when making cakes scones etc. When I make pizza I put the pizza base on the metal try then put the filling on and cook as in a convection oven. If you like crispy skinned baked spuds, you can zap them on high in the microwave setting and then crisp using the convection mode, the jacket spud mode on the Panasonic is excellent ,or put in a normal oven for about 15 minutes. I have a Remoska, so put my baked spuds in the for about 15 minutes to crisp up the skins.

I would not be without my combi next to the Remoska its my favoured method of cooking. Its cheaper than heating your main oven, and with experience you will get just as good results. I rarely use my big oven now, either the Remoska or the micro and an electric steamer.........

If its any use to you I had my combi micro as my only oven for 2 years and often cooked meals for 5/6/7 using it. You need to be selective what you cook and work out cooking times. I do use roasting bags in the micro if I am roasting either meat or chicken. I always take meat/chicken out half an hour before I carve it to allow it to relax, that will allow you to cook say yorkies to go with roast beef you can cook roast spuds round the meat on the metal tray.

I use my usual metal tins when using the convection oven function, stone ware or microwaveable plastic for the Micro.....your cook book that comes with the appliance will tell you what tins etc you can use with the different functions. If you need a pudding in a hurry the micro makes a super sponge pudding in about 6 minutes and a bread and butter pudding in the same amount of time. If you need any more help PM me and I will do what I can do to help.

artichoke

yes but i usually cook home made pizza's and put the dough on a metal tray....

i just wondered if there are other sorts of trays and cookware...

i have heard of 'silicon' cake tins but have no idea what they are for!

oh well - once i have bought it and read the instructions i am sure i will know more:rolleyes:

art

artichoke

sorry - don't know what happened here - my post above is replying to another post that has now disapeared

blueberrypie

artichoke wrote: »

hi

and if you used it in combination for say cooking pizza what type of pizza tray would you need?

if you use non -metallic cake tins etc what are they made of?

i am just trying to work out if i will need any more 'stuff" as this will be my only oven for at least 6 months:eek:

art

I've just bought a combination oven - was very tempted by the one you're considering from Amazon, but in the end decided on a £66 Morphy Richards from Argos. If you are doing combination cooking (and as others have said, you don't have to, you can stick to convection or micro or grill), you need to think about whether the item you're putting in is safe for each of the cooking methods. So if you want to microwave *and* roast something, you can't use metal, and you can't use plastic. Stoneware would be fine for both though. If you wanted to microwave only, you'll only have to avoid metal. And so on.

I don't think I'd use the combi-mode for making a cake, because I think cakes really need the time as well as heat for the chemical reactions to take place. Very few microwave cake recipes around. So for a cake, you'd just use it as a standard oven - therefore a metal tin would be fine.

For pizza - I found that it cooked pizza well on the oven mode, but if you wanted to use the micro mode, I'd imagine a pizza stone would work - can anyone else confirm this?

I think (given my limited experience) that these ovens really come into their own when you want to cook something faster but also have the "oven" effect - so good for things like baked potatoes. I'd put the potatoes into a stoneware dish (pyrex, Corningware, that kind of thing) to use the combi mode. I prefer stoneware to metal tins anyway, so already had a few :-)

artichoke

thanks blueberry pie

so do you think the one on amazon is a good deal? i had read in the threads on here that panasonic was a good make - but i also have seen the offers in argos and so am still not really sure

art