Table-top halogen ovens

katholicos

jennyjelly wrote: »

katholicos, if you think that's good just wait till you roast a chicken in it, it's absolutely amazing, really moist and full of flavour.

You'll be hooked in no time!

Roasting meat and poultry is one of the things i am really looking forward too. Last Christmas Mum cooked large joints of gammon, beef, pork, turkey crown etc in hers and it was so succulent i couldn't believe how dry normal oven cooked food can be by comparison. So glad i have one of my own now.

johnnyshuttle

Mine cooks beef steak and pork loin beautifully........

hannahO_2

I am interested in buying one but when I look at the JML reviews on Amazon, there are quite a few 1 star comments due to breakdown within a year. I only have 2-ring electric cooker and no oven, I've been using a toaster oven which requires no pre-heating but tends to burn due to small capacity. Good for pizza though.

Please recommend me a good one.

jennyjelly

Hannah, I think they are all pretty much the same. My JML broke down after about 18 months and I replaced it with a Scotts of Stow one, purely on the premise that if they don't last long I may as well buy the cheapest. About 9 months on it's still going strong, so fingers crossed. But generally they don't seem to be long lived items.

Put £1 a week in a jar and you'll have replacement money if it goes after the guarantee runs out, and if you are lucky you'll even be in pocket!

hannahO_2

According to the comment made by gus on page 16, if you touch the halogen tube or if it has dusts on them, it will shorten the life :eek:
The nature of the oven is to get splashed so why didn't they design to cover up the element with glass protector of some sort. In a long run, it would have been economical for all parties.

I am tempted to cook roast chickens and breads in it but I am having a reservation about it. I might just have to stick with my SC for the moment.

ariba10

We had one with a Halogen Ring but it burnt out after a few months.

ALDI were selling one earlier in the year with a metal heating element instead of Halogen.

We use it every day no problems so far.

It was £29.99 with all the attatchments and extender ring.

jennyjelly

ariba10 wrote: »

We had one with a Halogen Ring but it burnt out after a few months.

ALDI were selling one earlier in the year with a metal heating element instead of Halogen.

We use it every day no problems so far.

It was £29.99 with all the attatchments and extender ring.

I wish I had seen that, I would definitely invested. I'll keep an eye on Aldi now, sometimes they have things a second time.

Outdoorlass

I am borrowing my mums atm, to have a trial, I only got it yesterday and so far we have only tried to make popcorn, which we had no luck with as it just burnt:( Its the JML one she has and I have noticed a huge design fault, the lid with the heating element is not hinged so when you open it to take stuff out you are left with a heavy extremely hot lid, that you have to put down somewhere, my work top space is limited and I found it a real pain and quite worryiny. Not impressed atm, but will try something else today.

jennyjelly

Outdoorlass, yes the lids are a pain, but I put mine either on top of the oven hob or on an old chopping board so it's not really a problem. If you are really short of space you can buy a lid rack for the purpose which holds it at a 45 degree angle, but I think they are quite expensive.

missychrissy

I think it's the same as other kitchen gadgets it's just a case of trial and error and lots of practice.

I have the JML HO and I find it great for roast chicken and roast potatoes, done together, in far less time than a conventional oven. Also good for fish and oven chips and pies.

I know what you mean OutDoorLass about the lid. I put mine down on my chopping board. I have 2 - I stand the HO on one and use the other to chop on and take the lid later. I prefer the removable lid. If it was hinged it would hit the kitchen units above as my breadmaker does. I have to lift that down off the worktop to open the lid properly so that I can get the bread out. The HO would be too hot to do that.

Has anyone tried brisket in the HO yet? I still cook that long and on a low setting in a conventional oven but would be interested to hear if any of you have tried it in the HO.