Hello, My Name Is Launderess And I Have A Problem - Cusinart Convection Oven

[launderess]

Move over girls, make room for another member of the pack-rat club.

Just took delivery of this interesting item, a vintage Cusinart "Air Surge" convection oven.

 

[launderess]

*Sigh* I Am So Ashamed!

Where am I going to put all this stuff?

 

[launderess]

Well At Least It Is "Compact"

*LOL*

 

[launderess]

More?

Of course

 

[launderess]

One Last Time

This do be all for now,

 

[nmassman44]

Sweet Jeezus Girl! Where did you pick up that dinosaur? I saw that back in the 80's at of all places Service Merchandise and always intrigued by this...me thinks that the glass would be scorching hot during use.

 

[frigilux]

I've never seen this appliance, before. I'm surprised it's made of glass, although you it means you get a great view of the cooking process. Let us know what you think of it after a few uses.

Just store it inside that 35-lb. Milnor, Launderess!

 

[maytagbear]

I remember them QUITE well.

You need a DRY, heatPROOF, flat place to set the upper vessel when opening the thing.

Sobriety is also a good idea. My former catering associate, DannyMax, still has quite a scar on his left arm from being careless with this item.

I remember these from the 80s, and not with particular fondness.

However, it IS a pretty thing, and kinda fun.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[sudsmaster]

Wow.

A Cuisinart small appliance that was actually made in the USA.

That alone makes it rare and desirable ;-)

 

[tomturbomatic]

You might want to check out the Consumer Reports article in the late 70s on convection ovens where you will get a thorough report on the shortfalls of this design which makes a better museum piece than a kitchen appliance. The Farberware was top-rated. The glass design, aside from radiating incredible amounts of heat, tended to be a hard to clean magnet for spatters. I remember it being prominently displayed in Bloomies. It was so alluring if you knew nothing about it and, at the time, the Cuisinart name was hot, hot, hot because of the food processor and the beautiful and good-performing cookware.

 

[toggleswitch]

Mazel Tov.

GORGEOUS

Hate to see what level of care is needed to keep it clean. Will show ever little spatter!

Cant look too closely (I'm at work now). Do the glass parts fit in the dishwasher?

 

[launderess]

Thanks Gang!

Couldn't find much information about this unit, aside from an old report linked below.

Aren't big on meats, and nabbed the thing mainly for baking cookies, cakes, pies and such, but will have to see where things go.

Imagine covering the lower inside "bowl" with foil will help with splatters and heat, but then again we shall see. According to the owner's manual because of the hot air circulating surfaces of meats are "sealed" thus limiting splattering.

http://books.google.com/books?id=_A...ook_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CDEQ6AEwBw

 

[whirlcool]

Watch biscuits fluff way up light as air when baked in one of these.

 

[lordkenmore]

"According to the owner's manual because of the hot air circulating surfaces of meats are 'sealed' thus limiting splattering."

Maybe this is true--at least for this oven. But, as I recall from my mother's Farberware convection oven, there was at least some problem with splattering from meats. We mostly avoided doing meats in it, but it did see use for Thanksgiving turkeys. My mother's policy was to avoid cleaning the oven until AFTER Thanksgiving. It would have to be done after the turkey, and so it might as well be one huge job once, rather than 2 separate rounds of cleaning. (Although, the rest of the time, the oven seldom got dirty, since it was mostly used for baking.)

 

[lordkenmore]

And I forgot above to add: great find!

I'm not sure this oven would be my dream "one and only" oven, but I'd sure like one for novelty value, which could also be used as extra oven space when needed.

 

[jetcone]

Now thats what I call a

"gadget"! Just like my Ronson Cook'n Stir! Thats a "gadget" too!
Let us know how it does frozen french fries!

 

[tomturbomatic]

I like the sentence in the article about filters to prevent food particles and grease from recirculating during cooking. I can just imagine food emerging looking like the lunar surface after being dinged by bits of food traveling at high speeds and operating sounds interrupted at irregular intervals by the sound of something hitting the interior, sort of like a slow corn popper.

A good convection oven is the perfect appliance if you have to bake a cake during a heat wave such as for a heat-related death because you can take it outside, make sure it is level and achieve excellent baking results. I think I remember that with my Farberware, you have to lower the baking temperature 50 degrees or set the thermostat no lower than 275F for cakes. The way it pulled air up through the center of the oven made cakes in Bundt pans rise beautifully. I wonder why the glue holding the little metal dots on the dials always failed?

