The AKZM 6692/IXL oven has an impressive 72 litre capacity and five shelf levels. Clever design touches include a soft-close door that’s gentle on food (your soufflés won’t deflate) and a “cook three” function – cook three different dishes without the flavours mixing because fans keep the air flow horizontal. There’s also a rotisserie function.
My favourite feature is the pyrolytic cleaning. You remove the wire shelves and supports, then turn on a cleaning cycle to heat it to 500°C, incinerating stains to ash that can just be wiped away afterwards. The cycle takes up to 2 hours and doors are locked throughout for safety. You get a clean oven without resorting to chemicals: a pyrolytic cycle costs just 50p in electricity.
I paired the oven with the AMW 848/IXL microwave, a high-capacity combi that doubles as an extra oven and grill. It uses a “split magnetron” with 70% of the microwaves come from the top, 30% from the bottom, for more even cooking.
The microwave comes with a grill rack and a large, plastic steamer but my favourite feature is the crisper pan. Microwaves safely heat the non-stick metal pan to 210°C for quick but non-soggy cooking. You can make quick pizzas with crisp bottoms, perfect halloumi, even “fry” eggs and bacon without oil.
I like the way the two appliances have the same controls and menus as well as matching industrial design. And I often use the microwave as an oven for extra space when cooking large family meals.
Both appliances also feature built-in recipes and use 6th Sense to do automatic cooking: recipes can sense moisture and adjust cooking time accordingly. Programs for foodies include dough proving.
They also both have an iXelium nanotech coating on the front, which fills microscopic holes on the stainless steel and glass to reduce stains and make cleaning easier
