Question:
What about TurboChef ovens? Are they the same as Flashbake?
– Jim Going, President, Hampton Grill, Westhampton Beach, NY
Answer:
Earlier this year, I answered a question on what items are best cooked in a Flashbake oven. Flashbake ovens use intense visible and infrared light to dramatically reduce cooking time. They are best for thin products like pizza and hamburgers and have a very shallow deck. While they are available used and still around, they are no longer being manufactured.
TurboChef ovens are like Flashbake in that they also dramatically accelerate cooking time, but there the comparisons end. Rather than light, TurboChef uses a combination of convection and microwave to accelerate cooking time. Unlike a traditional convection oven with a fan in the back, these ovens use impingement air that forces air through jets below and above the food. Especially popular for pizza ovens, the airflow can be controlled for more browning on bottom (as would be needed for pizza) or top (as would be needed for nachos). The microwave assists, further speeding the cooking process.
Unlike the Flashbake, which has a limited range of ideal products due to its intense heat and narrow deck, nearly anything can be baked in a TurboChef which can accommodate much deeper pans, provided you properly program the oven to control the heat.