http://www.geappliances.com/advantium/about/
It uses light??
WTF??
Anyone have the dope on this technology?
It uses high intensity halogen light for high speed radiant cooking akin to a conventional oven, only faster because the heat source is more intense and focused.
http://www.technocopia.com/gadgets-19991125-ovens.html
"Some manufacturers are basing their new models on high-temperature halogen lamps, others on jets of ultra-hot air. Some supplement these technologies with microwaves-and double as microwave ovens-while others do not. All have automated menu or time-setting features for cooking, and most include conversion charts or features so that you can easily recalculate your conventional recipes for the new technology.
Editor’s Note: You ain’t seen nothing yet—it may soon be possible to download recipes from the Internet directly into your oven’s memory. —Colleen
General Electric Co. is early out of the gate with its new Advantium oven, which uses a halogen technology supplemented with timed bursts of microwave energy to cook your food in record time while retaining the taste, appearance, and textural effects of conventional ovens.
Halogen-light cooking has been used in commercial kitchens for years, and experts report that halogen-cooked meals taste as good as, or better than, those cooked in conventional ovens. The Advantium also offers an eighty-meal preprogrammed menu, and can also be used in “microwave-only” mode. One downside of the halogen technology, however, is that you can’t use paper or plastic dishes in the oven—they’ll melt from the high temperatures.
GE, believing the Advantium will be a big seller, has earmarked $50 million dollars for its advertising and promotion. The Wall Street Journal (10/18/99) quotes vice president of marketing Jeff Moody as predicting strong sales throughout 2000: “If it takes as long [to catch on] as a microwave did,” he says, “I’d be disappointed.”
GE licensed technology from Quadlux, which last year introduced its FlashBake 120 halogen-based oven for about $1600. It doesn’t include microwave technology, but uses instead “thermal-pulsing” technology (a combination of infrared and halogen) to direct heat onto and into (via absorption) the food. The FlashBake also has one truly neat advantage—it can be plugged into a regular socket like a microwave, instead of having to be hardwired in like a conventional oven."
Cool, Thanks Astro. Just a tiny bit out of my price range.
Ooh! I didn’t know anyone had shipped a consumer level product with Flashbake. The last I heard, their only product was a commercial pizza oven that can cook pizza in 3 minutes. I always wanted to start a Flashbake pizza shop with motorcycle delivery in a limited area, my slogan would be “we deliver in 15 minutes or it’s free!”