Expert rating
Benefits
- Predefined programs
- Two trays and rack accessories
- Steam cooking
- Can you air fry food?
Disadvantages
- Unintuitive controls
- Large work surface space
- Difficult to clean
- Accessories are not dishwasher safe
Our verdict
If you’re frustrated with the lack of oven space or options in your kitchen, the 10-in-1 Multifunction Countertop Oven could be a great choice. It offers a variety of cooking methods and a menu of 33 preset recipes, while its 30 liter capacity won’t limit your dining horizons. However, the downside is that it’s big and bulky, while cramming all of these functions into two dials and buttons makes it difficult to adjust without instructions to hand.
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Air fryers, steamers and other small appliances: Smeg’s 10-in-1 multifunction countertop oven seeks to replace them all while offering similar capacity to a combi microwave. To this end, it has a water tank on top, to be able to steam food, an air fry setting, as well as a perforated tray.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
However, it’s not just functionality that this countertop oven brings to the table: it has a menu of preset programs, allowing you to do everything from rising dough to baking to baking. roasting potatoes and steaming vegetables.
Design and build
- Overlooks a standard kitchen counter when open
- Large capacity
- Multifunction controls
Those with small kitchens may struggle to make room for the 10-in-1 Multifunction Countertop Oven: it measures 50cm/19.75in in width and depth, with a height of 40cm/15.5in inches, which means it might not fit under wall units (plus the 800ml/27oz water tank on top needs to be accessible). With the door lowered, it occupies the entire depth of a standard 60 cm worktop and extends beyond the edge.
He also weighs 17.5 kg/38.5 lbs, so make sure you find him a forever home. If you have the space, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the 30 liter/32 QT cavity: you won’t have to compromise on the size of a piece of meat or cake, which can be a common problem for countertop ovens.
On the outside, it’s more attractive than most: finished in gloss cream or black – although there are more color options in the US – there are only two control knobs with buttons in the center, which gives it a pleasant symmetry.
Different combinations of knob turns and button presses allow you to select either one of its standard cooking modes (which include combined steam as well as defrost) or one of the preset recipe programs, as well as food weights and a timer.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
In the middle there is a screen to show what has been selected, although the abbreviations and symbols mean you will need to keep the manual handy for a while. There’s no shortage of power, though: its 1,800W translates to a 900W grill, a 700W bottom heating element, and a temperature range of 40 to 230°C/104 to 445°F.
Performance and Features
- No suggested time for steaming
- Timer can be set while cooking
- Oven and accessories difficult to clean
One of the most appealing aspects of the countertop multi-function oven is its versatility, followed closely by the amount of cooking space inside. This makes it ideal for medium-sized households and families who often need a second oven or want to try different methods without purchasing multiple appliances or upgrading an existing oven. It would also be great for tenants.
We started our testing by steaming fresh broccoli using the pure steam setting and the perforated tray. The temperature can be changed but we opted for 100% steam for faster cooking. The oven heated up and beeped when it was ready to add food.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
There is no guidance on steaming times for different foods, but we estimated that 15 minutes would be enough. We found the timer quite difficult to set – it wasn’t clear how to set it while heating, but we were able to set it once the oven had started cooking. A separate timer button would be helpful.
One of the most appealing aspects of the countertop multi-function oven is its versatility.
After time, the broccoli was still a little firm but edible and retained its bright green color. We liked that you could add or subtract time from the timer while the oven was cooking, and that the timer would pause when the oven door was opened.
Next, we made chips using washed and dried potato pieces mixed with a small amount of oil, using the air fry setting. Once the oven was heated, these were distributed on the hot perforated tray and cooked for 27 minutes at 230°C. The fries were turned halfway through cooking.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
However, many of them stuck to the tray and were difficult to clean afterwards. We had to soak and scrub the tray with a non-scratch brush to remove debris, as the instructions recommend against cleaning in the dishwasher for the accessories.
We found the inability to easily clean the oven frustrating and felt this could be a barrier to frequent use.
One of the Chef’s recipe programs is for a whole roast chicken: it uses a combination of steam and conventional cooking. However, it is limited by the weight of the bird: our chicken weighed 1.62 kg, but the maximum option for this program is 1.5 kg. We chose this weight and it estimated 1 hour 22 minutes of cooking time.
Once at temperature, we appreciated that the program automatically starts the countdown (for standard cooking you have to start the time countdown yourself).
After the program finished, we found that the chicken was actually overcooked and fell apart when we removed it from the enameled tray. However, the meat was not dry and the skin was dark brown and crispy. The board also needed to be soaked and scrubbed as before.
Rachel Ogden / Foundry
Cooking the chicken and fries left a fair amount of burnt fat in the cavity. Running the oven’s steam function helps soften some of it for cleaning, but overall we found that it took several turns and a lot of scrubbing to get it clean enough. We found the inability to easily clean the oven frustrating and felt this could be a barrier to frequent use.
Pricing and availability
Aside from complicated controls, sizing and cleaning issues, the real problem with the Smeg oven is its extraordinary price. Sure, you’ll always pay a little more for Smeg kitchen appliances thanks to their sleek, covetable design, but compared to other multifunctional countertop ovens, the difference is huge.
In the UK it’s available for £849.95 and you can buy it direct from Smeg and Freemans for that price. At the time of writing, The Appliance Depot is selling it for just £769 – but that’s still extremely expensive compared to competing models.
Its price in the United States is just as high. It’s $999.95 from Wayfair, Crate and Barrel and Williams-Sonoma.
The most expensive appliances we recommend in our roundup of the best air fryer ovens we tested are less than half the price of the Smeg oven. If you can get by with a little less space, without the Smeg design and steam setting, there are some great alternatives.
Should you buy the Smeg multifunction countertop oven?
The Smeg 10-in-1 Multifunction Countertop Oven is attractive in many ways. It’s more attractive than most countertop ovens, offers more space inside than many others, and the variety of functions provides excellent flexibility: we were largely happy with the cooking itself.
However, there is a trade-off between her beauty and her intelligence. It’s far from easy to program – without instructions a new user is likely to be perplexed – devilishly difficult to keep spotlessly clean, and be prepared to say goodbye to a good portion of your kitchen worktop.
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