First off this is a VERY attractive appliance. The picture on the website does not do it justice, as weird as that may seem. It is substancial, well built, and looks and feels like something from a professional kitchen. Even though the measurements are documented, the oven just seems bigger. Personally, I think it's too big for a counter and would be best mounted into a unit. There could be some problems with mounting because you absolutely DO need the recommended space above, behind and to the sides you can't get away with putting it up against anything if you plan on using the steam feature.Good things:
The convention over works exactly as it should I made a cake and it came out super-fluffy and perfectly cooked in and out, and very moist. Also made a sandwich and the bread was nice and crispy and the tomatoes inside were perfectly cooked. I made two chickens one with the steam and one without. Both were good, but the one with the steam did get brown (lightly) and looked better, although they both tasted great and moist.
Microwave works fine. Downside is that there is no spinning wheel, so you have to stir and flip things around AND the microwave keeps stopping to tell you to do that. A bit annoying.
Although the job wheel feels very expensive and all the options are laid out well I would prefer some buttons, espcially with the microwave. You can't just pop something in and start nuking. YOu have to press the microwave button and then use the wheel to go down one selection and then press enter and then use the wheel to spin to a time and then you can finally hit start. They should have moved that up one level to make it faster.
You get several well built pans and racks with this, which is very nice bonus.
The instructions are overwhelming, but when you actually go to use the oven, it makes sense.
Putting the water in for the steam function is very easy a little box/cup thing comes out, you fill it and put it back in. done.
The auto sense microwave warming part works really well. I always want to doubt that it will work, but it actually does.
Overall it's a very intelligent unit, looks gorgeous and can completely replace your oven and microwave. Downside is that interface, which although it is slick, I don't much care for it and seems to require more thought than I care to put into microwaving something.
I would give it 4.5 stars because of that but really it's a very nice oven.
One more thing oddly enough, it does not put out excessive amounts of heat compared to your regular oven. You can open it during cooking and not get blasted by heat (although you should be careful). And cooking the chickens didn't heat up my whole kitchen or apartment like the oven usually does. The steam will kick up the humidity, but not that much.
Update I wanted to add that I made a Flan recently and it came out perfectly. Usually I make it in a regular oven in a water bath. I skipped the water bath and just put it into the Sharp and chose convection oven it came out perfectly cooked from edges to the middle! Anyone who has made a Flan will know how hard it is to get the center to cook correctly without overdoing the sides. I was pretty happy with this.
I have made several dishes in the less than two weeks I have had this and I am impressed, giving this over 90% satisfactory rating. (That's just a personal measure). I like the idea of cooking the same foods, but lighter, which steam allows you to do. My first dish was a salmon fillet (18 minutes), which came out done to perfection and easily the best salmon I have made. A few things to note, I used an olive oil mister and barely used any oil at all, mostly just for flavor. The filet came out perfect inside and out. It is amazing to see that steam can cook and crisp, believe me, it can. It does a crispy outside and moist inside like I've never seen. One big downside when I make salmon, the odor remains for days, despite my cleaning attempts. No such issue here, and cleaning was very simple. Scallops came out just perfect as well. I have many more dishes to test and now my expectations are high for future meals. Lastly, many of us are used to the "intelligent" cooking process of our ovens and microwaves. With one exception, the cooking program was spot on and the one miss was not that bad. All in all, I have learned to trust the cooking programs, where I never used to, even with good products. This is the best cooking intelligence I have seen.
I made simple things in the microwave, like steamed veggies and rice. All run of the mill and they came out great. My other microwave is more powerful, but it's not an issue for me. It may be just me, but it doesn't feel like it gets that hot, but it definitely does. It doesn't throw as much heat as a standard convection oven at all.
This is not a simple oven. You can't just start using all the functions without reading the instructions. I am a die hard ignorer of manuals, yet I had to read this manual. You just can't use most of the functions well or properly if you don't. There's a lot to this oven and to get the most out of this oven, you'll need to read the instructions. It's not that hard and if you spend 15 minutes reading, you'll be fine. This isn't an oven that you can use the more advanced settings with no instruction. There is a water reservoir to fill and one to empty, there are different pans depending upon how and what you are cooking and there is a simple operating knowledge you will want to be familiar with before starting. Again, if you spend this kind of money on an oven, you'll want to spend the time to learn how to use it.
