Microwave Oven or with convection or OTG? Really confused

[sharktale1212]

I am looking to buy a microwave for noob level baking and grilling. But the amount of info online has my head spinning. First what I know till now, there are three types -
1. Solo for heating and defrosting
2. Oven for grilling
3. Convection for grilling and baking

Now there seems to be something called OTG which is not exactly a microwave as the mode of operation is not microwaves rather heating element. OTGs tend to have dials the temperature control isn't that great but seem to be a cheaper option. I could find one on amazon called Bajaj Majesty which has the highest avg review and costs around 3k. Though what I read is OTGs tend to have missing insulation so need to be very careful while opening the door. The 2nd issue is most don't lights inside so its impossible to see what is going on.

I have been reading conflicting reports on what is good for baking though. Some say its OTG with the element based cooking, some say its convection with its fan based system ensuring consistent heat distribution.

I am really confused as to what will be the best. As I am a noob so not looking for anything really costly right now.

 

[logistopath]

If you are serious about baking, stick to an OTG only. It provides uniform baking. You can use metal moulds, which is not a possibility with microwaves (there are silicone moulds as alternatives though). What is probably very important is that you can pre-heat your OTG, which sometimes makes a huge difference when you bake. And the fact that you can get crispy crusts consistently only with an OTG and not a microwave oven, seals the deal.

 

[Blackend]

If you are serious about baking, stick to an OTG only. It provides uniform baking. You can use metal moulds, which is not a possibility with microwaves (there are silicone moulds as alternatives though). What is probably very important is that you can pre-heat your OTG, which sometimes makes a huge difference when you bake. And the fact that you can get crispy crusts consistently only with an OTG and not a microwave oven, seals the deal.

You can use metal moulds in a microwave oven, also known as convection microwave. I've done most of my baking in metal moulds and muffin trays. When the microwave oven works in "convection" mode, metal can be used.

@sharktale1212 I recently bought a Panasonic microwave oven myself for this purpose. An OTG is great as well but I wouldn't go with the entry-level 3k ones as they won't be powerful enough once you want to make slightly more advanced dishes. OTG's have very few advantages over convection microwaves, the most important one being size. An OTG is generally larger, has more than one rack and can fit larger trays when compared to convection microwaves. OTG's can only be used for their defined purpose; oven, toaster and grill. A convection microwave on the other hand can do all the traditional microwave functions as well.

Pre-heating the oven is a major thing in baking and the advantage here goes to the convection microwave which can preheat in 5 mins or lesser. An OTG can take upto 15 mins to preheat.

If you already have a microwave and only want to buy something to bake in, then go for an OTG. A decent sized one (like 40 liters) might cost around 6-8k. If you don't have a microwave or want to get a better microwave in the same deal, I'd definitely recommend the convection microwave.

I bought this one and it is fantastic! -- http://www.amazon.in/Panasonic-NN-CT645BFDG-2400-Watt-Convection-Microwave/dp/B016D4KCA4

 

[ch@ts]

I've been using a 28l Morphy Richards OTG for baking since the last 10 years and a regular Bajaj oven for about 20 years before that.
The 28L oven is big enough to bake (at one time)
1) a 2 kilo cake on the middle rack.
2) 2 large batches of brownies, on the middle and bottom racks, as long as you interchange them.
3) 3 10/12 inch pizzas, but you'll have to buy extra racks.

I've never used a convection oven, but the thing about baking, and cooking is that you get used to your appliances. Temperature gauges are always a little off, but you learn to adjust pretty fast. Conventional or convection don't matter so much, IMO.

The heating elements in an oven glow when hot, providing you with enough light to see whats going on.

OTG's are insulated. But the exterior does tend to get hot. It's not a problem, just don't put anything on top of it. If you're keeping it in a cabinet or on a shelf, then make sure you've got a few inches of space on all sides. The door will be hot, but I began baking when I was about 10, and haven't burnt myself on the door once so far. There's this neat little invention called a handle that I like to use.

I've got a separate microwave, which is used mainly for reheating. I tried cooking in it, but since I grew up with an oven, I didn't like it much. Plus, I've had ceramic, glass/borosil dishes which are supposedly microwave safe crack in them.

I've never used a microwave + convection oven. In regular ovens, the heating elements are on the top and bottom, so you get an even bake. If your combi-oven has that, then it'll be a good buy. Also, a large OTG/oven will let you place multiple trays in it, so you can cook multiple batches or different dishes at the same time.

