****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
We bought this oven to replace our failing HB countertop oven. This one has all the functions of the old one, plus some! I wasn't sure how we would like this oven, but the numerous good reviews helped make up my mind. I'm glad we got it, because it has already outperformed the old oven, in every way. It even outperforms our humongous full-size gas oven!First, let me just say that the controls are strange. It has all these settings on the control panel, but you can't just push one to select it, as you can with some other ovens. You have to "scroll" through the presets, the temps, the time, using the + and - buttons. You can push the temp and time buttons to switch to those controls, but still need to use the + and - to get to the time and temp you want. It's odd, but we got used to it fairly quickly, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Also, for US folks, the "chip" function is for fries. Just FYI.It hasn't got a long power cord, so unless you're putting it right next to an outlet, you will have to get a heavy-duty appliance extension cord. Make sure you get one that is rated for more than 1800 watts, or it will melt and cause a fire. The unit needs a good bit of power!As far as cooking goes, this thing rocks! We baked our taco shells in it, and they came out super crispy and delicious. Fries came out just as we like them, without any special prep. Baked up a frozen pizza and air-fried some frozen chimichangas, toasted some cheese sandwiches, and air-fried chicken drumsticks, and all of it came out great. The crispiness is something our other oven just couldn't match, and neither has any other oven we have owned. It also doesn't heat up the kitchen, which is a great benefit of a small countertop appliance.It's an attractive unit, with black casing and stainless steel door handle, so it goes with all of our other appliances. The door closes securely and doesn't seem to leak much heat (a problem we had with all of our previous countertop ovens), and the unit itself stays relatively cool. It gets slightly warm to the touch, but the real heat comes out the vent at the back, so be sure not to put anything close to that vent that could ignite or melt. Ours is sitting about 6 inches from the wall in back, so the wall doesn't even get warm. However, we have a towel rack on that wall, a few feet above the oven, and the vent's heat helps to dry those towels faster than normal. That's an unexpected plus, for us.We haven't used the rotisserie or the dehydrate functions yet (and probably won't for the dehydrator, as we have a stand-alone unit that can do a LOT of food at once), but plan on using the rotisserie for our Thanksgiving turkey roast. The previous unit did a pretty good job of rotisserie cooking, but I couldn't find any chickens small enough to fit it, so all we could do on it was Cornish hens and small roasts. This unit can do a larger bird, and the 3-lb breast roast should be a snap for it.Sadly, I didn't realize I only had 7 days to get the extended warranty, so missed out on that. If this is truly comparable to other ovens we have had, it should last a few years anyway. We do use it a couple times a day, as it's so convenient, so I hope it will last a while.
