How to Choose a Mini-Oven: Parameters, Modes, an Overview of the Best Models

There is a wide variety of models of mini-ovens on the market, so depending on your needs, you can choose the very unit that will suit you in the country or in a small apartment. On the criteria for choosing a mini-oven, as well as its characteristics and models, read on.

Volume

Volume is exactly what serves as the main difference between a mini-oven and all other units used for baking and cooking. So, this parameter is one of the key when choosing a unit:

• If there are two of you in the family and not much time is allotted for cooking, a 10-liter oven is acceptable. This is a small volume that is not designed for a baking sheet, so you won’t be able to get involved in baking and making roasts with vegetables, which is due not only to capacity, but also to the limitation of the timer. Most often, it takes 15 minutes to prepare.
• If you have a large family or you like to bake and cook a lot, then your option ranges from 25 liters and above. Particularly functional are the options that fit two baking sheets, so you can cook two dishes at the same time, just like in a conventional oven.

It is worth noting here that the more you choose the volume of the furnace, the more power it consumes:

• if the oven has a volume of 10-12 liters, as a rule, it consumes up to 900 W and is more suitable for heating small dishes;
• if the oven has a volume of 18-25 liters, it consumes from 1500 W and you can bake and cook roasts in it;
• if the oven is from 30 liters, it will consume from 2500 W and more, while it will be like an independent electric oven, but you will have to pay more for electricity.

Components of a mini oven

To make cooking in a mini-oven comfortable, it is important to choose a unit with high-quality components:

• Door glass. Often manufacturers are limited to single glass. It is best to opt for double glass, tempered with a heat-insulating gasket, so that the door does not get too hot. This type of door is also called the “cold door”, which will ensure the safety of cooking for you and your loved ones.
• Coating of the furnace (“vnutryanka”). Responsible for the durability of the use of the unit, the convenience of washing and caring for the oven as a whole.
• Convection. Responsible for the speed of operation of the device and for the uniformity of cooking, especially baked products, therefore, when buying a mini-oven, we say “Yes!” to convection.
• Guide rails. For convenient and safe installation and removal of the baking sheet, it is best to take telescopic guides rather than lattice guides. When you open the door of the mini-oven, the telescopic guides themselves “feed” forward, so you do not have to take out the baking sheet, “dipping” into the heat of the oven.
• Pallet. It is necessary that grease and crumbs do not fall on the heating element. Unfortunately, many manufacturers ignore this point, so when buying, it is advisable to inquire about this integral part of the mini-oven.
• baking sheets. Be sure to have 2 baking sheets of different depths for cooking. In particular, this applies to large volume ovens.
• Grill, spit. For baking various types of dishes – meat, poultry, fish and vegetables – you can use the grill, which is available in almost all models of independent ovens. It is he who allows you to make a golden crust on food. If the oven has a skewer in its “unit”, then here the dishes will be baked and acquire a golden crust on the entire surface, so you can even cook barbecue.
• Removable top cover. It is able to turn the stove into a barbecue, while you can use a spit, for example, without harming the “cleanliness” of your stove.

Modes

The type of furnace control is mechanical or electronic. The second type significantly raises the cost of the unit, but often fails, so the mechanical principle is more practical and durable to use.

In such furnaces, the following modes are often provided:

• top heating;
• bottom heating;
• combined heating;
• grill;
• cooking pizza, toast;
• roasting;
• heating;
• defrosting.

In addition, there are a lot of “additional” modes:

• Thermostat. Allows you to select the optimum temperature for cooking. Best of all, choose an oven with a wide temperature range, for example, from 60 degrees. So, you can cook dairy products, use the oven to “rise” pastries, and for many other cooking variations that do not need a high temperature.
• Backlight. Not suitable for all ovens. The mode is needed to be able to control the baked product.
• Timer. This is a function that is difficult to do without, especially when baking products or heating food. It means that you adjust the cooking time.
• Auto power off. The mode provides for turning off the unit, which has been operating for a long time without the participation of its “owner”. The function, first of all, is necessary on the basis of safety, because it also works in case of heating to the optimum temperature.
• Program memory. The mode means that the unit can memorize the time and temperature that is needed to cook a certain dish.
• Self cleaning. It can be hydrolytic (by heating water in a pan) or pyrolytic (due to exposure to high temperatures).
• Door lock during cooking. This is an excellent safety measure, especially when there are small children in the family.

The nuances of choosing a mini-oven

You need to pay attention to the nuances before buying a mini-oven, so that after purchasing it you do not have to face the disadvantages of the unit:

• If you decide to purchase an oven with a small volume, for example, 10 liters, do not forget that the timer cooking time will be relatively short. Immediately think about how much you will cook in it and, perhaps, you should increase the volume of the oven to 20 liters, and it will become a full-fledged oven for you.
• Such ovens get very hot, and this applies not only to the door itself, but also to the handles, which can become extremely unsafe to use. Therefore, if you have opted for a mini-oven, consult whether the handles and the door will heat up during cooking, because the door can be equipped with double tempered glass with thermal insulation, and the handles can be produced with “nozzles” for safe use.
• Immediately upon purchase, it is necessary to specify the power of the stove, because it should not be excessively small or large. Practice shows that it is better to take a stove with a power of at least 1500 watts. Manufacturers often “cunning” in this matter, and the oven simply “does not pull” when cooking, which is also extremely unprofitable for you.
• If halogen heaters are built into the oven, it will be a more economical helper in the kitchen.

