Speed Cook

Just when you think you have seen it all, new cooking technologies are popping up.  The newest to hit the market is cooking with halogen lamps and a very high wattage to cook foods at a third of the regular time.  The concept was developed in 1993 by Quadlux and should come to market under the name FLASHBAKE shortly.  It is currently being used in over 1,500 leading hotels and restaurants. It will be a 110-volt counter unit, which can be built into the wall.  This company uses prisms and mirrors to reflect the light energy to the food and this is how they can cook using this voltage.  General Electric introduced ADVANTIUM in 2000 which is offered in a few different models, 110 volt or 220 volt and use halogen lamps and microwave power to generate speed.  Both brands have a microcomputer inside with pre programmed recipes for the most convenient type of foods cooked.  They also include a cookbook where you can program your own recipes into the computer as well as adjust the cooking modes to your recipe.  Yes you will have to learn how to cook again but for the fast pace of life we live in one can get a casserole cooked in 20 minutes instead of an hour.  The Flashbake oven is not to take the place of a microwave because it will actually cook and brown because they are cooking with heat but are an enhancement to the kitchens for those who need two ovens can use one of these smaller units instead.  The General Electric unit is actually a microwave also so it does take the place of your old microwave too.  Come in and see a live demonstration of this newest technology.

Thermador has come out with an impingement oven for the home.  Impingement is not new but new for the home.  The oven uses forced heated air (similar to convection but focused airflow) directed at the food in the oven to give intense cooking performance and speed up your cooking process by  25% or more.  Typically impingement is used in pizza ovens to produce a quickly baked pizza for the fast food industry. (you may see these in airports and sports arenas)  This will be incorporated in a full size wall oven and the only negative is that only one rack may be used to cook since the food would block the air to lower racks.  Again, this in not to take the place of a microwave or even a convection oven.  If you read my article on convection you will learn that convection will not cook lasagna faster but one can put three trays of them at a time for even heating throughout the oven cavity.  Impingement is strictly speed cooking.  We will be doing live demonstrations of this product, so check our Saturday Demo schedule for dates.

The newest of the new has just arrived.  General Electric has now introduced “Trivection.  This technology uses Thermal, Convection, and Microwaves in a variety of ways to get optimum performance.  This technology is not new to the industry but has been revamped.  Microwave enhancement in oven cavities have been around for over35years and each manufacturer has taken its hits on trying to get the public to excited about it.  In the past, most consumers have not embraced this technology, even though many have been sold.  The most popular was the CMT series Thermador ovens which were sold over a 20 plus year period.  We feel with better consumer education, the use of the Food Network on television, and live demonstrations will fuel the GE product.  It has many backers and more to come.  This technology is not quite as fast as Advantium but it is faster than convection alone.  The “Trivection” technology is incorporated in wall ovens as well as free standing ranges and the oven cavities are big enough to do multiple rack baking as well as food as big as a 30lb turkey, a feat which cannot be accomplished by either Advantium or impingement.  Come by and see a demo on the dates proved on our web site.  Also feel free to stop in and see a video of Alton Brown using the “Trivection” product.  Please make an appointment with Mike Heintz to view this demonstration by Alton.