Smeg Combi Steam Oven review: a multi-functional countertop oven that looks stunning and cooks well

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Smeg Combi Steam Oven: one-minute review

There’s nary denying that nan SmegCombi Steam Oven is simply a sleek and beautiful portion of room exertion that cooks nutrient good successful a assortment of ways. I tried retired nan bake, convection bake, aerial fry, and steamer functions arsenic good arsenic a number of nan preset look functions. Every azygous point I made came retired perfectly delicious, though I did request to support an oculus connected my nutrient and I took a mates of items retired early to forestall overcooking.

However, location is 1 awesome rumor I had pinch nan Smeg Combi Steam Oven. I cannot fig retired precisely who this countertop oven is for aliases what it mightiness switch successful one’s kitchen. I already ain an oven and a toaster oven and nan Combi can’t switch either of those. It’s excessively mini to switch an oven, unless you unrecorded successful abstraction that doesn’t person room for a full-sized oven. I suppose it could switch a toaster oven, but it has a overmuch larger footprint than nan (similarly-sized connected nan inside) toaster oven I already own. And while I’m judge you tin make toast successful it, for illustration successful immoderate benignant of oven, location is nary designated toast characteristic connected nan Combi.

Smeg Combi Steam Oven: value and availability

• List price: $999.95 (about £770 / AU$1,500)

That’s right, nan Smeg Combi Steam Oven is complete $1,000 erstwhile you salary income tax. It’s disposable astatine upscale room stores for illustration Williams-Sonoma and Crate and Barrel.

The Smeg Combi Steam Oven is only disposable successful nan US astatine nan clip of writing, but it whitethorn go disposable internationally astatine a later date.

• Value score: 3/5

Smeg Combi Steam Oven: specifications

SMEG Combi Steam Oven: creation and features

• Beautiful mid-century aesthetic
• Two knobs to entree a assortment of functions
• Bake, aerial fry, steam, and more

The Smeg Combi Steam oven is advertised arsenic a 10 successful 1 oven. Just don’t telephone it a toaster oven! It’s a countertop oven that cooks successful a full bunch of different ways. According to Smeg, nan oven uses "Galileo Multicooking technology: innovative airflow patterns and master algorithms for outstanding results successful a compact design.” It offers accepted cooking functions for illustration cook and convection cook on pinch steam and aerial fry functions to execute a assortment of cooking tasks.

The Combi has 33 automatic cook recipes that return nan guesswork retired of cooking meat, fish, vegetables, bread, pizza, and desserts. Just take your preset, popular successful your food, and get fresh for immoderate deliciousness.

The enamel mid-century creation is sleek and gorgeous. You tin take from 5 different colors: black, white, red, cream, and ray blue. It comes pinch nan pursuing cooking accessories: 2 grill racks, an enameled cooking tray, and a perforated cooking tray. The guides on nan sides of nan oven person 2 different positions truthful you tin navigator connected nan precocious level, little level, aliases some astatine once. The guides tin besides beryllium removed truthful you tin easy entree nan sides of nan oven for easier cleaning. The model is ample and nan ray wrong is ever connected while cooking truthful you tin support a adjacent oculus connected your food’s progress.

The apical of nan Combi opens up to uncover a h2o compartment, wherever you move successful h2o for nan steam function. The interior of nan lid has a cheat expanse pinch each of nan cook presets listed arsenic good arsenic a QR codification truthful you tin entree nan owner’s manual, how-to videos, and different information. This h2o vessel is why nan Combi is truthful ample - overmuch larger than immoderate toaster oven I’ve ever seen. However, nan interior is virtually nan aforesaid size arsenic my ample toaster oven, conscionable 2 inches wider.

There are 2 dials for controlling nan SMEG Combi Steam Oven and a surface betwixt them. There are 3 menus you tin entree via nan near dial: Traditional Cooking Menu, Steam Cooking Menu, and Chef Menu. The Traditional Cooking Menu lets you take broil, aerial fry, bake, convection bake, convection bottommost bake, warm, and defrost.

Within nan Steam Cooking Menu, you tin take convection (for axenic steam cooking), convection cook (for cook positive steam), and convection broil (for broil positive steam).

When you participate nan Chef Menu, you tin take from among 33 presets for a assortment of meats, fish, vegetables, desserts, and breads. The usage of nan dials decidedly takes immoderate studying of nan personification manual and immoderate practice. It’s not needfully intuitive.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Smeg Combi Steam Oven: performance

So really did nan Combi perform? Overall, excellent. I cooked a bunch of meals successful nan Combi and location wasn’t a dud successful nan bunch.

There was decidedly a weird smell nan first mates of times I utilized it, moreover though I performed nan 1 hr pain disconnected (empty oven connected highest setting) to get free of immoderate residues near from nan manufacturing process. And it’s rather noisy, getting up to 65 dB(A) astatine times.

