Could we get rid of ovens?

I have a Ninja but prefer my oven for most things.

I use my oven quite a bit, so wouldn't want to do without. I have a small countertop toaster/oven, but it takes up a bit of space, so we keep it in a storage room and take out when needed. I do not own an airfryer, and don't really have the desire for another item on the countertop.

M0nica

It strikes me that by the time you have got all the other appliances and presumably you need a big kitchen as they all require work surface space. The whole thing becomes so complicated that it is simpler to use an ordinary everyday cooker, where all your cooking requirements are met by one appliance.

Yes.

I wanted an icecream maker but DH said "Not another appliance!"
The bread maker stopped working, the food processor is in a cupboard (used sometimes) as is the slow cooker, juicer comes out if DD is home, the mixer is out on the worktop but DGD and I used a mixing bowl and wooden spoons to make cakes last week - baked in the oven.

M0nica

How on earth do you roast a 15lb turkey in an airfryer?

???
In small pieces very slowly!

It strikes me that by the time you have got all the other appliances and presumably you need a big kitchen as they all require work surface space. The whole thing becomes so complicated that it is simpler to use an ordinary everyday cooker, where all your cooking requirements are met by one appliance.

MaizieD

^I might be better using the hob for my vegetables after all.^

If you bought a saucepan & steamer set you can do 3 vegetables all on one hob. Very economical!

I've used them for years. The only vegetable I don't steam is cabbage, because I like to shred it finely and cook it in a splash of water with a knob of butter and seasoning.

I had been looking air fryers because our main oven's ignition needs repair (we cook on bottled gas) , but had my doubts about its capacity. AreWeThereYet's post confirms that I don't think it's for me.

I was already do all my veg on one hob these days (before I started doing them in the microwave), boiling them all together in the same pan, even potatoes. On reflexion, I probably can't get any more economical than that for veg cooking .

Using a Ninja or other air fryer doesn't mean not cooking from scratch. It is a different way of cooking, but pretty much anything that can be cooked in an oven can be cooked in a Ninja, once you get the hang of them.

People do cook Sunday dinners in them (I can't speak from experience, as my husband is vegetarian, so I don't cook like that unless we have people round), but I think you'd need a microwave to heat up some of the veg, as it would be tricky to get everything ready at the same time if cooking for more than one or two. You can cook Yorkshires in them, bake cakes and pies, and make puddings, but not in the same way as in an oven, with everything in at once on different shelves.

I am on a Ninja FB page, and it seems that a lot of people have more than one, so cook the meat and veg on a steam roast programme and the roast potatoes and Yorkshires in the other machine on airfry. Maybe the ovens of the future will have the capacity to do that - who knows?

Bluesky How do you manage when you need four different elements of a meal to be all cooked, hot and ready to serve at the same time?

I cook veg in my steamer on the hob but there is nothing can replace an oven.
I even cook my one potato in the microwave for 8 minutes. It's a sad, cold kitchen without the Rayburn but cheaper.

I’m a microwave queen so I could get rid of the cooker anytime!

How on earth do you roast a 15lb turkey in an airfryer?

I bought my air fryer last November and it has paid for itself already. I have not used my double oven since Christmas and I use it as a cupboard. I would not get rid of it.

My latest is an Optigrill but I have not used it yet because the days have been warm and I have been dining mainly on salads.

I could manage easily with a microwave, air fryer, optigrill and slow cooker and also save money.

Admittedly I have never baked in my life but on the whole, I cook from scratch but I only have me to cater for.

I wouldn't get rid of my ovens, but we certainly use it far less now. The air fryer was used last night to cook a bit of fish which we had with salad, and DH even uses it to cook himself a bit of bacon some mornings. I do like to bake though, so I can see my ovens only being used for that! I also use a three tier saucepan steamer for veg, so just use the one ring, starting new potatoes off first, then adding a steamer basket with say brocolli once it is going.

DH bakes our bread so the oven is used. However a lot of the time we use the microwave and/or slow-cooker. Both economical & easy.

As I cook from scratch my induction hob and oven I couldn't do without. I have a microwave but only used for making my morning porridge and evening hot chocolate.

I’ve had my air fryer for 4 months now and I use it 2/3 times a week. In those 4 months I have used my main oven once. I was making quiche and offered to make one for son and DiL too so it was easier to do that using the main oven.