Don't buy a solo microwave for cooking, as there's not much you can make in it. Get the largest conventional oven/OTG you can find + a solo microwave. Unless you're short of space, in which case get a very large convection+grill+microwave oven. Just make sure it's got it's heating elements (not microwave) on more than 1 side, otherwise you'll end up with a lot of dishes that are burnt at one end, and raw at the other.

You'll also have to buy some cookware. You can get by with using your current all metal pots in a regular oven, but for a microwave you'll have to buy some microwave safe plates, pans, and containers.

 

[6pack]

 

[sharktale1212]

^ I watched those videos but then ran into these:
http://www.amazon.in/Panasonic-NN-GT221W-Epoxy-20-Litre-Microwave/dp/B00KPSSR20

What are these? Microwave oven....so far I can understand OTG, Solo and Convection but not these.

My main concern is this, I am a noob at baking so most of the time I will end up cooking some "cup/mug recipes" and not any full fledged baking ones. From what I have seen on YT some people have achieved this on solo microwaves too given the power rating. But I also want to be able to grill some stuff like paneer and chicken.

So it look like these "mircowave ovens" are enough for me but I am confused if they even work for grilling.

 

[hotshot05]

If you want to grill, you will have to use a metallic grill on which you will keep the food. So only option is to use the Convection mode. No way to use Microwave wave as the metal will reflect the rays and the oven will catch fire.

I have heard that OTG is much better for baking compared to Convection ovens. But I don't have any practical experience. So take my suggestion with a grain of salt.

 

[6pack]

^ I watched those videos but then ran into these:
http://www.amazon.in/Panasonic-NN-GT221W-Epoxy-20-Litre-Microwave/dp/B00KPSSR20

What are these? Microwave oven....so far I can understand OTG, Solo and Convection but not these.

My main concern is this, I am a noob at baking so most of the time I will end up cooking some "cup/mug recipes" and not any full fledged baking ones. From what I have seen on YT some people have achieved this on solo microwaves too given the power rating. But I also want to be able to grill some stuff like paneer and chicken.

So it look like these "mircowave ovens" are enough for me but I am confused if they even work for grilling.

It's a microwave with grill hybrid. It probably has a separate coil for grilling food. Hence the power usage says 1000W for grill and 1200w for microwave. (I may be wrong though)
It might work for grilling but not sure how much wattage a good grill needs. 1000w would mean either its under powered or designed for small quantities only. I tried searching Panasonic site for a manual, but even that wasn't available. So just stay away from such companies who don't bother giving out full details even on their website.

Edit: look around on other websites and not just YT if what you require is a microwave or otg. If you only want to bake cakes or biscuits or bread, an otg is more than enough.

 

[Emil]

I think @Blackend has given you the most appropriate advice.
You could go for separate appliances to do each type of cooking or you could have everything in one like I do. I have a microwave oven/convection/grill combo. My previous one and the one before that were also the same. It is the most versatile appliance possible. Note that you can actually cook in microwave mode and it is probably the least messy way to cook.
I must caution you that I've never had much luck with the grill heating element in the past. It is the one thing that has failed most often for me.
In my opinion, with popular manufacturers, you don't need to worry if the grill is sufficiently powered. It will be adequate for the volume and shape of the appliance.
The utensil you need will vary depending on your mode of usage.
I should also mention that using any of these appliances for baking involves a bit of learning. As you use the appliance, your understanding of it will improve and so will your results. I have a friend who used a OTG for probably over 10 years. She used to make consistent cakes. Then someone gave her a new one which they didn't need. The new one was much more modern, larger, and had more controls. She gave her old one to me (my old microwave combo oven had failed and I was due to buy a new one then) and she started using her spanking new one. With very poor results. Then I returned her old OTG and she is happily baking again. So whatever you get, don't give up on baking. It may not immediately be a success.
Returning to your question, what should you get?
If you only want to bake, get a OTG. If you want something versatile, get the combo oven.

 

[sharktale1212]

Here's my understanding of reading the posts till now, and guys please correct me if I am wrong. A convection oven has a grill heating element for the grilling part to work. There is no other way for it to be able to grill/bake things properly.
Additionally, does convection only mean there is a fan element for even heat distribution?

But as pointed out there has to be sufficient power to the element for it to work. What is the power rating should I look at?

@6pack - YT is in reference to the cup/mug recipes which seem very easy and very less waste of materials in case I do screw up. Recipes like these:

And this guy on keto diet:

Used IFB 20PM1S which is a solo oven. I haven't found these recipes using OTG till now so it might come down to experimentation. So a solo should suffice but then I want to grill too, hence confused.

 

[6pack]

Solo only heats stuff up. The Panasonic you linked to seems to be ideal for your usage. Another similar I found of 26lt capacity was this Electrolux model which has grilling option too.

