standard fan oven vs microwave convection setting

tiger135

A friend has been using the microwave as an oven, using a convection setting which he said is the same as a fan oven, you can put foil in as well.
Can anyone here confirm that its the same? Does it cook as well? 
Also is it actually cheaper if you are mainly cooking small dishes? 

Devongardener

Yes I use the convection oven feature on my microwave all the time, I never use my main oven anymore.  It’s a smaller space to heat making it much cheaper to run.  The only drawback back is that it tends to produce more condensation meaning things like roast potatoes are not quite as crispy, so I now use my air fryer for those.   The convection oven is great for pizzas too.   The combination ovens also have a grill feature.
if you are considering buying one, look for one that cooks up to 220C,  some are are lot less than this making them less versatile.
Some models have the facility to combine convection or grill with microwave to cook more quickly.
Metal cooking trays and foil can be used, but not if combining with the microwave.

tiger135

Thanks I just wondered if there were any downsides vs a conventional fan oven, other than the size. 
So just the possible condensation bit other than that its fine. 

DullGreyGuy

It's the same as a conventional oven, not a fan oven, in most cases so more directional heat but some do have a fan too but given the smaller space it will still have slightly more directional heat.

Never seen one with pyrolytic cleaning etc but those tend to be convenience features rather than economy ones and seems the later is your driver.  

JIL

I had a combi microwave and it was really useful. It cooked and baked really well and the Yorkshire puddings were excellent.

The only downside to me was I would use the oven and then would want to microwave some veg or baked beans and obviously couldn't because it needed to cool down.

PipneyJane

tiger135 said:

A friend has been using the microwave as an oven, using a convection setting which he said is the same as a fan oven, you can put foil in as well.
Can anyone here confirm that its the same? Does it cook as well? 
Also is it actually cheaper if you are mainly cooking small dishes? 

Yes, yes, yes and yes to all your questions.  

My combi-microwave-electric-oven has been my primary oven for the last 20 years.  For 7 of those years, it was my only oven - our kitchen didn’t have the wiring to plug in the stove (gas hob, electric oven/grill).  Largest thing I’ve ever cooked i it was a roast duck, one Christmas.  (It’s amazing what you can fit in a deep-pan pizza tray.)

While it is technically a fan oven, I don’t think the fan has much influence, so always use the regular - non fan - temperature setting.  Also, like a microwave, it runs for a set period of time and the timer only goes up to 60 minutes, so if you want to cook something for longer, you will need to re-set the timer at some point.

Re cost, for a while we had a widget which would tell you how many units were being drawn at any given time.  When the stove’s fan oven was in use, it’d register 4.2 units;  with the microwave being used as a convection oven, it was 3.6 units.  Definitely cheaper to use the microwave.

HTH

- Pip

PollyWollyDoodle

I love my combi but it’s larger than an average microwave and quite noisy.  And as @JIL says, if you cook, say a pie or fish fillet or similar, you can’t then immediately use it for veggies.   I think when this goes, I might get a small air fryer and a basic microwave. 

I could bake in mine, but I’m usually doing several things at a time and so I use the oven.  

wort

I always use mine over my normal oven, its timer is 90 mins and the turntable turns so things cook evenly which they don’t even in my new oven . Mine goes up to 220 degrees. But don’t use that 210 is enough. I’ve used the microwave straight after, just be careful as the dish coming out will be hot.