However, dissimilar each toaster oven I’ve used, it doesn’t get basking connected nan outside. Even erstwhile going afloat tilt, it only reached a very touchable 76 degrees connected nan outside. The instrumentality stays connected while nan oven cools down aft cooking is complete, presumably to thief it cool down faster. It does return immoderate clip to cool down, and a advancement barroom connected nan surface lets you cognize really nan cool down is progressing.

I made 2 different kinds of (sweet potato) gallic fries: from scratch and pre-made frozen. For nan scratch variety, I trim up a saccharine murphy and coated nan wedges successful lipid and seasonings.

The stiff ones I conscionable dumped retired connected nan tray. I utilized nan French Fry Chef Menu preset for both, which was really a accepted baking mode alternatively than an aerial fry mode arsenic you mightiness expect. In some cases, nan fries came retired crisp connected nan outside, soft connected nan inside, and wholly delicious. I besides baked a saccharine murphy full utilizing convection cook arsenic I typically would and that besides came retired great.

I baked blueberry muffins utilizing nan Muffin preset from nan Chef Menu, which includes steam. The muffins came retired moist and delicious. I’d opportunity nan browning was a spot uneven; I took them retired 1 infinitesimal early because I was acrophobic immoderate of them mightiness overcook. I astir apt didn’t request to do that, though.

I utilized nan Roasted Vegetables preset galore times, since I eat them conscionable astir each day. The astir challenging vegetables I made successful nan Combi this measurement were brussels sprouts. I make them each nan time; erstwhile I make them connected nan stovetop they thin to beryllium somewhat soggy but erstwhile I make them successful nan oven they thin to barren retired (unless I usage a ton of oil.) In nan Combi, I utilized a minimal magnitude of oil, conscionable a speedy spritz each over. They came retired crisp, tender, and amazing.

I besides tried making vegetables successful Air Fry mode, utilizing a look I recovered online. I put broccoli, reddish peppers, and a stiff veggie burger patty successful for 10 minutes astatine 390 degrees. Again, nan veggies were delicious: crisp and tender. The burger was afloat cooked, conscionable right.

I had to make pizza successful nan Smeg Combi Steam Oven. There is simply a dedicated Pizza preset successful nan Chef Menu, but since Smeg is an Italian company, I cognize it was talking astir homemade pizza. I wanted to make stiff pizza. In fact, I made 2 different ones complete nan people of my testing period.

In some cases, I followed nan directions connected nan box. I did 1 successful convection cook mode and ended up taking it retired a mates of minutes early truthful it didn’t burn. I did nan 2nd 1 successful regular cook mode, and really had to adhd a mates of minutes to nan cook time. In nan extremity though, some pizzas came retired perfect: lightly browned, afloat cooked successful nan middle, not burnt anywhere.

I steamed stiff pierogies (potato dumplings) utilizing nan steam mode. The pierogies came retired afloat heated through, moist, and delicious.

I didn't make toast. Why? Because location is nary dedicated toast function. Obviously you tin Google really to make toast successful immoderate oven, but I cannot for nan life of maine fig retired why Smeg didn’t see a toast mounting successful nan Chef Menu.

Cleanup isn't precisely a breeze, because everything is manus lavation only. The trays decidedly return immoderate elbow grease, but I was capable to get them wholly cleanable each time. The oven itself is different story. The instructions opportunity to fto nan oven cool and past usage a regular cleaner, thing abrasive, to cleanable nan Combi. I did precisely that, utilizing Dawn Powerwash and a Scrub Daddy (gentle sponge).

When that wasn’t enough, I went retired and bought immoderate Dawn Professional Heavy Duty Degreaser. That didn’t do it either, contempt plentifulness of elbow grease. I don’t want to harm it pinch an abrasive cleaner aliases alloy wool, truthful it conscionable isn’t arsenic cleanable arsenic I’d like.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

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Smeg Combi Steam Oven: besides consider

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How I tested nan SMEG Combi Steam Oven

• I utilized aggregate Chef Menu functions
• I tested aerial fry, bake, convection bake, and steam modes
• I cleaned it aft each use

I’ve tested rather a fewer room appliances complete nan years, some for reappraisal purposes and successful my backstage life arsenic nan superior navigator successful my family for respective decades. I emotion a cool cooking gadget and thing that lets maine get a nutritious repast connected nan array fast.

I tested nan Smeg Combi Steam Oven for astir 2 weeks. I cooked a assortment of foods utilizing a assortment of cooking modes, arsenic elaborate successful nan Performance conception above. I utilized a fewer different presets successful nan Chef Menu section, arsenic good arsenic nan bake, convection bake, steam, and aerial fry modes. I cooked a assortment of caller vegetables, gallic fries (both caller and frozen), muffins, pierogies, veggie burgers, and stiff pizzas. After each cooking session, I cleaned each nan accessories and nan oven itself to measure really easy it was to clean.

Read much astir how we test.