What will really make this great is if Sharp would create an online community or join with an existing online cooking community that can create and share recipes for the SuperSteam. They have a nice collection of recipes that comes with the oven, but I would hope to see more from a community of cooks that take to this oven.
This is not an inexpensive machine but I feel it is an excellent value. I look forward to the creations I'll make with it and I recommend that if anyone is remotely interested in the Sharp SuperSteam, you need to check it out. Hopefully, you'll be as impressed as I am.
**April 2010 Update **
I am using the Sharp SuperSteam almost daily. I am writing this update because of how much I love the "brains" in this unit. The auto sense works great when cooking, but the reheat on the microwave needs a mention as well. It reheats leftovers just perfectly. Last nights, pizza, perfect. The curry rice, perfect. It's just another feature that makes this a top notch machine that you should consider for your kitchen.
**May 2011 Update**
I'm still loving the versatility and the cooking results of this fantastic oven. You have to use it to understand how well it works. I am still as happy today as the first day that I used it with the results and simplicity.
I only recently needed to descale and it was incredibly simple and effective. I used filtered water only from the refrigerator for the reservoir, so the amount of minerals in the water was the reason it took this long to need to descale (as per the instructions). It was a very simple process and worked very well. You will want to put all the parts in a good location, as I did, so when the instructions tell you to get the part for the descaling, you have it. Also, I should mention the cleaning mode is great as well. It is not a self-cleaning, but it heats up to make cleaning by hand easier. The function works well and this oven looks like it will last a long time.
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I had a friend who had one of these built into her kitchen. My first thoughts were (in my head): rich people, grrr! Restaurants also commonly use these (called combi ovens because they cook in three modes: micro, convection, and steam), although a commercial oven like this would run at least two to three times the price. Now that I've tried it I have to wonder if these shouldn't be standard equipment in new homes along with a glass cook top. Singles, couples, and condo owners might want to consider having one of these installed in their next kitchen along with a glass cook top rather than a full sized oven and microwave.This uses far less energy that an electric oven. At 700 watts, it even uses less energy than my microwave which was surprising. My microwave, a GE Spacemaker XL 1800 uses 1100 watts and can't cook nearly as many types of food as this oven. Although the price is a more by a few hundred dollars, I think the upgrade to the Sharp Supersteam makes sense because it can do so much more.
It's also more versatile in that it can steam, microwave, or even use convection to heat and cook foods. It is large enough to bake a batch of cupcakes, roast a chicken, or make meals for up to four people at a time. I made brownies for my first dish and following the directions on the brownie mix, I didn't need to change anything and they came out more moist than if I had baked them in my full size oven. Next, I made a variation of a recipe in the included cookbook and baked some salmon brushed with seasoned mayo and sprinkled with dill. It came out moist, delicious, browned, and wasn't dried out like it would be if I grilled it. Tonight we made Asian Style Meatballs, which was one of the included recipes and they were.. delicious! The recipe book has thirty seven recipes to get started which undoubtedly will get modified to suit your own tastes. It's also easy to look at the recipes and make adjustments based on what vegetables and seasonings you have on had, but the recipe book will go a long way in providing a road map for the ovens capabilities and cooking options. There is also five pages of charts detailing portion sizes, cooking times, oven settings, preheat/no preheat, and more to help guide you in adapting recipes should the need arise.
Although this can function as a microwave, I'll continue to use my GE microwave since it's installed above my oven, but I plan to use this Sharp Supersteam in place of my traditional oven on every occasion except for Thanksgiving dinner. I did like the ipod style scroll wheel. It looks so much more upscale that having a numbers pad. You just dial your cooking selections along with the cooking time. It guides you every step of the way including asking if you'd like to preheat the oven.
My main complaints with this oven are:
1. Lighting is poor. It only has one light, which is much darker than my microwave.
2. Since the door pulls down this would not be ideal to mount high since you would have trouble seeing your food and are more likely to burn yourself. My friend has hers mounted waist high, but up to chest high should be okay, or use it on your countertop.
Read Best Reviews of Sharp SuperSteam Microwave Oven Here
UPDATE: FUSE BUSTED
After 28 months, I got a blown fuse. I visited the local hardware store and spent thirteen bucks for a set of security tipped bits and fuse. You need only the T20 size star security bit and a 15A microwave fuse. See video. Besides the two star bits, you will also need to remove the screws around the back of the microwave and lift the metal panel on the left side (looking from the back of the microwave). Note: the metal panel is one piece covering the left, top and right side of the microwave.
