My new best friend
Written: Aug 16 '02 (Updated Nov 21 '02)
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Pros: fast, friendly, and fun
Cons: few recipes requires "trial and error" style cooking, can get messy and hot!
The Bottom Line: The Advantium is by far the most-used cooking appliance in our home. This product lives up to its claims of putting delicious food on the table in less time.
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| tofarrell's Full Review: GE Advantium SCA1000D Microwave Oven |
When building our new home, my wife and I spent considerable time in planning our kitchen. Among our "must-haves" was the built-in, stainless steel, GE Advantium oven.
As we worked with a large builder who was used to building the same (boring) kitchen in every home, our decision to have the Advantium built-in above a GE convection oven was met with some puzzlement. But the helpful GE website allowed us to download schematics, which in turn enabled the carpenters to cut out the proper holes in the cabinetry and the electrician to make the required 240v wiring.
Having now used this appliance for a little over three months, I must admit that we are extremely pleased with with our decision to incorporate the Advantium into our kitchen. Nothing is easier than using the pre-programmed settings, and the recipes in the included cookbook have always turned-out delicious.
As we have added twins to our household, I have become the primary cook in the family. Without hesitation, my first choice of cooking appliances is the Advantium. Without exception, the food is delicious and comparable in quality to our much slower oven.
Certainly, the Advantium is not without its drawbacks. Cleaning can be time consuming, especially after cooking meats, as the grease splatters the interior. And while there are numerous pre-programmed settings, they are not all inclusive, requiring experimentation in the timing and settings for the halogen lights and microwave component. I would like to have seen more post-purchase support from GE, including a newsletter with recipes. I would also like to have had a means to "upgrade" the pre-programmed settings with new recipes from GE. At best, the Advantium allows you to discover through trial and error the best settings for new recipes, and then record them in a "manual" section. Finally, like any oven, this oven gets HOT! The instruction video makes this point, but my first contact with the inside of the recently-used oven was much more impressive.
Overall, though, we love our Advantium and turn to it everyday.
UPDATE
Having had the Advantium for a little less than a year now, I am still in love. Every day seems to reveal a new capability of this wonderful machine. Using a computer-controlled combination of halogen light and mircowaves, the Advantium produces oven-quality food in much less time.
GE has done a wonderful job in anticipating the user's needs. Want pizza? Simply turn the control dial to Pizza, push to select, turn the dial again to select the size and type of crust, and pizza is mere minutes away. The same is true for waffles, chicken fingers, tater tots, french fries, and steaks - and with a little experimentation, I even cooked a frozen apple pie to perfection in less than 1/2 hour (in the oven, it took more than an hour). Although, I would still have liked the opportunity to download more pre-programmed settings.
When we simply want to use the microwave component, the controls are equally easy to use. Again, GE has anticipated many standard selections and pre-programmed their times. The smell of sizzling bacon routinely emanates from the Advantium on Sunday mornings, and it comes out crisp and delicious.
Like everyone else, our time is now a precious commodity in our family, and the Advantium helps us to spend it on more enjoyable activities. Now only if we could get it to do the grocery shopping for us. . .
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1800
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Epinions.com ID:
tofarrell
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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