Convection vs. Conventional Microwave

yvairguy said:
I installed a microwave and ended up getting stuck living in the van for about 4 months, I had to have a oven and got a nice toaster oven. I hated it from the minute I put it in because I lost the space for the stuff I had to move from it's new spot.

I started looking for a convection microwave and was just about to buy the 450 dollar breville combi wave when I came across the 98 dollar Galanz unit at walmart. It's a convection oven, it roasts, bakes, combi bakes and microwave, auto reheat and auto cooks and is also an air fryer.

I've used all it's features and have to say it's been great. I never thought I would ever buy an air fryer but I've used that feature a few times and it works good too. If I ever end up with another rig and it doesn't have an oven I'll plan on adding one of these.
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Great suggestion!
 
My thread is back from the dead! Perfect for Halloween.

Recently we decided to try the Omnia stove-top oven after watching a video by "From She To Me" on YouTube. We made mini-scones in it using the silicone muffin insert, and they turned out quite well. So, if you have propane cooktop in your camper van, this may very well be worth a try. As an FYI, we bought the oven and several options, including the grate, the pair of silicone forms that fit into the oven, the silicone form for muffins, and the zipper bag. It's very nicely sized for use in a camper van, and with a bit of patience and an instant read oven thermometer, it's not particularly difficult to turn out very nice results on a scale that makes sense in a camper van. One less electric appliance in the van is a huge win in our book. :)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YLJQ5U

From She To Me video (fast forward to 17:24 to see her show off the Omnia oven):
 
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We just ordered a Ninja Foodi 5 in 1 indoor grill we are supposed to have delivered tomorrow. I designed a place for it in our next van along with an Instant Pot. We will also have the microwave but may lessen the need for a convection oven. The only thing I desire is to bake pizza. A convection oven I know will do it, but I have baked pizza in a Dutch oven with charcoals and have an electric Breville Pizza maker I can carry.
 
One more option for making pizza where campfires are allowed and the campfire has a grill over it: In that scenario, over a nice campfire we made personal-sized pizzas on small Bialetti pizza stones that are 7.5" on a side. Perfect!
 
i might consider a Roccbox or an Ooni pizza oven. Those are compact outdoor ovens gas or wood fired that have high temperatures to bake a Neapolitan style pizza in under 3 minutes.
 
Davydd said:
i might consider a Roccbox or an Ooni pizza oven. Those are compact outdoor ovens gas or wood fired that have high temperatures to bake a Neapolitan style pizza in under 3 minutes.
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Hello Sir .. And ThanX 4 your insigth .. Much appreciated .. I utilize the Italia pizza oven (only GAS operated) .. It does heat 2 Napoli recommended temps .. Having been 2 italy a couple of times .. I have had the chance 2 KooK with local chefs and their knowledge .. My recipes for that particular R authentik (not internet recipes) .. Again ThanX .. I C your PIK 4 your profilr seems 2 B @ the Acropole in Greece ..Am i correct ?
 
One of my RV hobbies in traveling the country is seeking road food or the independent restaurants across the country making regional foods. I am concentrating on Pursuing the pork tenderloin sandwich, the deep-fried breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches mostly found in the Midwest but it is a challenge to find them elsewhere. I created a Facebook group that just crossed over to 43,000 members. I conceived about 200-300 members to help me in my travels. My other pursuit is Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas. 15 years ago they were rare. Now there are to many to get to all.
 
I am also using RecPro RV Microwave. This microwave is quite small and compact, so it will not take up a lot of space in your RV. Has more than enough power for most cooking tasks. Very satisfied with it.
 
I also appreciate that this low-wattage microwave for RV has a child-lock function. I find this feature helpful since I have a young toddler to take care of. It will prevent my toddler from operating the microwave on his own.
 
Just an update to comments I made in this thread. The Ninja 5 in 1 doesn’t fit unless the Instant Pot doesn’t go in the drawer. We can still put it elsewhere if we want. We had a convection/microwave and in our new van a microwave only. As for pizzas, I didn’t buy an Ooni or a Roccbox but did buy a Bertello portable pizza oven which can fire on propane or wood sticks (or charcoal & pellets) or a combination of gas and wood. It will fit on a back shelf as it would be used outside. The wood-fired intrigued me for aesthetic reasons of being outdoors in the woods and I don’t have to carry propane if I don’t want to though the one lb. canisters will do. My pork tenderloin sandwich group is approaching 62,000 people. :)
 
With portable grills, griddles, instant pots, and air fryers becoming so ubiquitous I'm wondering if people are starting to rethink having a microwave. Does it still earn its keep or would you rather have the storage space back for one of these other appliances?
 
Punkinhead said:
With portable grills, griddles, instant pots, and air fryers becoming so ubiquitous I'm wondering if people are starting to rethink having a microwave. Does it still earn its keep or would you rather have the storage space back for one of these other appliances?
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For us the micorwave stays, no question. What we don't ever use is the stove in the van.


We use the micro in the morning, usually for a quick breakfast before getting outside to do stuff. Evening snack micro. Lunch and dinner are done outside on the grille, or rarely on the Fold-n-Go stove. For what we like to do for cooking this covers all of it with minimal space taken up, plus most stuff on the grille is the best way to make a lot of things in our opinion.
 
Microwave stays. Absolutely. We have added a separate 22l freezer, so made-at-home meals have simplified our van time immensely.
 
MsNomer said:
Microwave stays. Absolutely. We have added a separate 22l freezer, so made-at-home meals have simplified our van time immensely.
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That was my wife's response when I brought it up this morning. We have a B on order that will have a microwave and portable induction burner but no oven. After thinking about it a bit I realized that if we truly end up not using the microwave I could always pull it out and add a cabinet door so there's no reason not to get the microwave and see how we end up cooking in the van.
 
The microwave would be the LAST food-related amenity we would delete. I don't see where there is any significant overlap in function between a microwave and the other items you mentioned, beyond the fact that they can all apply heat to food. Like @MsNomer, thawing and warming frozen blocks of delicious made-at-home meals is our standard procedure.
 
Interesting. I pulled our microwave. We never used it. We also bring numerous home meals that we've cooked and frozen in advance. Mashed
potatoes (home made and frozen), thawed go into 1/2 pan. Turkey with gravy in the other 1/2, fresh green beans cooked in 2nd pan, etc. We have always cooked inside the van. We decided that having the xtra storage space was more important than an appliance that we didn't use.

Obviously I'm in the minority. But different strokes for different folks.
 
GallenH said:
Interesting. I pulled our microwave. We never used it. We also bring numerous home meals that we've cooked and frozen in advance. Mashed
potatoes (home made and frozen), thawed go into 1/2 pan. Turkey with gravy in the other 1/2, fresh green beans cooked in 2nd pan, etc. We have always cooked inside the van. We decided that having the xtra storage space was more important than an appliance that we didn't use.

Obviously I'm in the minority. But different strokes for different folks.
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Now you have two pans to wash. We have zero.
 
Did I already say our microwave is mostly for storage of bowls and bread? With that use it is hard to justify emptying out to heat water for tea. So, I am kind of ambivalent about its use. ;)
 
I use mine, popcorn if nothing else but mostly frozen meals. Having a generator helps because my battery bank won’t do it.
 
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