Oven Reviews

My oven wooly brightens up my kitchen. It's so soft to the touch, and it's more versatile than an oven mitt for letting me remove hot dishes from the oven quickly. I can use it either left- or right-handed.

Will new woolwork mitts be available anytime soon?. I want two new mitts.

This oven mitt is amazing. Withstands high temperatures, extinguishes flames and can be washed in the washing machine. I will never use anything else. Smaller version is great for beginning cooks. You'll never have to worry about burned fingers again. I highly recommend this remarkable product!

I got this as a gift back in November. Since then I have used it several times. While I have mostly positive things to say about it I don't think it deserves five stars for reasons I will mention.
First the positives:
It's Attractive
It's heavy weight
It's got a heavy, tight fitting lid which won't let moisture escape
Easy to Clean
Retains alot of heat
Goes in the Oven
Non-Reactive cooking surface
Le Creuset is a Reputable manufacturer with great customer service
I make delicious Pot Roast, Chile, braised Cabbage

Negatives:

The Handle on the lid broke on the first day. They Sent me a new one very fast with no hassle.
The new lid handle won't stay perfectly tight, but it works.
They should use a riveted metal handle
I think the bottom cooking surface is becoming slightly roughened from use.
Doesn't brown meats evenly, especially at the recomended medium heat.
Some people might not like the heavy weight.
I have nothing to compare it to, so I don't know for sure if it's better

I purchased a Le Creuset 5-qt Oval French Oven during the summer of 2002 as a new addition to my Le Creuset collection. As time as passed, I've found myself passing over my slow cooker in favor of the 5-qt oval oven.

A slow cooker is great for ease of use (throw everything in and forget about it) and for bringing out the flavors of food, but I've found that my Le Creuset accomplishes the same result in less than half the time.

Another factor in its favor is that the oven allows true one pot cooking. I can use the oven to brown meat, caramelize onions, etc. prior to putting in the rest of the ingredients. Try doing that with a slow cooker!

One of my favorite ways to use my oven is to make beans in it. I start by cooking a bit of bacon in the oven, along with onions, garlic, etc., then tossing in the beans and a generous amount of water. Set the heat to "Low", and in a couple of hours the beans are done - Easy!

As with my other Le Creuset pieces, the tight-fitting lid helps retain moisture during cooking, which means I no longer need baking bags or foil when baking. Given the cost of baking bags, a piece of Le Creuset used as little as twice a week will pay for itself in a surprisingly short period of time, then actually *save* money. (Do the math!)

Overall this is a nice powerful microwave. I like the fact that it can microwave at, for example, 50% power continuously instead of full-on for 10 seconds and then full-off for 10 seconds.

My only complaint is that I don't believe Panasonic paid enough attention to the user interface. For the most common operations, I want to press as few buttons as possible. Sounds simple, right? Well, Panasonic messed it up with how you set the power level. This model's best feature is cooking at a specific power level. But if you want to set the power level for something other than 100%, you have to press the power button repeatedly. Pressing it once starts you out at level 10 (100%) and thus, this press really got you nowhere since level 10 is the default. Another press gets you level 9 (90%), another level 8 (80%), etc. If you want to cook on level 1 (10%), you have to press the freakin button 10 times. My previous microwave let you press the power button, and then select the power by pressing 1-10. Two presses. Done.

Also, once you press start, you are commited. You cannot change the power on the fly (and I don't think you can even check what the current power level is). I'm not sure what the problem is. I used to be able to do this with my old microwave. Not anymore. You have to start all over again by pressing stop/reset, then press stop/reset again, then select the power by pressing the power button to death, then type in the time, and then press start.

Come on Panasonic. I want to be able to set the power using the 1-10 key pad, and I want to at least know at what power level it is currently set (accidentally turned a pint of ice cream into hot milk last night because I thought I was on level 1). You made a technologically nice microwave, but you forgot about the end user and I'm starting to get "George Jetson button finger".

