Samsung Smart Oven (MC32F606) review

Replacing a fridge, or especially an oven, is usually a big decision and often goes hand-in-hand with a whole new kitchen. Even then, the benefits of your appliances are usually incremental, they do the same job, just better. Buy a new microwave oven, on the other hand, and you can slap it down on your counter top today and some will even give you some surprising new benefits. The Samsung Smart Oven (MC32F606) may not be called a microwave, but that’s essentially what it is.

Before we get into fancy extra features, it’s worth pointing out this isn’t just any old microwave. With built-in grill and convection oven elements, it’s a full-on combination device, plus the interior has a ceramic enamel finish for easy cleaning and longevity. But then at around £330, you’d certainly expect a lot for your money.

One clever piece of technology is the Smart Multi Sensor, which uses IR and humidity sensors to constantly monitor the conditions in the oven and the surface temperature of the food that is being cooked or defrosted. Using the information provided, it then adjusts settings and cooking times on the fly. This makes program modes far more effective as they are tailored to the nature of the food you’re cooking, rather than simply being guesses calculated from you telling the oven, what type of food it is and its weight.

Fancy features are also on offer. The most universal is the air-frying mode, that creates crispy, fried-style food using on a tablespoon of oil. We tried some chips from the oven and they were crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle.

Then there’s the automatic dough proving mode, which anyone who’s taken up baking seriously, after too many episodes of The Great British Bake Off, should find very handy. Last, but not least, is the yoghurt making function, which can make one litre of yoghurt from one litre of milk overnight, all you need is to add a single spoon of yoghurt to provide an initial culture.

It looks and feels great too, and we’re looking forward to getting one to test later in the year.