4 out of 5 stars
I would like to thank Mouths of Mums for giving me the opportunity to review this device. I was sent a free LG NeoChef Smart Inverter Convection Oven in exchange for at least four reviews. This will be my third of the four published to both my own blog, as well as to the Mouths of Mums site.
Please note that my rating for this product may change in each review as I get to know the device more, learn the tips and tricks and so on. For now, the rating is 4 out of 5.
Hoooo Nelly! Remind me to never try and review something this awesome at one of the busiest times of the year! Christmas, New Year, my Eldest’s birthday, head colds, school holidays! Wow. I am a week behind on my reviews for The Beast and I do apologise now.
I have been using it though and, yup, still loving that baby!
So, what did I try and do with it for week three? Well, I proved some more bread and made monkey bread – though I didn’t bake the bread in it as I cooked it at my folks as part of a family get together. I will try that another day… soon!
When it comes to proving dough, the LG NeoChef is AMAZING! Perfect every time! Even with my dodgy past its ‘best before’ date yeast works in it. When it comes to proving yeast dough it was always hit and miss for me, even with my Thermo mat (from Thermomix). As the weather here in the Adelaide hills can be temperamental at the best of times and, over the past twelve months, has often been referred to as bi-polar… and that’s not far off. We have boiling hot and dry days, followed by freezing cold dry days that build back up into hot, humid days, followed by rain for a week… Crazy weather! And for those who prove dough on a regular basis, you know how you need just the right level of heat and humidity to prove bread to its best. And, well, I’d given up trying to be honest as the weather just didn’t play fair.
In steps The Beast with its Proving setting and ta da! My troubles are over, I can go back to making bread for my family daily and know I will get the perfect prove each time. I can then make giant focaccia, pizza pocket buns, savoury or sweet scrolls – it’s all on offer. Both wheat and wheat free as, well the LG NeoChef is just SO GOOD at proving!
Better yet, if you then go on to bake the bread in the LG NeoChef – the whole house doesn’t heat up! Huge win!
In the summer time, when we hit the high 35° C to mid-40° C we tend to eat a lot of cold meals… which, can be boring. But we do it as it’s just so hot and cooking things just heats the place up more.
That is, until we started using the LG NeoChef! We have been baking, steaming, reheating, all sorts in The Beast and loving it as the house doesn’t heat up at all! Such a bonus at this time of the year.
Now, I just mentioned steaming right? Want to know what I steamed? Scrambled eggs. Yup, I couldn’t find a recipe for it anywhere but followed the Steamer instructions in the manual for eggs and just changed it a little. I found a bowl that fit under the steam, made up my egg and cream corned mixture and away I went.
I’m not going to say it came out perfect first time, as it didn’t. I had to cook it on the egg setting twice and stir well in between… but it still turned out really nice. A little over cooked – but not to the rubber yuck texture microwaved scrambled eggs usually get. They were nice… just need tweaking. The only other thing I will say about using the steamer function in this way was that I found it difficult to get the steamer lid off when it was hot, without knocking over the bowl of eggs. I couldn’t take the whole steamer tray out that easily either.
However, I put these issues down more to where my LG NeoChef is, more than it being a fault with The Beast itself. Mine is located in the corner of a kitchen bench that is too low for me to easily use at the best of times… and so bending, around a corner, and trying to get things in and out is tough… but totally the fault of the user. 😉
Another function I took for a whirl in The Beast is the sensor heating function and made jacket potatoes. Wow! Cooks so quickly, evenly and doesn’t dry it out and make it taste like a microwaved potato… which is weird, as it IS a microwaved potato… instead it just tastes like a baked potato and I am thrilled it was so easy as it’s one of the easiest ways to feed my family in a hurry. Our version of “home takeaway” is bake some potatoes, reheat some homemade bolognaise, and dinner is there. Now I can bake enough potatoes for all of us in under 20 minutes and have them taste like they were baked in my oven for an hour. Yum.
So, as you can see – still loving the LG NeoChef.
Would you recommend this product to others?
Yes I would. But I would keep emphasising it isn’t “just a microwave” it is an… well, it’s an everything! It really does help you cook from scratch for a large family without taking away the nutrients or creativity. Easy to use, so many functions and amazing things – go buy one! 😉
Would I buy this product for myself?
If my LG NeoChef was to pack it in (touch wood it never does) then yes I would see myself seeking to replace it with the latest version. I don’t see it as owning a microwave anymore, I see it as owning an extremely useful tool that cooks, steams, proves, grills, bakes and reheats. Love, love, LOVE it!
In summary: NOT a Kitchen Gadget! This truly is an amazing appliance those looking to cook more from scratch for large families should buy. So helpful, so versatile, so easy to use!
Until next time,
Janis.
Janis's Journal 