Purchased this microwave for my fiance. I had recently bought myself a sears microwave with an ultrawave (inverter). She was so impressed with how mine defrosted frozen food that i went looking for one for her. I found that Panasonic has patented the inverter and sears did not have a small enough unit with the inverter. Its really cool how it defrost without cooking the edges. Its fast too. Just plug in the weight, hit start and that's all you do unless its a large roast, etc. and needs to be turned. It has a signal for that. That alone makes it a best buy but it also has a sensor cook and reheat. It measures steam coming out of reheated or cooking from scratch food to insure proper cooking or reheating. Again the inverter insures true multipower cooking vs. on/off full power like most microwaves do. More gadgets: timer, delayed cook (90min max) keep warm, manual cooking which allows setup for multiple power settings and keep warm in one operation. The size of this unit is very small for tight places but all in all its a tremendous, powerful unit. If it could only walk the dog it would have everything. Buy this and enjoy the newest technology available at a very reasonable price.

I bought this product 2 weeks back. It is a very good microwave & delivers quality. I use it a lot and did not have any compains so far. Panasonic brand is a very renowned name in the marketplace. The only feature I wish it had, was when opening the door the lights would be switched on automatically. That would have helped in cleaning. Otherwise it performs to perfection. The food gets heated evenly & in less time. I am glad I bought it.

This is a GREAT microwave. It's amazing how quickly it heats things up compared to my old one. This is definitely a great buy and you'll LOVE it just like me!

For sure this microwave is big. It has a sensor that stop the microware when it think it's hot enough. When I put water it stop when boiling. When put food will stop when hot. I had problem to see the LCD with some angle. Seem Panasonic expect the user to install the microwave at the high of the face of the user, but I guess few user put this microware in front of the face like 5 - 6 feets high. The turntable go out of track too often.

After having an 18-year-old Sharp finally bite the dust on us, we started to shop around for new features with the standard tools from our older microwave.

The Panasonic microwave blended the two together nicely. Controls are simple and straightforward. The system is rather light in comparison to the older models. Take into consideration the dimensions before you buy.

Take time to study all the menu options that are available. For instance the popcorn button is nice due to the different bag size settings. Many of the function menus have multiple functions if you press multiple times to find the ones best suited for the need.
We have trusted the Panasonic name in many of our household appliances and have decided to try the ones for the kitchen, with better than expected results.

I absolutely love my rival 18qt cooker, its quite large, but its great for big family dinners!

Christmas 2001 I received the Rival 18 Quart Roaster Oven . I thought my how huge !!!! I'll never use it !!!! Boy was I wrong !!!! After Christmas , well let's see , I made chili for the foot ball game . I acually thought 18 quarts of chili would be more than enough and I would have some left over .... not at my house !!!! The guys ate every bite that very day !!!!
Then in March we had one day set aside for all the march birthdays and out came the 18 Quart Rival Roaster Oven .... this time it was ham and beans ... none left that time either .... then one weekend the guys got together to cut wood for the neighbor man that had cancer and I made chicken and dumplings .... then the fourth of July bar-b-que of course ....
and May let's not forget memorial weekend .... everyone loves my Spanish Rice .... you guessed it none left again .... and Labor Day Weekend Chicken Gumbo .... Seems like I was wrong in my
original thinking . I use to keep it stored in my pantry but now it sits on my counter top all the time , that way it's there every time I need it , and that's alot at my house . I plan to give cousin Richard a 'Thank You card' this year for Christmas . And I also plan to use the Rival Roaster too .
Deer season is comming up and I will have hunters in and out and the Rival Roaster will make it easy for them to eat hot food all the time and get back out there and get that deer .
Thanksgiving I will be thankful for my Rival Raster .... I'll fix some wild game wild , turkey or deer .
I am currently planning gatherings for next year too . I believe I'll store my menu plans inside the Rival Roaster .... that way they will be there when I need them along with the Rival Roaster on my counter where I can find them !!!!
I just don't know how I made it without the Rival Roaster .
Next weekend we are having a birthday gathering for my mother-in-law she will be 67 . Yep I'm using my Rival Roaster !!!! Honey glazed Ham this time . And Christmas I'm going to roast my first turkey in my Rival Roaster too . I know it will be just absolutely yummy !!!! And clean up is a breeze too . I REALLY like that !!!! Thanks Rival !!!! For making my life more enjoyable and giving me more time to visit with my family !!!! Sincerely , Gail Hirt

It's big and good to use.