 

[lordkenmore]

I do recall that we lowered the temperature in our Farberware oven for baking (and not just cakes). I think it was a suggestion in the manual. I can't remember how much--for some reason, I'm thinking only 25 degrees, but that might be memories of more recent gadgets, like my convection toaster oven.

It also seems to me that baking times are lower in a convection oven.

 

[statenislandgwm]

AD from 1978

Cuisinart appliances including air surge oven

http://store.vintagepaperads.com/servlet/-strse-35267/1978-Cuisinart-DLC-7/Detail

 

[whirlcool]

Most convection ovens recommend you set the temp 25F lower than the recipe calls for except when cooking with glass or ceramic bowls/pans.
Our Maytag oven does this automatically. You set it for 350, the internal temp on the control panel indicates 350, but the actual internal temp is 325.
The oven does not do this for normal baking.

The link below points to a page that has a LOT of tips about cooking with a convection oven.

http://www.ehow.co.uk/convection-oven-times/

 

[launderess]

Whirlcool!

Thanks for the link!

Actually found that site several weeks whilst thinking about pulling the trigger on this Cuisinart oven.

According to the owner's manual neither glass nor ceramic vessels are best for convection ovens, but they recommend aluminum or other types of metal as first choice.

There seems to be no real consenus on baking cakes in a convection oven. The site listed above gives confilicting information, with some links supporting the process, others recommending against or rather there not being much of a time savings or other improvement in baking dense cakes via a convection oven.

Most cakes do require "deep" pans, rather than the shallow ones best for convection ovens (to allow greater air flow around and over the food), and since convection ovens will bake a cake's outsides much faster than the insides, again it can be tricky at best. My go to reference for baking cakes "The Cake Bible" does not recommend using a convection oven for cakes either.

Considering this little guy pulls 1600watts of power, you can be sure it won't be used for anything that requires long cooking/baking times. Not at the current local electric rates. *LOL*

Being rather space challenged in the kitchen and elsewhere, liked the fact the entire unit can be packed up and put away when not in use. Whilst have oven nearly gone for a Farberware oven, really do not have the room to keep it set up all the time. Well if I didn't have the microwave, but all things considered that appliance gets the most use, even against a normal oven.

If things calm down before the holiday, may try baking a few pies to see how things go.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I don't think that there is any inherent advantage to baking cakes in the Farberware or Cuisinart convection oven versus a good full-sized oven, but needing a second oven for baking pound cakes as I did in the late 70s-early 80s, the Farber turned out absolutely beautiful cakes; not something easily achieved with run of the mill counter top ovens or some of the small convection ovens. The Wesinghouse roaster oven will bake very nice cakes also, but needs an extra rack like the cooking rack from an older Mirro or Presto pressure cooker to keep the bottom of a Bundt pan up off the floor of the oven. If space is a major consideration, your reasons for buying the Cuisinart oven are very valid.

 

[launderess]

Cake Bible book tells one shouldn't use most convection ovens for baking cakes, especially those round "counter-top" things where the fan blows downwards. You you, those sold under the "Galloping Gourmet" and other brands.

Then there is the fact some commercial convection ovens have quite powerful fans. Author tells of a time when she was working in the White House kitchens were a famous chef had a whole tray of pasteries blown off by the sheet by power of a Blodgett oven.

Have a small vintage Westbend "Ovenette" that actually works a treat for baking. Indeed the aforementioned book states one of the best ovens for baking cakes are small, probably because there is less air to heat/and temp does not vary much once reached.

Had a roaster (Nesco) that came with the rack insert you mentiond. Purchsed NIB from Goodwill, got it home only to discover the glass window in the cover was broken. Ended up moving it on to another thrift.

 

[whirlcool]

You have to know when to use convection and when to use normal baking. I have found that if you are baking something on a flat or low sided pan, use convection.
If you are using something where the sides of the pan used are taller than what you are baking, use normal baking without convection.
Biscuits come out great in a convection oven. The link below is to another website about when to use convection ovens.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/308161

 

[chachp]

I have one of those

And I used to use it all the time until I got a full sized convection oven. It's great for poultry (I don't eat much beef but good for that too). These do sear the meat and produce amazingly juicy foods. There will be splatter but both bowls will go in the dishwasher and clean up really well.

This unit is actually closer to what they call TRUE convection than most counter top units. This unit has the heating coil surrounding the fan which is the preferred setup.

I never hung it on the wall but I like the way it closes up and doesn't take as much room in the cupboard as a larger unit would.

