My Oven is So Hot (Neff U1722)

Member Name: susie19

Product:	Neff U1722
Date:	23/01/07 (3245 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast cooker, nice looker.

Disadvantages: Can get a bit on the hot side.

Two, nearly three years ago I said a not very tearful goodbye to my old Creda cooker. It had served me well but was a monster to keep looking clean. As part of a new kitchen, we had to choose a Neff oven. The kitchen company we chose only fitted Neff but we were assured they were great and that was the reason they only worked with them. We chose a built in double electric oven model U1721 and a separate gas hob (see review : Lovely Hob Knobs). Model U1721 has now been upgraded to U1722 with a fe minor changes to the panel and an upgrade to Energy Efficency A.


# Pear Shaped #
You could say that this oven is a bit pear shaped having a small but pretty top oven with a larger but very hot bottom. It is a pretty good looking model with transparent windows and some stylish buttons. The outer shell is matt stainless steel with a nice smooth frontage and a couple of slim lovely handles for easy access into the ovens.


# The Top Panel #
At the top of this model is a panel with all the controls. There are three oval shaped manual turn knobs and six teeny round buttons. All in all this makes for an easy wipe clean panel with no difficult groves or hollows to clean. On the left of the panel is the control for the main (bottom) oven, a dial control with a maximum heat setting of 200 degrees C. Turning this knob slightly clockwise switches on the light in the bottom oven without turning the oven on. I suppose this could be useful if you clean the inside of your oven (ahem). Moving swiftly towards the middle of the panel, there are six small buttons which operate the timer and the digital clock which is in the centre of the panel. It is not immediately obvious how to use the timer but a quick read of the instructions reveals that it is very simple. The cooking timer emits more beeps into our kitchen which are loud enough to be heard in other rooms (useful if you forget you have things cooking in the oven as I often do).

To the right of the panel are the controls for the mini (top) oven and grill. There are two oval knobs on this side, one to choose grill or mini oven, the other to control the oven temperature which heats between 50 and 250 degrees C. As with most ovens, there is a small red light which glows until the oven has reached the set temperature.


# Pretty Top #
The top oven is a conventional oven and can take one shelf although there are three different positions where this shelf can be slipped in. I rarely use the top oven as it takes longer to heat up and only one shelf can be used. It is great for long, slow baking cakes such as a Christmas cake. It is also useful when you are entertaining because it can be used in addition to the bottom oven.

The radiant grill is also located in the top oven. The element heats to red hot when a very hot temperature is selected. I rarely use the grill though as I have a habit of being distracted during cooking and often return to a smoke filled kitchen when grilling. Why does the milkman always call for his money at tea time? As a safety feature to myself and family I use the circotherm feature in the bottom oven for most of my ‘grilling’. The top oven does not have a light but is a useful extra oven / grill when required.


# Hot Bottom #
The bottom or main oven is really hot. I noticed a huge difference immediately when I started to use this compared with my previous oven. The oven heats up to the set temperature very quickly aided by the circotherm system. Now I have got used to my oven, I always select a lower temperature than that recommended. There are three positions for setting your shelves in the bottom oven. The middle position should be avoided for large casserole dishes and the like because this can prevent sufficient airflow to the circotherm.

One thing I like about the bottom oven is that there is a see through window and a light which is always on when the oven is in use. This allows you to see your food cooking without opening the oven door. When opening the door of the bottom oven in particular, which opens downwards, beware a rush of steam. This can sting your eyes if you have your head too close and it hurts.

The circotherm system of this electric oven can be used as an alternative to grilling. Foods are cooked on the shelf over the roasting / grill pan at 180 /190 C. The circotherm system is great because it creates less messy splashing in the oven and cooking on two shelves is possible at once.

There is also a defrost option on the bottom oven which I have never used.

One negative point to note about this oven is that with a stainless steel exterior, the outside does get quite hot during cooking. Toddlers touching the door could get a nasty shock. In fact I think I would not want small children in the kitchen at all with this model. Our children are old enough to know better.


# Techy Stuff #
This hot electric oven has an energy efficency rating B. The slightly updated U1722 model which has now superceded this has an A rating. It is a standard size, height 77cm, depth 55cm.


# Keeping it Tip Top #
This oven is delightfully easy to keep clean from the outside. The interior glass panels do get greasy. This does not show from the outside but does show up when you open the doors. If you let the grease build up, it’s not easy to get off. The interior of my oven has never been cleaned but it isn’t too filthy since I tend to gather most debris in the grill tray which is usually at the bottom of the oven. The instruction booklet recommends regular cleaning with non abrasive or corrosive cleaners. Burnt on foods should not be scraped off with a knife but soaked with a damp cloth and washing up liquid. The doors can be taken off to aid cleaning should you have such an obsession.


# Niggles #
The oven only comes with two shelves but luckily I saved a shelf from my old oven and it was a perfect fit. If you need to use top and bottom together, two shelves may not be enough. My other main dislike is that the outside of the oven heats up, a worry if we have toddlers visiting. Within the guarantee period, the element for the bottom oven went midway through cooking a fruit cake. The Neff man said I was just unlucky and had the equivalent of a bad lightbulb. He replaced it under guarantee.


# Summary #
I am pretty happy with my oven. It looks really smart, cooks things really quickly and it is easy to use and operate. It is worth reducing the temperature to less than that recommended and also checking your food sooner than recommended to avoid burnt offerings. I love being able to check the progress of the contents through the windows, especially the bottom one as it is illuminated. I can bake nice cakes, cook a good sized family roast in it and cook three pizzas at a time in the bottom oven alone. What more could you want from an oven? In summary I award this oven four stars out of five, losing one star for a few minor niggles. It retails for around £650.

Thanks for reading.

Summary: My oven really is one hot baby.

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