combi microwave. .any good?

aggypanthus

My DH is a real foodie cook, and often uses the oven for one fish or to keep stuff warm, mid cooking.
As I need a new microwave, would we save energy , or get good use from a combi microwave oven?
JL have 2 small ones, but reviews show Panasonic burn food, the others a Samsung.

SailorSam

When i renewed my microwave about 2yrs ago i got a Delonghi Combi but have only started using the combi part a couple of weeks ago, i've made a cake this afternoon. I'm sorry i didn't read the instructions when i first got it. Much better than having to use the main oven especially as i'm on my own.

meames_2

I had one that was quite big (25 ltrs?) I think it was Russell Hobbs, about £150, but should have been £200 and It went up to 220 degrees and didn't burn. My current one it a bit pants and doesn't seem to cook evenly, ie the top burns, underside doesn't cook, it only goes up to 190 degrees. This one is a Murphy Richards and was cheap. I would spend a built more and get a decent one. But it is defineltley worth it. When my last one broke and I was using the main oven my bills shot up.

teddysmum

SailorSam wrote: »

When i renewed my microwave about 2yrs ago i got a Delonghi Combi but have only started using the combi part a couple of weeks ago, i've made a cake this afternoon. I'm sorry i didn't read the instructions when i first got it. Much better than having to use the main oven especially as i'm on my own.

I've had my Panasonic even longer and have never used the grill or conventional oven. It was bought as it was only a tiny amount more than a basic microwave.


First of all I lost the little plastic bits needed to fix the shelves, then , last year, tried it, but was worried by the oil smoke, which is apparently normal on first use of and gave up. I was put off by the long list of does and don'ts regarding which bits to use for what process, being concerned about doing the wrong thing when in a hurry.

amibovvered

I've been using Panasonic combis for 20 years, never had a conventional oven, only a hob in the current house. I find them excellent and have never missed a 'proper' oven, although of course if you need to cook large turkeys etc a combi would be a bit small.

Never had a problem burning things (except when I exceeded the time, which would have happened with a normal oven as well!) and when used in combi mode have cooked whole chickens, chips, reheated pies and frozen pizzas, cooked nice crispy baked potatoes etc in a fraction of the normal time. I don't bake much so can't vouch for that.

HTH

aggypanthus

I will deffo get one now, and look at various models, I dont want to pay more than 140 ish.

Apparently the newest panasonic is slimline with the fan at the top, hence burning.


hope to see leccy going down then.

Thanks everyone.

pigpen

I got a Samsung one last week.. I've gone 8 weeks without a MW.. I NEED one at the moment. Anyway, no complaints yet other than having to learn what all the fiddly little buttons mean.. *confuzzled*

Icey77

I love my Panasonic combi oven, I use it every day to cook my daughters dinner. It heats up waaaay quicker than my conventional oven

I like that I can switch quickly form conventional oven to microwave quickly too. Eg I cook my daughters sausages with the oven part and then use the microwave part to zap some frozen peas and sweetcorn etc.

imho

Make sure you dont buy the Panasonic one where it uses the grill to heat up the oven its needs to be a separate element for the oven as i find they are much better.Have a look at the reviews on Amazon.

krlyr

We bought a Delonghi one when we moved in here - previous owner left us a broken oven (hobs worked, at least) so we needed a temporary fix until we got a new one. We got on with it so well, we decided to just wait until we renovated the kitchen to get a built-in oven - that was 3 years ago this Christmas! We've actually bought a unit for the new kitchen to fit the combi microwave in too, as I'm sure I'll still use it when we don't need the space of a normal oven.

The grill function isn't great on it for things like cheese on top, but for crisping the top of a cottage pie or lasagne it works well. I cook all sorts in, meals, cakes, I can just about squeeze a 2-person roast in (chicken fillets, not a whole chicken!) if I stack it carefully!

aggypanthus

Brilliant feedback, thanks again. Shall check amazon.

Pigpen was it the black one with a pull handle?