Halogen Oven Accessories

Extension Ring

An important  halogen oven accessory is the extension ring. This is a wide, lightweight, metal ring that fits onto the edge of the glass bowl, when the heating arm is in the ‘up position. The extension ring is great because it literally doubles the capacity of the halogen oven.

So if you were unsure  as to whether that large joint of lamb, pork shoulder or family sized polutry, is going to fit inside your halogen oven, be rest assured that it will. Adding the extension ring provides  more than enough room for whatever portion size you wish to cook.

Drip/Frying Tray

The drip tray is a flat lightweight metal tray that has ridges in it, and exactly covers  the bottom of the glass bowl. The tray is another halogen oven accessorythat  you must have. It can be used as a drip tray to catch all the succulent meat juices from your roasts, and helps to keep the glass bowl free from grease and fat congealing at the bottom. Wish means less washing up in my book.

The metal tray can also be used like a frying pan. Place it on the low metal rack and brush it with oil. Pre-heat the tray for a couple of minutes and then crack an egg on the tray and watch it fry beautifully, within seconds. Susages, bacon, fish fingers all can be down to prefection using with very little oil. See how this halogen oven accessory helps you to cook more healthily too.

Steam Tray

This is a flat lightweight metal tray very similar to the drip tray, the only difference is that it is perforated (full of holes). The steam tray is a sneakily clever piece of the halogen oven accessories kit. For light steaming  add enough water to just to cover the bottom of the glass bowl, then lay the steam tray over the water. Pre-heat the oven so that the water starts to form steam, then place your vegetables onto the steam tray.

If more steam is required half fill a  saucepan with water and place the steam tray over the pan, like a lid. Pre-heat the oven until the water is steaming nicely then place your fish wrapped in tin foil or tough root vegetables to cook. Top up the water in the saucepan when necessary.

Metal Tongs

This accessory is essential if you are cooking several different things and cannot afford to wait for the food to be cool to touch before removing it from the oven. The small metals tongs are designed in such a way that they are very easy to use, and are very effective at firmly  grasping cooked pieces of hot food.

Halogen Oven Lid Stand

Some halogen ovens come with a heating arm that lifts up and down and can be adjusted to fit the glass bowl both with and without the extension ring. The halogen oven lamp and controls  are incorporated into the heating arm.

But some ovens come with a simpler heating system, where the lamp and controls are built into a glass lid that you simply lift off or place onto the glass bowl.  However when you have to lift the control handle up to cut the power supply to turn you roast meat or potatoes over, where do you put the lid without burnig yourself or seriously scorching your work surface?

This lid stand is an excellent soultion to this dilemma.  I have not seen this particular item as part of the standard halogen oven accessories kit, but it is now available for purchase as a very useful add-on if your halogen oven comes with a free standing heating system.

Low Metal Rack

This halogen oven accessory is something that you will probably use every time you use your halogen oven. It raises the food or pan away from the bottom of the glass bow,l and positions the food for optimum cooking when the heating arm is down, (without using the extension ring).

Raised Metal Rack

This metal rack allows the heat to circulate underneath the food as well as over it.  When baking cakes or biscuits I find that using this rack together with the extension ring ensures that your treats are cooked right through and baked to perfection.

Miscellaneous

Somehalogen oven accessories kits come with even more items namely; a replacement halogen bulb and or a free haogen oven recipe book.  The replacement bulb is handy but I  had my halogen ovens for almost a year before I needed to change a bulb. It is always so handy to have a spare.

A halogen oven recipe book is looks like any other recipe book and you may be thinking what is the point of having yet another recipe book. The halogen oven recipe book is essential if you want to get the most out of your halogen oven. The quantities and cooking times for a halogen oven are very different from those given when using a conventional oven.  If you can get a free recipe book with as part of your halogen oven accessories kit, you know you are getting great value for money.

For the best prices (over 40% off)  for halogen ovens with all the halogen oven accessories visitwww.amazon.co.uk

Infra-red Ovens

Infra-red ovens use infra-red radiation or the   ‘heat radiation’ that comes from a hot object. In fact about 42% of the energy that comes from the Sun, comes to Earth in the form of infra- red radiation.

In the last few years infra-red oven have come onto the market and have been a great success. Infra- red ovens use halogen lamps to create intense heat that is easily absorbed by the food that is being cooked.

This means that the heat penetrates deep into the joints of meat and fillets of fish placed in the infra-red oven. This makes for much faster and efficient cooking,  saving time and  reducing energy costs.

