Do I need a microwave?
8 years ago
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- 8 years ago
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Will I still need a microwave if I get an Advantium?
Comments (1)How do you feel about steaming veggies on the stove?...See MoreUnder Cabinet OTR Microwave Dimensions Question
Comments (3)If the microwave is vented up through the cabinet, you could probably bump out the cabinet. Some of them have vents on the top (but toward the front) and so if its vented out into the room you cannot cover up those vents. As far as the height of the microwave, I've seen them even with the cabinets, and sometimes a few inches higher than the bottom of the surrounding cabinets. Since the vent isn't that effective, you wouldn't want it too high, plus that would make it even more difficult to use (if you're short) and you're absolutely correct to think it won't last very long. My first 2 lasted 4 years each, and the one I have now is going on 5 years so I expect (and I'm hoping :)) that it will die soon....See MoreGetting range hood - where do I park microwave? ASAP Pls.
Comments (13)beeps, I'm glad those pictures were helpful to you. I can remember when I was first coming up with the idea that I was having a tough time explaining to people what I wanted to do and I wasn't finding a lot of pictures of them...you'd better believe when I found them, they went in my (rather extensive) inspiration file :) You do need to have a bit of room for the MW to vent, so you don't want the cabinet to be just-large-enough for the microwave to fit. Also, make sure that you allow for enough room in case you get a different sized one in the future since MW seem to have a rather limited life now. You definitely want your hood to vent out and not recirculate. Recirculating hoods are fairly worthless IMO - they don't get rid of the smoke and all they wind up doing is pulling the grease up onto the cabinets above. Note that it will probably cost more to have your hood vented to the outside. Beeps, I keep thinking about how you must have thought that you were going to be done with all this planning, and how you've wound up with a bunch more decisions that you're trying to make and make quickly. I think it will all be worth it - you're going to be so much happier with your new kitchen than what you would have been with what was going to be previously. But, I bet your head is spinning right about now!...See MoreDo i need microwave, speed oven and steam oven?
Comments (2)Is there any reason to have both a microwave and a speed oven? What do people use steam oven's for? There are so many "oven" options... its a little confusing. thanks! I have three ovens, a full sized "regular" oven, an Advantium speed oven, and a combi-steam. I do not have a separate microwave. Is there any reason to have both a microwave and a speed oven? Yes. Besides the reasons Hvtech gave, there's the price difference between a Costco countertop special and a built-in speed oven. As you use a microwave the magnatron degrades. If you use a microwave to do heavy lifting, daily, you might want to save the speed oven and use a cheapie. You'll know if this applies to you if you've ever had to buy a new microwave. I mostly use my microwave for quickie heating on a sandwich or other grab and go food, and occasionally for a quick defrost. It does get used several times per day, but not for very long. By the time I get to where all ovens are full, I'd better not need a microwave! I don't use it for cooking/steaming, or making hot water, or anything like that, so overlaps aren't a concern. I put the Advantium in in such a way that it's in the position a countertop microwave would sit in, and there's no room for another. Be sure that you want the speed features. I did when I planned and installed it, but shortly thereafter I really lost the need for speed. There are some things that are best accomplished this way, but the main reason for speed really is to get it out faster. What do people use steam oven's for? There really isn't anything that you can do with a steam oven that you can't achieve another way in the kitchen. People use steam all the time, whether it's wine in the roaster pan, a squirt of water under a dome on the griddle with the burger, a petal steamer full of vegetables in a pot in the microwave, a pan of ice under the bread baking in the main oven, the bamboo box in the water filled wok with all the veggies inside, the colander over the stockpot with the towels and tamales, or the garlic bread wrapped in foil in the warming drawer. You can do all those things in a steam oven. The one thing that's easier the "real" way is the burger, which only wants a blast of steam at the end. You can get some Modernist Cuisine aficionado to come explain "wet bulb" vs. "dry bulb" cooking. I don't care. I just cook. Oh, and the combi-steam is the best for blanching and poaching. Several times a month I have a blanch-fest of asparagus, green beans, squash, etc. I'm allergic to fish, but I do poach chicken for chicken salad. If you don't have an automatic egg steamer, the combi-steam is the perfect way to make hard "boiled" eggs. Maybe soft ones too. Almost every week, I do a roast chicken and veg in it. Today I made custard bound strata in it--layered in a double ramekin, somewhere between a quiche and a casserole. Turkey parts for the holidays. Dim sum. Crusty bread. It goes on and on. The best trick, found on the Gaggenau and maybe others, is "regenerate". You can do this is a regular oven, too, but not so elegantly. Plate up a meal, put in on regenerate mode, receive perfectly warmed meal with none of the bits gone funny. My big test on it was leftovers from a restaurant: slab of potroast, broccoli and mashed potatoes with potroast gravy. Everything was pleasantly heated through, nothing was overcooked, hard, charred or even additionally browned, etc. I've also used it to reheat casseroles, especially small ones. They don't dry out and get hard. This is only the very most obvious stuff. There's lots and lots more. You don't need a combi-steam to do it, but it's oh, so convenient!...See More- 8 years ago
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