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

artichoke

hi

well i have now ordered it from amazon.

I will let you know how i get on......maybe we could start a combi oven thread with tips and recipies for how to get the most out of it and save the most money on electricity usage.

art

septemberblues

artichoke wrote: »

hi

well i have now ordered it from amazon.

I will let you know how i get on......maybe we could start a combi oven thread with tips and recipies for how to get the most out of it and save the most money on electricity usage.

art

That's a good idea, I don't really have any idea how to use mine,the instruction book is rubbish but I want to be able to save on electricity,and have a bit more variety in what I eat. I tend not to oven cook anything as my oven uses loads of electricity (I'm on a meter with a key). So peeps in the know - lots of tips and advice please!!

zacmilly

blueberrypie wrote: »

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 :-)

How long would you cook a baked potato on combi mode? I have just bought an 800w combi oven (£39.99 from argos- half price!!) an would like to be able to cook potatoes with crispy skins.

Little_Mo_3

Like Zacmily, i've also just bought the Morphy Richards Combi from Argos so am very much a beginner. i would like to roast a joint of pork tomorrow and would appreciate some advise on what the best option is. Should I cook it by convection only or by combination and if by combination by what percentage shouild I reduce the cooking time ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. (this is my very first post:o )

csarina

I cannot really give you advice on the MR as I have the panny, I use roasting bags, they stop fat spitting all over the oven, less cleaning.I have cooked a chicken with the combi mode but joints I usually cook on convection in the roasting bag.

Do you not have instructions with yours????? it should tell you the time per lb/kilo for your pork. My panny is 1000w the instructions for a pork joint 12 mins per 450g pre-heat at 160c then cook on combi 160c + low power, turn half way through cooking. Using convection I would cook it at 180c for 35 minutes to the lb and 35 minutes over, remember pork should not be undercooked, poke with a fork well into the meat, like poultry if the juices run clear its done, other wise leave it in for a bit longer. If you are going to use the convection, I use a roasting bag in a shallow metal tin on the circular metal tray provided by the manufacturer.

HelenKA_2

Just to add my 2p's worth.....

I love my panny combi (infact we're a bit of a panny house all round! BM and all that)

I always cook roast chicken in bag on combi -50 mins and it's falling off the bone.
I just use my normal tins when I make cakes on combi - especially good for a fruit cake which only take 30 mins and comes out beautifully (I put one in the main oven the other week as it was on with a load of other stuff and it was a complete disaster - won't bother with that again in a hurry!) Sometimes get a few sparks but it hasn't blown up yet!
If your tins are too square take out the turn table and put the low rack in instead.
If you need two shelves put the smallest thing on the low rack and then fit the high rack in over the top with or without the turntable.
Learn to use the timer on it.
Cut a piece of that teflon tray liner stuff to fit the circular tray.

We are a family of 6 and I cook almost exclusively in it including the day in-laws come each week.

rosieben

I recently realised that if I leave out the turntable then I can use a couple of my oblong dishes which are too big to turn, but fit perfectly well on the rack. Thanks for the info re roasting bags and teflon liner

So far I only use mine on either convection or grill or micro. I'm plucking up courage to try a combi session. I'll report back, I'm off to re-read the (meagre) instructions again; mine is a Russell Hobbs though it was actually manufactured by Curry's under licence.

Edited to say - I'm just thinking that it might be useful to keep all this info together with any recipes so could we can add recipes/cooking tips to this thread? If we add a recipe we can put it in the subject of our post to make it easier to find? and maybe artichoke could change the subject of her opening post to something like 'Combi Microwaves - cookware and recipes' ?

I'll index it in the Complete Cookery Collection if we have recipes

There's also a thread 'help how do I use my new combi microwave' - PP might merge us to keep all the info together?

brothermark

Can anyone who bought the MRichards combi from Argos tell me if when using the micro most moisture seems left in the oven? The booklet say moisture out of the vents is normal, but mine very little out.
In another post someone mentioned the breaking of the glass plate this unit. The booklet says keep browning plates 5mm from main plate or 'may break'.
Ta

blueberrypie

brothermark wrote: »

Can anyone who bought the MRichards combi from Argos tell me if when using the micro most moisture seems left in the oven? The booklet say moisture out of the vents is normal, but mine very little out.
In another post someone mentioned the breaking of the glass plate this unit. The booklet says keep browning plates 5mm from main plate or 'may break'.
Ta

I have that oven, and I don't notice much moisture coming from it, but I also don't notice much moisture left inside, so I'm not sure that's any help!

I *think* when they're talkiong about browning plates, they mean the dishes you can get for microwaves which have a layer of metal in them to make the food brown (which it wouldn't usually do in a microwave). I don't think they mean ordinary cooking dishes like pyrex or stoneware - I think they're probably fine sitting directly on the glass turntable.