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Are you considering the purchase of a mini oven? Here are some great tips to help you make up your mind.
1. Temperature Gauge: Settings For Your Mini Oven
For one, a mini oven needs to have a gauge to adjust the temperature much like a full-sized alternative. I wasn’t looking for one that only read general settings like High, Medium, and Low. Instead, my mission was to find one that had an accurate gauge that showed the Celcius value. While you may be able to get away with buying one without a gauge that you’re only going to be using for toasting things, you will want one that has this feature if you’re going to be using it for much more.
I use my mini oven as my primary oven. It replaces a conventional oven. Because of this, an accurate temperature gauge was a 100 percent must-have feature.
2. Timer
A lot of the mini ovens you will find in the marketplace come with a timer. A timer can be a great feature to have in any kind of cooking appliance because it ensures that you won’t overcook your food. If you’re like me, you have a habit of getting lost in activities and losing track of time. With a built-in timer, you don’t have to worry about that becoming an issue. A timer will have a “ping” or alarm that will go off when the timer is up. This can save you from having to deal with burning your food because you forgot about it. A lot of the timers that come with these ovens will range from 0 to 60 minutes. The majority of my cooking tends to be done around 10 to 25 minutes.
3. Shelf Positioning
When shopping for a mini oven, I wanted it to have several shelf positions to choose from. You will find a lot of them don’t. Because of this, it’s a feature you should pay close attention to if it’s something you want. One of the benefits of having the ability to adjust the positioning of the shelf is if you wanted to add another one. I thought about how I might want to add another shelf in the future and it would be impossible without this feature. If this sways you then you can find the best mini ovens to fit your needs here.
4. Internal Size
This is a big thing to consider when buying a mini oven. Despite being so important, it can be difficult to pinpoint. A lot of the mini ovens you will find in the marketplace are measured in Liters. Because of this, it can be difficult to gauge what the right size would be. After some research, I found that around 14 liters would be the appropriate size for my needs. After all, I love cooking myself pizza’s and I usually opt for 10-inch pizzas when I buy them from the store.
This information can be difficult to navigate when you are shopping for mini ovens. Because of this, you can bet popping in my pizza was the first thing I did to ensure it fits properly.
5. Wattage
You will find that mini ovens can vary considerably when it comes to the total amount of power they take to operate. I wasn’t looking to buy a mini oven that was underpowered. I didn’t want to end up with a useless or less useful oven because I didn’t buy one powerful enough to replace a conventional oven. Therefore, I immediately eliminated all of the mini ovens that advertised less than 1kW of power. At the same time, I didn’t want to purchase one that was overly powerful. I ended up narrowing down my options to ovens that had anywhere from 1.2 to 1.4kW of power. This was a good middle-ground that I came up with that ensured the mini oven would supply enough power but not necessarily be considered overpowered.
6. Overall Size
If you’re like me, you have a small kitchen. Because of this, I needed a mini oven that truly lived up to its name. I didn’t want a mini oven that would take up too much space in my kitchen. This is especially true given I enjoy having a clutter-free space. I ended up measuring my microwave to try to find a mini oven that was close in size. The majority of the mini ovens I looked at ended up being smaller than my existing microwave which was a good thing. From there, I measured my cupboards and found that if I needed them, the oven could be stowed in there. If the size is important to you, it’s not difficult to find one that is compact and lightweight. Likewise, they are so portable that you could always stow them into a cupboard if you want to keep them from taking up countertop space.
7. Price
Whenever you are looking to buy something like a mini oven, you want to ensure that you are examining the price. Price is always important when you are shopping for an appliance. You will find a lot of options at the low end and the high end of the spectrum. You shouldn’t have a hard time finding something suitable for your budget due to the variety of options available.
8. Other Features To Consider
– Rotisserie
You will find a lot of mini ovens that have a rotisserie feature. I knew that this was an added feature that I didn’t need and that I didn’t want to pay extra for.
– Cool Wall
You will find some mini ovens that advertise a “cool wall.” However, this is a feature that is
mostly hype. I purchased one that didn’t have this advertised feature and the outside of it never got overly hot to the point where I thought I needed something like that.
– Hot Plate
This is something I certainly didn’t want or need. However, some people may find it to be a useful feature. I only wanted a mini oven and nothing more.