Black & Decker Infrawave oven

Our power-hog 1988 Jenn-Air (1st generation) microwave died, and we were looking for a replacement. Having heard bad reports of nutritive-value damage to foods by microwave radiation, we decided to look for a convection or infrared unit, and this one seemed most attractive because many convection units can tend to dry out foods, and such ovens’ usage seemed strange (domes, etc.). Also, our “classic,” stone-age GE toaster oven is on its last legs.

FEATURES
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This is an attractively-designed, superb toaster oven made by Applica and distributed by B&D. It has replaced both the above ovens with ease.

• It has a pivot-down door with thick heat-tempered glass.

• Inside there are quartz-tube-encased NiChrome heater elements both above and below the rack area.

• The unit works via built-in programs selected from the membrane-key apron at its front, pre-set for various food types. These programs cycle the top & bottom elements on & off for proper heating & cooking (i.e., delays for conduction of heat through the food, to prevent scorching).

• It also has a “convert” function whereby the user can program temperature and duration directly, and then set food “type” (meat, baked, etc.), to allow for recipes that specify the first two parameters.

• All programs are selected via the membrane-key apron in the front of the unit and below its pivot-down door. Before a cycle completes, it is possible to extend or reduce the time remaining by hitting the + or - keys, or the default time shown on the LCD screen in the middle can be adjusted before the cooking cycle is started. This screen also displays the food type being cooked, etc., but is not backlit, so hard to read if ambient lighting isn’t optimal. But, the ergonomics of use are well thought out.

• It came with two (not non-stick) aluminum trays and a handle that hooks on for insertion and removal. It also of course came with the main wire rack (slides in onto tabs at the sides) and a broiler rack, which seem well plated and adequate for usage.

• The crumb/spillage tray is much handier than the GE’s, being removable from in front, and coated, to simplify cleaning.

• The multilingual (EN, ES, FR) manual is well written, and includes an inserted DVD we never even found necessary to use.

USAGE EXPERIENCE
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• We were worried interior dimensions and volume would be inadequate, but this has never been so. We've cooked chicken and meat loaf in it with no problem. Large-size pizzas will not fit, but medium ones fit exactly. Bulky food loads might have to be re-shaped or cut up to fit, though.

• Toast is always done perfectly, evenly on both sides.

• Our Amy’s organic pizza cooks perfectly also, although the crust below isn't as crispy as from our conventional oven, because the pizza cycle cooks from both above and below, alternating. The crust’s softer. This could probably be changed by adjusting the cooking cycle time up from the default. A way to adjust the top/bottom elements’ duty cycle would help alleviate this small defect.

• Burritos come out perfectly cooked, browned and crispy.

• Meat loaf also cooked perfectly in a white-glass bowl when having upped the cycle time manually from the default 45' to a full hour. It was easy to interrupt the cycle automatically by opening the door for basting the loaf with sauce, then restart it afterward with the COOK button.

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VENDOR EXPERIENCE
We bought this oven from Home Shopping Network. HSN's service was timely. Their price was $100, coming to $120 with shipping. Wal-Mart's price was $120 at their Web site.