I had visitors at the weekend and roasted a joint of beef. It was the first time I’ve used my oven since I got my air fryer 3 months ago. I’m not a baker. I live alone and can cook all I want in the air fryer. For jacket spuds I cook in the microwave for 4 or 5 mins then finish off in airfryer for another few minutes next to chicken or whatever is cooking in it. That produces nice crispy skin. Veg are delicious roasted in it.

I think it’s a pity it was name air fryer as it puts some folk off the idea as they are picturing fried food. I rarely add oil to anything other than a little to a tray of roasting peppers and onions etc. I bought a small spray bottle of olive oil 3 months ago for occasional use in it and it’s still half full. It’s more accurate to say the food is grilled or roasted rather than fried in it.

I might be better using the hob for my vegetables after all.

If you bought a saucepan & steamer set you can do 3 vegetables all on one hob. Very economical!

I've used them for years. The only vegetable I don't steam is cabbage, because I like to shred it finely and cook it in a splash of water with a knob of butter and seasoning.

I had been looking air fryers because our main oven's ignition needs repair (we cook on bottled gas) , but had my doubts about its capacity. AreWeThereYet's post confirms that I don't think it's for me.

Everyone I know who has had a new kitchen recently seems to have four flaming ovens in it! My DIL was showing me some plans for their proposed new kitchen. Each one has a hob built into a massive island and four built-in ovens! (I think large oven, small one, microwave and plate warmer thingy). When I tentatively asked her what she was going to do with them (as she cooks absolutely everything in the Ninja), she said "f** only knows!)

I do think that as gadgets like Ninjas improve and houses get smaller, they will one day replace traditional ovens though. Maybe not for a decade or so, but one day.

I can do a lot of things with my Ninja but to cook a meal every night for a family of 4+ - I don't think so. I can cook for 6 of us if I make a casserole or curry (rice on the hob) or a few other things. But it would be a bit limiting I think. Or to make something like a roast dinner ? We sometimes buy a Chinese/India meal from a supermarket to reheat at home, and even that takes up most of the oven space.

I wouldn't want to get rid of my oven, but these days it only gets used if I have visitors. I only cook for one, usually from scratch, so my Remoska does everything I need. I must confess it had been out of sight for some time until I saw a thread on here about them, since when I have used it for every meal. I am sure I have already saved a lot on electricity.
www.lakeland.co.uk/brands/remoska-brand?intcmp=INTSRCH:remoska

Callistemon I batch cook baked potatoes in the oven. Then freeze them. Easy and much nicer than shop bought ones

grannyrebel7

I only use my oven once a week now for the Sunday roast. Wouldn't want to be without it. What exactly is a Ninja?

Ninja is a brand that makes various cooking devices, from ice cream makers to multi-cookers, which is probably what most of us mean by 'Ninja' on this thread.

Mine will do 14 things. I won't be able to remember them all, but the main ones are slow cooker, pressure cooker, steamer, air fryer, dehydrator, rice cooker, yoghurt maker, sauté (I knew I'd forget the rest, but some are things like 'steam bake' which aren't available ink traditional cookers.

They are electric, and save a lot on fuel. You can cook anything in them that you can in an oven, but not necessarily at the same time, so you can cook a curry and rice, for instance, or a casserole and roast potatoes, but you would have to do one then the other, which is obviously not the case in the traditional cooker.

There are racks available, and people juggle things so that they have meat at the bottom and vet at the top, but you would really struggle to cook a meal for four with a pudding.

Anyone cooking for one or two could manage easily with a Ninja and maybe a microwave to heat up the veg or rice when the main course is ready. They are a different way of working though, so you'd have to be prepared to relearn a lot.

I do think that as gadgets like Ninjas improve and houses get smaller, they will one day replace traditional ovens though. Maybe not for a decade or so, but one day.

I have just done some more research, and discovered that I was wrong about how energy-efficient that my nominally '800w' microwave is - I say 'nominally' because according to the label on the back of the machine, the input is actually 1250w!

I don't pretend to understand this difference, but it makes it a lot less energy-efficient than I thought!

I might be better using the hob for my vegetables after all.

I only use my oven once a week now for the Sunday roast. Wouldn't want to be without it. What exactly is a Ninja?