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This is a well-built kitchen equipment with simple lines, nice and handsome details. Even the handle alone is made of solid aluminum. Compared with my other kitchen appliances, the Sharp AX-1200 can take the place of a microwave oven, a steamer, and a convection oven. The only thing that it cannot do in our household is toast a bread. Anyway, it is quite too big to assume itself to be another toaster. Now, there is only one footprint for these different appliances, and it performs superbly in all of the three types of cooking I am familiar with. And then there is the 4th type which is a combination of steam and convection which is intended to make meat brown and at the same time retaining moisture and nutrients. For a medium sized family, we are using it more often as opposed to our regular sized oven. At 1.1 cubic ft, it is an obvious choice for less energy consumption.
A kit is an option that is available if you want to mount it on a cabinet. Just FYI, the suffix S and K (as in AX-1200S and AX-1200K) stands for S=stainless and K for Black.
For a brief energy comparison: The AX-1200 is rated at 700W as a microwave which is just half the wattage of our old micro. Our toaster oven is rated at 1450W, just the same as the AX-1200 when it is performing as a convection oven. Our plastic basket Oster steamer is 600W.
The first things that surprised me is how it cooks a simple bag of popcorn. In our old microwave oven, we know it has to be exactly 1:52. Using the popcorn sensor setting, I was worried that our kitchen will smell the whole day with burnt popcorn as the time exceeded the usual 1:52. But I let it run just to find out what's gonna happen. Voila, a perfectly popped/cooked popcorn.
Our cookies are done with crispy crust in 14 minutes using the convection function. Cinnamon buns were perfect in 16 minutes. Using the steamer function, we got our 4 ears of corns sweet and juicy in half an hour. Frozen dim sums takes about 15 minutes. You need to fill up a small reservoir of water and empty another when you use the steamer. But if you are using a cheap basket type steamer like what we used to, then you know how much hassle and mess to clean up each removable piece after wards. This oven, you just need to empty the water and wipe the inside cabin of the oven.
I am not too ecstatic about the combination supersteam and convection. I takes longer to do its preheat and it takes much longer for the food to cook.
A first it looks more complicated to use because of its many functions. But it can be exciting to play around it the first time you place it on your counter, it is a lot of fun. That's when we found out that the LCD screen is much friendlier than it looks. It actually tells you step by step everything you need to do. Put more water on the reservoir, do not put any metal rack while microwaving, remove water from the drain, preheating, cooling, and many more. It is an intelligent device, no more second guessing.
It is such a pleasure to cook with this kitchen tool. A great piece of engineering. It even has a child lock. The price is a bit stiff :(. But that is usually the case for a new technological experience.
Pros:
4-in-one. Microwave, convection, steam and combination supersteam/convection.
good results
single footprint
less preheat time as compared to regular sized oven
gorgeous.
Cons:
a bit of a learning curve to familiarize with all the functions
you need to remember to remove the metal trays if you are switching cooking function from steam/convection to microwave.
combination supersteam/convection takes much longer in both preheat and actual cooking time
the 2 front legs may need something like a Poster Putty, 2 oz or Blutac to keep from slipping as the weight is concentrated at the back.
Microwaves should have flat electric plugs so you can place the oven at least closer to the kitchen wall.
the oven goes into a cooling period that may last up to 13 minutes after using the convection (even after the food was taken out from the oven). What if I want to turn off that function to conserve energy?
a bit pricy
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Added 090809 Bought a 1.2lb salmon filet (from the front side of the fish). Followed the instructions and placed it on the high rack on a baking on on the upper place in the oven. Set Super Steam Convection for Automatic/Fish/1.2lb/Start = 15.06 minutes = still quite raw in the center of the thicker part. Hit EXTEND/10min = perfectly done piece of fish.Added 090709 Got to try out the microwave defrost function. I was really looking forward to this, because our current microwave cooks meat when it thinks it's defrosting it, and I was hoping this one would be different (my friend swears his microwave doesn't). So, 2.3-lb. of rib steak (USDA Prime, bone-in) go in. I set the auto defrost function to 2.1-lb (I'm a bit gun-shy). When the cycle was done the meat was still frozen. I put it back in and set the weight to .75-lb and let it rip. This time the meat was mostly thawed (but not completely), and there was one spot of almost-cooked meat :-( BTW: as stated by Douglas Figueredo in his review, the thing does beep at you to flip the food, but I found if you ignore it (not with this meat, but thawing bread), in a few seconds or so it will start up and complete the cycle without beeping again.