What a great buy! Has it all, popcorn key, quick timer, and even has a child lock and more or less key. Very easy to clean also. Can boil water in about 2 minutes. Big enough inside to fit a turkey if you wanted. Don't let this one get away!

Save your money on this one. All it does is toast. It does not have any other temperature, not really very good at reheating. buy a regular toaster instead of this one.

I've had this model for nearly two years now. It takes nearly twice as long to toast bread as a normal toaster, because it has energy saving quartz elements, which don't heat up as quickly. Since there is no temperature control, there is only one setting - really hot.

This could ruin your day if you just want to reheat something through, so here's a piece of advice: for things like frozen pies, pizza and reheating rolls, put them on the top shelf and turn the heating element knob to Bottom Rack. That way you don't char the surface while the interior stays cold.

The 'Bagel Best' setting is great for people who, like Sting, like their toast (or bagels) done on one side. It's a nifty feature, but the bottom line is that this toaster oven is limited to toasting and heating only certain kinds of foods. I would recommend it for people who want just a very basic toaster oven.

I want more versatility in a toaster oven these days, so I am shopping for a new one.

1) I love the design of the toaster. It's vertical with two trays on top of each other. This helps save counter space for those with limited room. And personally I like the unique design. 2) It heats up fast and you have the option of heating up just the top rack, just the bottom, or both at the same time. 3) It's reliable and seems well built. 4) Price-wise it's a great value.

Update Feb 13, 2003: I've had the toaster for around 3 months and the oven is in good working order. My only complaint is with the "cookie sheet" pans that go in the oven---they flake easily. Like the surface of a non-stick cooking pan that's gotten old, these pans started flaking shortly after. One of them I left in the sink and my guess is that the continued exposure to water caused it. Whatever the reason, they're pretty cheap pans. Overall, I'm still happy with the way the oven performs.

I've had Black and Decker ovens for years and,unlike many other reviewers, have been very pleased with the quality and reliability of B&D. I was all set to buy another one when I saw this cool looking oven.It defintely has a "retro" look with a lot of chrome. I'll admit I bought it because of the looks. I've had it for about a month now and so far, so good. It's easy to operate and easy to clean. The only thing that is taking some getting used to is having to pull out the toaster rack/tray manually when I open the oven. On all my Black & Decker ovens, the tray was connected to the door by hinges, so when you opened the door the tray pulled out. Not a big deal,but worth mentioning to anyone used to B& D. The outside of the oven gets blistering hot too if it's on for longer than a toast cycle. If you have kids, caution them to stay away or they'll get burned. Overall, it seems to be a good product and hopefully it will be as reliable as my other Cuisinart products.

I can't say enough good things about this oven. What I like most about it is its exceptional toasting ability...slices come out toasted evenly every time. And if you want to stop the toasting process, just press "stop," which is a welcome change from other toasters where a dial has to be almost forced back into the "off" position. It also functions very well in the baking mode...preheats fast too.

Its polished chrome exterior gives it an upscale look and is different from the typical white/cream color that can eventually become stained/burned looking with time. If this was in a "Survivor" of toasters, it would surely outlast the competition. I've had two Delonghis in the past that performed poorly, and Krups (though pretty reliable) just doesn't look as good. Works great and looks great too. What more can you ask for?

In the last 3 years, I've purchased 3 toaster ovens. This one is the third and last one, at least for a while, I'm sure. My previous one was a Black and Decker. Burn marks took a couple of weeks to appear on the white exterior (and I hadn't burnt anything). And then in the end, one element quit working. So I decided to spend the bucks and bought this one. Wow. I can heat a slice of pizza and have the middle of the slice heat up at the same rate as the rest of the slice. Who'd've thunk? And the toast heated evenly. And when I set the oven temperature, I'm sure where I've set it (check out B&D's dials...the model I had was impossible to interpret). And I even get an audible indication when the toast is finished.

It's been a while since I've had a quality toaster oven. This time I had to spend a more than I did on the one I bought before the last two losers, but this one works very well. I guess (money) just doesn't buy what it used to. What I spent for this one ... was well worth the price.