A convection microwave is a combination of a convection oven and a microwave. It can microwave your food for reheating or work like a convection oven and bake all sorts of foods to roasted or toasty perfection. With that said, it can be quite an expensive 2-in-1 type of appliance.
After all, it’s two appliances in one appliance. Don’t worry, it doesn’t cost like two appliances though. So are convection microwaves worth it? From our experience, they absolutely are worth it and then some. Read more to find out why.
Are Convection Microwaves Worth It?
Yes. If you want to properly cook with your microwave without using special recipes and instructions to bake mug cakes or almost toast bread, then getting a convection microwave is worth the expensive investment.
Is it worth buying a convection microwave over a “normal” microwave? Well, yes. This is especially true if you lack an electric oven. It’s a 2-in-1 device that doubles as a more efficient version of the conventional oven due to its use of convection fans to distribute heat.
This device has a convection mode and microwave mode. For an extra payment, you can avail of a device with a combo mode that combines microwaves with convection heating at the same time. Its convection mode uses heat-distributing fans to distribute heat from its heating element.
It’s worth buying because it’s practical, it saves space by being two devices in one device, and it offers more cooking options like grilling, baking, toasting, crisping, and so forth on top of reheating and defrosting.
You may also like: What Does a Microwave Convection Oven Do?
What Can You Get Out of a Convection Microwave?
The 2-in-1 device is perfect for solar battery or RV use since they keep your batteries from overloading or discharging from over use. You also don’t have to use an oven and microwave at the same time, instead of switching from mode to mode on the same appliance.
Even if it only has 700 cubic feet of capacity and 700 watts of power, you can still cook things better exactly because of its heat distribution feature that compensates for the lower-powered microwave mode.
This allows you to do things like simple cooking, reheating, and defrosting along with baking, grilling, toasting, crisping, barbecuing, and so forth in one device. You can make microwave mug cakes or actual baked goods by baking in either mode.
What Should You Watch Out for When Using a Convection Oven?
When using convection mode, remember to preheat the oven first until it reaches 350°F. You’ll also need to preheat it again after usage since after cooking, it tends to dissipate the heat rather easily. The device works by enveloping the food with heat from the outside, baking it into toasty goodness.
The combo mode allows you to heat up the insides of your food while the convection heat takes care of its exterior, thus reheating or baking your dish at the fraction of the time it’d normally take. Just don’t put anything metal whenever microwave or combo mode is turned on.
Better Cooking Options Than the Simple or Solo Microwave
Part of the point of getting a convection oven is to save space. How does it save space? You can get a smaller microwave with a serviceable wattage because you can cook the food from inside-out and the outside-in due to the dual modes.
A bigger microwave with more power to spare also allows you to fit bigger dinner plates, dishes, and banquets inside the oven due to the extra space and larger capacity. You can also choose between a flatbed convection microwave with a rotating antenna or a rotating glass turntable.
What are the Key Features of a Convection Oven?
Here are the key features to look out for when it comes to convection microwaves.
Further reading: What is a Convection Microwave? Things to Consider Before Buying
- Dual Modes: You can choose between convection mode (requires preheating) and microwave mode (its power depends on the wattage of the device). Some units have a third mode known as combo mode, which combines convection mode with microwave mode together.
When under dual-mode or microwave mode, don’t use the rack or grill that comes with the device. Only use it in convection oven mode. The metal can cause arcing or sparks to happen when you activate the magnetron and produce those radio frequency waves.
- Power or Wattage: The power level or wattage of your convection microwave determines how fast you can heat up food in microwave mode. It also dictates how fast you can preheat your oven to 350°F in convection mode.
A 700-watt microwave oven is perfectly serviceable for most RVs and small apartments, even with the typically 0.7 cubic feet of capacity. The more wattage you can work with—something like a kilowatt or so of power—the faster you’ll cook your food on either mode.
- Interior Capacity: The capacity of a convection microwave typically ranges from 0.6 cubic feet to 2 cubic feet. The larger the capacity the likelier it’d be of higher wattage. The cubic feet measurement isn’t usually far off the wattage—such as 0.7 cubic feet to 700 watts of power.
It could also be 1.2 cubic feet of capacity and 1 kilowatt of power. This is because you need more power in order to heat up the wider interior. When you’re choosing convection microwave units, go with the ones with the size that perfectly fits your countertop space.
- Size and Footprint: The bigness (and as a result, the power) of your convection microwave depends on how much space and power you’re willing to spare for it. Bigger microwave units use up more power due to their bigness, which isn’t ideal for smaller kitchens.
With that said, mini microwaves work best for minivans, work trucks, food trucks, campers, or RVs in the trailer park. If you can afford to have a bigger kitchen you can probably afford to invest in a commercial-grade medium-duty heavy-duty microwave oven.
The Nitty-Gritty
Long story short, it’s worth investing in a convection microwave oven to save money on buying both microwave and oven separately. It’s also ideal for RVs and campers due to its small size and footprint.
Despite its smallness, it mainly has huge capacity relative to its size. It has a huge interior and it’s known for its cooking versatility. It’s an excellent choice for small kitchens, tiny apartments, campers, recreational vehicles, and trailer park-type houses with limited countertop spaces and battery power.