TOP best models

The best stoves have a high-quality assembly, a high security system and simple programming, so any housewife can figure out the unit.

KW-2626 Rolsen

The stove costs about 6,000 rubles. Its capacity is 26 liters, which allows you to cook almost everything – from air pastries to roasts, while it has great features for a mini-oven:

• backlight (helps to see the cooking process);
• shutdown timer;
• shutdown sound signal.

Comes with:

• baking sheet 35*25 cm;
• lattice;
• spit;
• metal “tacks” for safe handling of the finished dish.

This oven has 5 modes, and the heating temperature reaches 250 degrees, and the optimal use temperature is 180-200 degrees.

DeLonghi EO 12012

The Delonghi stove costs about 6,300 rubles, especially when you consider that its volume is much smaller – 12.5 liters. But it is worth noting that in it you can bake and even bake a whole chicken until golden brown. It has three compartments, which is very convenient for making cookies.

The size of the oven is slightly larger than the microwave, so it will perfectly fit into any interior. The timer is set to 2 hours. The kit includes a grate and a crumb tray, however, there are no baking sheets and molds.

Delta D-0524 G

The price of this model varies from 8000 to 9000 rubles. The volume of the oven is 40 liters, so it can replace a free-standing oven. It contains halogen heating elements, both in the upper and lower parts. They save energy – their consumption in this model is 1100 W, when heating elements consume 1300 W.

Remarkable in this oven is the choice of temperatures – from 50 to 320 degrees, so that it can be used both for drying and for the preparation of dairy products (yogurt, fermented baked milk, etc.).

Severin TO 2057

The cost is 4200 rubles. The oven has a volume of 18 liters, 4 operating modes and everything you need – from the grate to the crumb collection tray. At the same time, there is also a timer, and light illumination during cooking, and a sound signal. An excellent oven for a small family – you can cook pastries and grilled chicken.

DeLonghi Pangourmet EOB 2071

It costs about 12,000 rubles. Its volume is 20 liters. In terms of parameters, it is quite compact: height – 30 cm, width – 33 cm, length – 45 cm. The oven has 20 modes, most of which belong to the bread machine function. The unit copes with it just fine – the bread is baked exactly without flaws. At the same time, the oven assumes a complete “set”: two grates, a pizza tray, a crumb tray and a baking sheet.

Which is better: mini-oven or microwave, oven, convection oven?

Let’s compare the mini-oven with its “opponents” and see what are the pros and cons of such an acquisition:

1. Mini oven and microwave. The mini-oven works similarly to an oven, so it will bake meat and pork, make a golden crust. At the same time, it contains the properties of a microwave, namely, heating and defrosting, so the second wins in the choice between a microwave and a mini-oven. Especially when you consider that even the most innovative microwave ovens are most often used by housewives to perform these two functions – defrosting and heating.
2. Mini oven and oven. The gas oven is not an “opponent”, because the quality of cooking is several times lower in it, and gas stoves are leaving the home appliance market at a significant pace. However, mini-ovens can compete with an electric oven, but its acquisition involves such disadvantages:

• An electric oven cannot be installed without a hob, so at least an installation “for you” is required.
• The design of the kitchen may suffer, because under the hob and oven you need to purchase a countertop. Of course, unless you’ve just purchased a kitchen, this gets pretty finicky and will add up to a good amount of work, as will the work of cutting out a new countertop and installing an oven along with a drawer.

3. Mini oven and air grill. The air grill has quite a few functions, but the mini-oven is still not inferior to it here, due to its volume. The fact is that you can choose exactly the volume of the furnace that will suit you. The air grill is more suitable for a family of two and its periodic “employment”.

Mini ovens for bakery

If you want to purchase a mini-oven for a bakery or pastry shop, you must opt ​​for a larger oven with convection. In the favorites among entrepreneurs are now induction-type mini-ovens. They are already sold with a hob, which for small businesses, including coffee bakeries, will be most welcome.

Video reviews on mini ovens

A very detailed and high-quality “tour” of the options for Delonghi mini-ovens, which differ in capabilities and price category:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGER222GZu8

In the following video you can see the green line mini-oven from Steba brand KB 28 ECO Line:

If you have a small apartment, then the mini-oven will become your reliable assistant, as it has not only the functions of an oven and a bread machine, but also the functions of a grill and a microwave (with regard to the issue of heating and defrosting). So, in the kitchen, a mini-oven will replace several units and will more than help in preparing various dishes.