 

[Emil]

Here's my understanding of reading the posts till now, and guys please correct me if I am wrong. A convection oven has a grill heating element for the grilling part to work. There is no other way for it to be able to grill/bake things properly.
Additionally, does convection only mean there is a fan element for even heat distribution?

Not quite right. Grill and Convection are two separate things. You use the convection mode for baking and the grill for barbeque.

Used IFB 20PM1S which is a solo oven. I haven't found these recipes using OTG till now so it might come down to experimentation. So a solo should suffice but then I want to grill too, hence confused.

You can even bake in microwave mode. It is a very efficient mode. However, you only bake in convection mode for dark cakes. This mode doesn't cause browning and hence light cakes will look quite unattractive if baked in microwave mode.

 

[sharktale1212]

Solo only heats stuff up. The Panasonic you linked to seems to be ideal for your usage. Another similar I found of 26lt capacity was this Electrolux model which has grilling option too.

I actually checked these so called grill microwave at a local Reliance Digital. Turns out most of them don't really have a grill/heating element. So the only cook option is the microwave with a fan (not sure if that is what is called convection - at least that is the impression I got from Cakes and More). The other impression I got for the so-called convection microwave was that they had a single grill element - on top.

 

[sharktale1212]

Not quite right. Grill and Convection are two separate things. You use the convection mode for baking and the grill for barbeque.


You can even bake in microwave mode. It is a very efficient mode. However, you only bake in convection mode for dark cakes. This mode doesn't cause browning and hence light cakes will look quite unattractive if baked in microwave mode.

Oh, but wouldn't that mean I could hypothetically bake even in a solo using the microwave mode? The only caveat being it wont brown a lot.

 

[sharktale1212]

For now, I am looking at http://www.amazon.in/Bajaj-Majesty-1603-Toaster-Grill/dp/B009P2KRAW
to buy. It's small @ 16L but given I am a complete noob, I really don't want to buy anything expensive.

 

[6pack]

Oh, but wouldn't that mean I could hypothetically bake even in a solo using the microwave mode? The only caveat being it wont brown a lot.

You can make cakes in a pressure cooker too (if you put some sand in the bottom to make the heat constant). It tastes as good as made in an oven too.
The only reason people don't use solo is it heats from the top only and there is no proper heat circulation for the bottom of the cake to cook at the same time. You could cook at very low heat but it will take a lot of hours to bake a single cake properly after many tries.
Damn, I forgot the microwave heats by heating water molecules in food. So that theory goes for a toss.
See this quora thread

 

[sharktale1212]

You can make cakes in a pressure cooker too (if you put some sand in the bottom to make the heat constant). It tastes as good as made in an oven too.
The only reason people don't use solo is it heats from the top only and there is no proper heat circulation for the bottom of the cake to cook at the same time. You could cook at very low heat but it will take a lot of hours to bake a single cake properly after many tries.
Damn, I forgot the microwave heats by heating water molecules in food. So that theory goes for a toss.
See this quora thread

I have tried making in cooker but it's not worth the effort for a mug cake. So again from the quora thread it would seem a solo works well but the browning effect might not be there...hmm..

In any case got good price on the Bajaj one nearly 2800 so got that one. Experiments began next Thursday. Fingers crossed that there are no items missing or denting issues during shipping which seem to be a constant complain on Amazon.

 

[Emil]

Oh, but wouldn't that mean I could hypothetically bake even in a solo using the microwave mode? The only caveat being it wont brown a lot.

Absolutely, not just hypothetically. It probably wont brown at all so it is only recommended for dark cakes, not sponge cakes and the like.

 

[sharktale1212]

Absolutely, not just hypothetically. It probably wont brown at all so it is only recommended for dark cakes, not sponge cakes and the like.

That being the case, isn't it better to buy oven + solo rather than a convection? Specially with microwaves being restricted by the the rotating rack for space. In comparison ovens can make use of most of the available volume unless they reach the sides + double rack for cooking?

Because from what I saw on the above video by Cakes and More - 20 Litre convection is more hampered for stuff than say a 20 liter OTG.

 

[Emil]

That being the case, isn't it better to buy oven + solo rather than a convection?

That is entirely dependent on your circumstances. In my home in Mumbai, I am severely limited by space constraints and therefore would always go for a combination oven. On the other hand, in Pune or Goa, space is much less a limitation so you could comfortably have solo plus gas oven plus OTG.

Specially with microwaves being restricted by the the rotating for space. In comparison ovens can make use of most of the available volume unless they reach the sides + double rack for cooking?

Don't limit your imagination to 2 dimensions for the microwave oven.