I'll test it again the next time I pull meat from the freezer, but use the correct weight to start with. More to come!
I am so happy we got this item. Our current microwave (a GE over-the-stove vent fan/microwave/convection oven Model JVM-1190BY) has seen better days, taking 40-minutes to get up to temperature and not cooking evenly. While it cannot replace the GE's position (only a vent hood can do that BTW: I do not recommend combining a vent hood with a cooking appliance... grease gets everywhere and cleaning it out is problematic, and it's constantly dripping from various places over the stove!), the AX-1200S can do better (much better!!) in the microwave/convection oven application, plus it does steaming!
I completely agree with Nuknuk that the LCD info/interface screen does everything ergonomically. I'm one of those people who actually read the manual when I get something as complex and/or potentially dangerous as a microwave/convection/steaming oven. So, I read the manual. There's loads of info in there, much of which doesn't apply to me as I don't do automatic cooking and do not need new recipes. However, the info on manually using the appliance was worth reading once. Now, it's just a matter of following the on-screen instructions. Very cool!
I've had the AX-1200S on the counter for 5-days. I've used it 3-times. I'll be updating this review as I use it more. As of 03SEP09 I've used the:
1) MICROWAVE FUNCTION to heat/cook a bowl of fresh corn 3-ears' worth removed from the cobs (OXO Softworks Corn Stripper). In the GE, it takes 4-minutes on HIGH, though sometimes the corn is way overcooked and sometimes not, so I tried 3-minutes on the Sharp. The corn was done perfectly (for us... we like our veggies a bit undercooked, crunchy but not tough).
2) CONVECTION OVEN FUNCTION to cook an orange sponge cake (Chicago Metallic Professional 2-Piece Angel Food Cake Pan with Feet) using a recipe from The New Pilsbury Family Cook Book (out of print), my wife's favorite dessert. In our GE electric convection-oven (the big one! Not the GE microwave/convection/vent fan combo too small), it usually takes 45-minutes, so that's what I tried with the Sharp. Firstly, the manual says ALWAYS USE A BAKING TRAY WITH EITHER THE HIGH OR LOW RACK (included), so I used a baking tray with the low rack as my sponge cakes usually rise fairly well and I wanted the space above the pan. Secondly, the cake cooked perfectly even and nicely high, and the timing was exactly correct! That's what I call user-friendly!
3) STEAM REHEAT FUNCTION to reheat four tamales (two Mexican style pork, and two Guatemalan style chicken) that I bought at the Pacifica Farmer's Market earlier in the day, and had stored in my fridge. The steam reheat function has a maximum of 35-minutes, with the ability to EXTEND for 10-minutes more. I took them out after 35-minutes. They were warm, but not hot. Next time I'll probably microwave them for a couple minutes prior to steaming them. The thing about steaming is that some condensate is left inside the oven cavity, which has to be wiped off. Not a biggie, but different. Also, our tap water has lots of calcium (and sodium, as we have 100% softened water), and we really don't like the taste either, so I used bottled water to help keep scaling (and bad taste) to a minimum.
Note: I was going to cook a chicken in the oven, but didn't for two reasons: 1) My wife doesn't like steamed chicken, and 2) We have a Ronco Showtime Ronco ST4000WHGEN Showtime Standard Rotisserie & BBQ Oven (though in black the 4000TBFS, which I got refurb'd from Amazon May 9th, 2005 for a song $14.99 looking at the order page absolutely amazing!!!! I LOVE AMAZON.COM!!!) that makes the best darned chicken around. I still cannot believe I ever bought a Ronco anything, but it was too inexpensive to pass up. I'm so glad I didn't pass it up. It really works as advertised.
So, pros and cons so far:
PROS:
-easy to use, ergonomically designed
-the functions I've tried so far work as expected perfectly
CONS:
-the drop-down door is a bit of a PITA, but probably a carry-over of the built-in-edness of the unit
-BIG! Luckily we have a stainless wheeled table/cart (bought at , it's 60-inches long, 36-inches wide, and 48-inches high) that we use for our countertop appliances, or there'd be no countertop left ;-)
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