IT COULD soon be possible to produce gourmet meals with undreamt-of speed. By
combining a high-speed airflow system with microwaves, a new oven roasts
chickens in four minutes, does vegetables in just 100 seconds and browns a
500-gram prime steak to perfection in little over three minutes. And all this
with energy consumption a third that of a normal oven.
Behind this kitchen revolution is the world鈥檚 first 鈥渢urbo-driven鈥� domestic
oven. Its designer, TurboChef of Dallas, Texas, says that it cooks food 10 to 15
times faster than normal ovens and three to five times as fast as a microwave.
TurboChef already produces a commercial version, and a domestic oven will be
launched next year by Maytag of Newton, Iowa.
The oven uses a blend of conventional heat and microwaves. Jets of air heated
to up to 260 掳C blast down from the roof of the oven towards each food item
at high velocity (see Diagram).
鈥淚t surrounds the food in a shroud of hot air,鈥�
says Des Hague, head of the team developing the oven. At the base of the oven,
the wave of air is sucked around the food.
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This 鈥渟hrouding鈥� of the food in heat overcomes the usual escape of heated air
away from the food to cooler parts of the oven. 鈥淲ith the turbo system, there鈥檚
nowhere for the heat to go except in the food,鈥� says Hague. The force of the jet
of air prevents a cool boundary layer of air forming around the food, which
slows cooking in conventional ovens.
At the same time, the food is heated from below with microwaves. 鈥淭hese
agitate and heat the water molecules inside the food,鈥� says Sloan Gaon of
TurboChef. The combined assault cooks food from the outside and inside
simultaneously, he says.
Pre-programmed routines squeeze conventional cooking procedures into a
fraction of the usual time. To cook steak, the turbo-oven first 鈥渟ears鈥� the meat
with a high-velocity blast of air, mimicking a very hot grill. Next, microwaves
cook the steak inside, as if it had been moved lower in the grill. Then a jet of
air browns the steak.
British TV鈥檚 celebrity cook Delia Smith welcomes the device, but cautions
against sacrificing flavour for speed.
鈥淚t might be convenient, but we should always remember that the science of
cooking involves time, and that鈥檚 what brings out flavour,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f it鈥檚
really quick, the heat reacting on the food doesn鈥檛 always draw out the best
flavours. I鈥檓 looking forward to seeing it and trying it out.鈥