Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
While we can’t attest to whether this stat is wholly accurate, much like running a microwave or other smaller kitchen appliance, it was nice to know we weren’t using tons of electricity for one small meal.
With functions to grill, toast, air fry, keep warm and cook like a conventional oven, it feels like this could replace your usual cooker altogether. We’ve baked pizza, air fried chips, and toasted many a grilled cheese sandwich to see if this really could replace our everyday oven. We found chips needed to be shaken up about halfway through frying, to ensure even cooking, while nuggets often needed an extra 5-10 minutes to get them cooked all the way through. Given that Russell Hobbs has named this a “mini oven”, we were expecting this feature to be a stand out, but we have to be honest – it was a little underwhelming.They’re each a nice extra to have but we used them the least throughout our time testing, so wouldn’t necessarily say they’re a key selling point. Just load up the dedicated mesh tray with your chips, nuggets or fish fingers, slide it into the oven (the position doesn’t matter too much, but we always opted for the middle) and then select your time.
The real selling point for using this instead of your conventional cooker is the fact that it’s supposedly 60 per cent more energy efficient. With its big, square shape and old-school dials, it does look more akin to the kitchen appliances of old. Compared with the 20 minutes the same pizza needed in the oven, when air fried, it took half that time – perfect for feeding hungry guests in a hurry.But don’t judge a book by its cover – or, in this case, an oven by its exterior – as it’s what’s inside that truly counts. With its own specific function, when wanting to air fry using the Russell Hobbs mini oven, there’s very little you need to do. That’s right, it was back to the chopping board to make homemade healthy chips, a pie that would rival those from a traditional pizza oven, and a grilled cheese that we hoped would be the thing of dreams. The brand claims that its 1,500W fan – which distributes heat evenly – should be able to cook things up to nearly three-times faster than a conventional oven, but, in our experience, cooking times were much the same as in our regular oven, with the results either on, or slightly below, par.
Our initial thoughts on seeing the box were that this is going to be a really big, bulky and complex piece of kitchen kit. We also made a note of how easy it was to operate, set up, clean and, of course, how it fitted in with the rest of our kitchen decor. Similarly, a damp cloth should remove any grease or fingerprints from the exterior and glass door, while all the interior shelves will be fine to wash up with your regular dish soap. The manual explains how to get the best results from each function, as well as suggesting the best times to air fry things such as chicken nuggets, chips and pizza. You should then have perfect crispy but juicy nuggets or crunchy but fluffy chips in less than 15 minutes.That being said, we did appreciate the fact preheating the mini oven was four-times faster than our standard oven, so we could get to cooking quicker.
Great Deal 
New Comment