LG's new convection ovens poised to compete with high-end brands
The Korean appliance company announced the addition of ProBake Convection, a feature that LG says will improve multirack baking and speed up preheating.
LG announced over the weekend six new ovens that will have ProBake Convection, a feature that LG says will improve multirack baking and speed up preheat times. The Korean appliance company's first set of ProBake ranges includes gas and electric models with single or double cavities. They will be available in September for $1,299 to $1,899.
We've seen ovens with technology similar to LG's ProBake Convection but with names such as pure convection, true convection or European convection. Typically, ovens with convection baking options have heating elements in the top and bottom of the oven cavity and a convection fan in the middle of the back wall. The fan circulates the hot air inside the oven to create more even temperature throughout the oven cavity and cook food faster than a traditional oven. With ProBake Convection, LG put the heating element around the convection fan so the air is heated as it circulates throughout the oven. It's a feature that's often included in high-end brand ovens such as the $6,320 Dacor ER30DSCH . But mainstream manufacturers have also started including true convection capability in their ovens, such as the Samsung NE58F9710WS Slide-In Electric Range with Flex Duo Oven .
LG's inclusion of true convection shows the company's continued goal to bring this cooking technology to a broader audience. They started with the LG LRG3085ST Freestanding Gas Oven , but have completely eliminated the bottom heating element. This gives the ProBake ovens a slightly larger capacity than its conventional models, which ranges from 6.3 to 7.3 cubic feet of space depending on the model. I'm eager to see how LG's continued interpretation of true convection stacks up against more expensive brands like Dacor that have used this technology for decades.