Halogen Oven is the name commonly given to infra-red ovens. I think that latter sounds too scientific for a kitchen applicance. The term infra-red oven conjures up images of something very specialist or medical. Halogen Oven seems a bit more user friendly name.

When the infra-red oven is switched on on the lid locked in the ‘down’ position, the halogen lamp is activated and gives a very bright and powerful orange glow. This glow only lasts for 15 – 20 seconds and then it stops glowing.

The oven is still on and working, as the convection fans distributes the hot air evenly around the food.  After about 30 seonds the halogen lamp glows for 15 – 20 seconds again. This on/off glow pattern will continue until the timer stops. Using the raised metal cooking rack ensures that the heat circulates underneath as well as over the food making sure that it is evenly cooked.

Heat radiation is a cutting edge technology that is used in chemical imaging, meterology (study of the weather), astronomy ( study of the stars in space), and thermal imaging (used by the military).

It is reassuring to know that such state of the art technology has now been applied to the humble task of cooking food in the shape of an infra-red ovenor halogen oven

Counter Top Ovens

Counter Top Ovenis given to any oven that is compact oven that sits comfortably and neatly on any level work surface. They require a simple mains electricity supply, just plug in and use straight away.

Counter Top Oven can be powered in many ways name; microwave, halogen or a mini oven that works exactly like a conventional oven.  Some of  the best mini ovens use a combination of conventional and microwave technology to produce an oven that can bake, roast and grill.

Some Counter Top Oveneven come with a hob on top of the oven so that you can boil and steam vegetables. Some have a flat hot plate that fits over the top of the hob.. This enables   you to fry burgers, eggs, bacon and susages quickly and easily.

These ovens are compact and great for use in small kitchens and outdoor cooking areas. They are easy to transport but I would not call they portable ovens, as many of the combi ovens though compact, can be suprisingly heavy.  Saying that two people can safely carry a combi oven in or out of a vehicle.

Buy Halogen Oven

Around this time in 2009 I was looking to buy a halogen oven as I had seen the Cookshop model advertised on a TV Shopping channel.  When I mentioned this wonderful device to a few friends and aquaintances  I got very positive  and encouraging feedback.

At that time I began to look online to buy a halogen oven, it was only available on Idealworld shopping channel and Argos. The selection was limited to only two or possibly three models and  they were retailing for 60 – 90 pounds.

Now I am really pleased to report that there are 247 different halogen ovens currently available at amazon.co.uk for less than half price!!! The larger the capacity of the oven and the more accessories that come with it, the more you pay.

Right now you can buy a halogen oven with all the accessories, a spare halogen bulb and they are even throwing a free recipe book too. Now that is value for money.

I have two halogen ovens and I would not be without them, especially during the hoilday season. I use one oven mainly for roasting, grilling and frying. The other I use for baking, cakes, pies, cookies. Using the two simultaneously cuts my time spent in the kitchen by more than half, and there is hardly any cleaning up to do afterwards, buy a halogen oven and cook without stress this holiday.

What is a Halogen Oven?

A Halogen Oven is a counter top oven that combines energy from both  halogen lamp and microwave technology.  A halogen Oven is a compact oven that can be used instead of a conventional oven, as it can bake and roast food.

A portable oven that sits neatly on any level work surface. You can use it to replace your stove top and grill as the oven can be used in manyy different ways.

Frying: Place a small amount of oil in a small pan , let it heat up for 1/2 minutes then  shallow fry eggs, bacon, susages.  Set the timer for 10-15 minutes at the higher temperatures and you will have a perfectly breakfast every time.

Chips and portions of meat can be fried by coating liberally with oil before placing inside the  pre-heated oven.

Grilling: Meat and fish can be cooked in the halogen oven without any oil. This gives nicely browned and crispsy appetising results.

Boiling : Use enough water to cover potatoes or vegetables and leave to cook . Cold water takes about 10 minutes to heat up and the food will start bubbling happily until cooked.

Roasting: This is where the Halogen Oven really comes into it’s oven.  Whole chicken, turkey, joints of lamb, beef or pork can all be cooked really easily in a halogen oven. The extension ring that comes with most models provides extra depth to accomodate large family sized  cuts of meat  and poultry. Using the highest  temperature settings, roasting can take between 1hour to 1hour 30 minutes to get the best results.

The clear glass bowl of the oven allows great visibility as the food cooks. The meat needs to be turned a couple of times and when the timer pings, it’s ready. Tender, succulent roasts without any fuss, and minimal mess.