I bought a halogen oven earlier this year. It was around the time that the war in Ukraine broke out, oil and gas prices were ratcheting up and my fixed rate tariff was coming to an end. I logged onto uswitch and couldn’t find a deal that was in any way a ‘deal’. Then the news started to filter through about energy price cap rises (which were put in place originally to stop British Gas scamming OAPs who don’t have the wherewithal to ‘get online’ and ‘look for a better deal’ but now seem to be keeping the entire country afloat) and it all stressed me out quite violently.
At the same time, my children couldn’t care less about energy caps, or Putin’s war or impending rolling blackouts - and rightly so. Any child even cognisant of any of that shit is being deprived of a childhood. What they really care about is messing about with a massive craft box, playdough, making petal potions in the garden and then remembering they’re hungry and wanting food now, RIGHT NOW MUMMY! MUMMMMMYYYY!!!
More organised parents think about food and meal planning. They keep an eye on the clock, remember how long it’s been since the last meal or snack and then prepare the next meal accordingly. I struggle with this, due to an visceral hatred of having to plan anything and inability to learn from my mistakes. My husband also struggles with this, in relation to food, due to a wilful ineptitude when it comes to cooking. “But we’re not eating til 3” he says as I fire up the oven at midday, shoving a big chicken in and starting to peel potatoes….. ::eyeroll::
The solution to the need for speedy cooking is a halogen oven, I discovered. The heating element lives in the lid, which sits on a big glass bowl with plastic handles. These ovens go from cold to 240C in a twist of the timer knob. You don’t need to pre-heat at all, just stick whatever you want cooked in the big pyrex bowl and turn it on. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Five minute fish fingers? And whilst they’re on, it’s beanz in the microwave, frozen peas done with a boiling kettle and before you know it the children are silently scoffing something that’s sort-of okay as an ‘oh shit, dinner!’ kind of dinner.
Time for the sums.
My conventional oven is 2.5kw. This means it currently costs 85.1p per hour to run. It take about 5 mins to warm up-ish (7p) and then fish fingers take maybe 12 mins (17p) to cook. Total: 24p.
My halogen oven is 1.45kw. This means it’s 49.4p per hour to run. Fish fingers take 5 mins in it i.e. 4p.
At the current price cap rate, the payback (on a £46.99 halogen oven) happens after 131.5 hours of use vs running an oven. This ignores the fact that the food cooks quicker in a halogen oven, because of the ferocity of the directed heat (the fish fingers cooking in 5 mins vs 12 mins in my oven). Looking at my own use, the payback is at about 6 months. The more you cook, the faster you get the payback.
You can do all sorts in the halogen, the internet is awash with clever ‘hacks’, but mainly it sings when it’s doing ‘roast’ dishes. Roast tomatoes for a sauce, or roast potatoes. I’ve roasted a chicken in it (smallest on the shelf) in 30 mins. It’s great for leftovers with pastry or any sort of crispy topping.
I bought one off Amazon (yes, yes.. but Uncle Jeff just makes it so easy…) for £44.99 back in May. I’ve just found one of a different brand, but looks identical.. so I’m assuming it’s straight off the Ali Express. £46.99. With more expensive models to choose from.
I’ve seen articles like this one in the Independent (which tbh convinced me to buy one) and some folk never really use their main oven again. I still use the big oven for ‘big meals’ with multiple dishes. But really that’s about it. I think halogens also make a great ‘summer oven’ to Aga owners (omg the very thought of an Aga brings me out in a stress rash).
There are two main downsides:
Size (fairly massive, like a breadmaker).
Danger (halogen element is in the lid which needs to be placed on a rack/appropriate surface). I usually put it on the cooker top (i.e. where I’d place hot burny trays out of the actual oven).
A word on air fryers: they seem to be fairly similar, but smaller. Possibly cheaper, same halogen heating element technology and you can achieve what an air fryer does using this air fryer rack.