Here is mine nicely tucked away.

Most things come out quite well except in my experience I don't care for pizza in the convection. I find the cheese cooks before crust does the way I like it.

 

[launderess]

Very Nice Unit You've Got There!

Glad to see am not the only one out there with this "gadget"! *LOL*

Tried this Cuisinart "Air Surge" oven before the holiday to make some pies (sweet potato), and wasn't that impressed. Took longer than if one had used my big oven, and the results weren't great. No one complained, and everything was eaten, but do like to make a great presentation.

Unit didn't emit that much heat, but then again it is winter and I do have most of the heating closed off, so would be hard to tell if the kitchen got warmer.

Pie seem to get browner on one side than the other, so in the end had to rotate just as one might have in the gas oven. Also since the thermostat has markings in 50 degree increments, adjusting my recipe was a pain. Usually bake my pies at 350F, because there isn't a 325 marked, had to go with the next level down, 300 and bake longer. In hindsight this is probably what lead to longer baking times, and one probably could have fooled around to find the proper temp, but it was getting on and had other things to do.

Chachp: Your unit looks like the two rack model, mine's has three so cannot fit all the racks plus the controls into the glass bowls for compact storage. Ended up just putting the control thing inside the bowls and wrapping up the racks in a small plastic bag on top.

 

[tomturbomatic]

The nice thing about the Farberware oven is that the heat is blown from the top down along the outside walls and drawn up in the middle for very even cooking and browning and, as I stated earlier, fabulous baking in Bundt or tube pans.

 

[launderess]

Well It Would Have To Wouldn't It? *LOL*

Have been doing some research on convection ovens lately, and contray to popular belief they do not blow hot air onto foods.

True convection ovens use their fans to draw air *in* from the oven cavity, where it is heated, then sent out normally via baffles directed into the chamber from the back. Since the Farberware oven has the fan/heating element mounted on top of the oven, it takes in air as you say by drawing air up, heating (if required), then blowing down the sides (via baffles). The air will then rise in a pattern and is drawn up into the fan so the whole cycle starts all over again.

This could also be why your mother's oven had so much problems with food bits and such being swept up into the fans and or perhaps sprayed onto the food.

Most convection ovens have some sort of filter, and or the fan assembly comes apart for cleaning. My Cuisinart's fan assembly can be partially taken apart for cleaning, and IIRC some parts are dishwasher safe.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Laundress, It was not my mother's oven that had problems with recirculated food particles. She never had a convection oven. That was mentioned in the article in your link as to why the ovens had a filter to prevent recirculation of grease and food particles. I just gave it a maniacal twist. Sorry for leading anyone astray. I think I maybe had to wash the filter in the Farber once or twice in all of the years I used it since it was only used for the cakes. I knew not to get any food soil on those walls with the continuous cleaing coating.

What I was responding to was the fact that your oven browned the pies more on one side, necessitating rotation. I expect that was probably caused by the radiant heat from the element around the fan being so close to the food as well as its location on the side of the oven. Even though there is a fan pulling air over the heating element, anything as hot as a heating element is going to give off radiant heat. That did not adversely effect cooking with the Farberware oven because of the element's location at the top.

Air impingement ovens, of the type used for pizza are the ovens that blast hot air onto food. In a well-made convection oven, the fan should enhance the evenness of the heat throughout the oven, not blast a stream of air at the food although some domestic gas convection ovens did more of the later than the former. Presto, I think, made some sort of pizza cooker that used a stream of hot air directed at a pizza on a slowly rotating turntable which was a domestic application of the air impingement technology. I do not know how successful it was.

 

[launderess]

Tom

No worries, sorry for mixing things up with your mom and so on.

As for uneven browning, from what one has been able to read/research on the *Net* regarding baking with convection ovens, it is not that uncommon for persons to rotate cakes/pies. As you say it probably has much to do with the design of the oven along with other factors.

Am sure if one "played" around further would obtain great results with the Cuisinart oven. Everyone agrees that using a convection oven is a learning curve, and in hindsight probably shouldn't have revved the thing up for Thanksgiving pies.

Actually the pie browned more on the side *away* from the convection fan/heating element, than close to. That is using the pictures above, the side closest to the front glass that reads *air surge*.

Did the same recipe for sweet potato pie yesterday, but baked it in my vintage Westbend "Ovenette", and everything went a treat. Even browning, nice crust, and so on. Won't cut the pie until tomorrow, so cannot say how it looks deep down.