Microwave: Straight vs Combination types

Primrose

Our faithful 25 year old microwave has just died due to an unfortunate accident and rightly or wrongly, we've replaced it with a Combination version.
I'm wondering how many of you who have a combo. version use it regularly for cooking & roasting or whether you still use your conventional ovens for your Sunday joing & roast potatoes etc? Do you have any advice for a new user on things to avoid and whether you think using your microwave on a combination setting actually saves you money? Having bought it, I'm now wondering where on earth I store all the grill/roasting racks as all our cupboards are overflowing already.

snoozer

I have had combination microwaves since the early eighties and used it regularly until a couple of months ago when I got my new Neff cooker, which I love so much that I only ever use the microwave for microwaving and for cooking baked potatoes on combi (because the skins crisp but they cook very quickly).

I used to use the oven by itself when I only had one dish to cook and I'm sure it saved money because it took a fraction of the time of my main oven to heat up and of course was then a much smaller area to maintain heat in. I'm starting to convince myself to go back to using the microwave/combi again. The main downside was that it got much dirtier than an ordinary microwave and was harder to clean.

katholicos

I bought a combi when it was half price in Argos, it still cost about £90 though. i thought being so expensive it would last for years, but 2 days after the guarantee ran out it conked out. My mum bought one at the same time and hers is still going strong, she's had hers for about 3 years now, mine just lasted the 12 months.

I wouldn't spend that much again. A £30 superarket microwave would suit our needs, though actually i've been managing quite wel without one for some time.

tattoed_bum

i have a combi microwave and i use it daily , i use it for smaller stuff that i am cooking as i have a big range cooker and it seems wastefull to just have it on for little things ,
mines is a shnieder and i find that i can set the timer on it to cook whilst im out ,so i do that and cook tea for my little boy for when he comes home from school .
they are great for browning stuff as well i can stick a cottage pie in it and leave it knowing that it isnt going to get burnt

ariba10

We are firm believers in a Combi and are on our second, the first lasted 12 years.

The only advice I can give you if you buy one is to read the manual several times and master one thing at a time.

We would not be without one.

purpleivy

I too love the combi. As a combi it's useful for things like doing a chicken, jacket potatoes and a few other things I can't think of at the moment. The convection only is useful as it's heated to full temperature in a very short space of time, unlike my bigger ovens. mine has an automatic setting for roast pork and roast chicken.

malcolm000

Cooking a roast chicken takes half the time compared to a conventional oven - minor downside is that the skin doesn't brown as much. At least you save on your utility bills and time! Also cooking anything else using a Combi is a lot quicker.

Obukit

We bought a combi as our flat doesn't have an oven and it's turned out to be really useful - the only thing we haven't done successfully are cakes. In general, we cook anything in there, just halving the stated oven time and cooking on 60% microwave and it works fine. Jacket potatoes, especially, are divine - and very OS too!

Ours was the cheapest Argos sell but I'm sure with a more expensive one you could do cakes and things properly too.

queen_of_string

I have jsut bought the Aldi version and I'm absolutely loving it, much quicker and more predictable than my range cooker which looses so much heat when you open the door etc. I'm sure it must be more economical too. Hardly any manual with mine but have been browsing those of other makes on line for ideas in making the most of the combi features