We live in a magical time – what our parents could only dream of is being realized right before our eyes. Household and kitchen appliances are becoming more complex and diverse, but at the same time, they save personal time, give the opportunity to spend more time with the family or spend it on self-improvement. This trend has not bypassed modern ovens. In particular, the coatings used on the inner walls can significantly reduce the time required to clean the oven from burnt fat.
In this article, we will consider catalytic fat removal using the Beko BBIS13300XMSE multifunctional oven as an example .
Electric oven BEKO BBIS13300XMSE black 25 999 *
What is catalytic cleaning
For starters, what is “catalytic cleaning”? Very simple – this is a special coating (enamel) containing a substance that reduces the temperature of decomposition of fat into carbon, water and organic residues – a catalyst and an absorbent with nanoparticles. This solution allows you not to waste additional energy on the cleaning process, because the catalyst starts working from 140ĀŗŠ”, that is, right during cooking! Particles of fat scatter on the walls and immediately burn out. It would seem that everything is great? But no, this technology also has disadvantages, but more on that belowā¦
catalytic enamel
So, we open the oven and look at its contents. The sides, bottom and top surfaces are covered with normal, smooth enamel, and only the rear access panel is covered with gray, rough catalytic enamel. Why is that? There are several reasons: firstly, the catalytic coating must remain dry for proper operation, so the lower part, which often gets water, is never protected by catalytic enamel; secondly, this coating is an expensive pleasure, and manufacturers are trying to save money wherever there is such an opportunity – therefore, here it is available only on the most inaccessible part – the back panel.
Catalytic enamel never protects the entire interior surface of the oven, so manual cleaning is still necessary.
What in practice
To assess the quality of cleaning, we cook chicken thighs with potatoes in sour cream. Droplets of boiling sour cream scatter around the working chamber leaving marks on the catalytic enamel. The dots from the droplets did not disappear after the end of cooking.
Dairy and sugary foods neutralize catalytic enamel.
With a generous gesture, we apply a wide smear of fat from a baking sheet, turn on the oven at 200ĀŗŠ” and wait for the result. There is a result – most of the fat burned out, but a greasy trace remained at the site of the smear. The fact is that the composition of the enamel includes an absorbent that absorbs the remnants of decomposed hydrocarbons, but it has a certain capacity, after exceeding the limits of which the panel should be replaced. It is worth noting that in places with a small amount of fat burned completely.
Catalytic enamel is applied to panels that need to be replaced after a certain time, usually this time for constantly used ovens is 4-5 years.
Grilled chicken – very tasty, but how much cleaning she wants ā¦
Let’s try brushing off the dark spot on the back panel using a soft cloth, as recommended in many reviews of ovens with a catalytic coating. It wasn’t there! The coating is not just rough, it resembles medium-sized sandpaper – pieces of a rag remain on the surface, but it simply does not work to wipe the panel.
Manufacturers highly do not recommend wiping the surface of the catalytic surface, in order to avoid damaging its integrity. It is hard but brittle, mechanical cleaning will inevitably lead to damage.
But do not treat ovens with catalytic enamel badly – in fact, they have a number of advantages compared to other methods of cleaning ovens, which can be found in more detail at the link.
Cost
The operation of the catalytic coating does not require any effort or expense from you – you do not need to turn on the device for a special cleaning cycle with an elevated temperature of 500 Ā° C, as in devices with pyrolytic surface cleaning, or fill it with water and dive into a still hot oven to manually remove fat, like this must be done with the hydrolysis method.
From the point of view of physical, energy and time costs, the catalytic method of cleaning the oven is the most economical, it works directly in the cooking process.
The low operating temperature of the coating (from 140ĀŗŠ”) makes it possible to use the catalytic method not only for electric ovens, but also for gas ovens, which are not able to reach the operating temperatures of pyrolytic cleaning.
Versatility – catalytic coating is suitable for all types of ovens.
Catalytically cleaned ovens are more expensive than plain enamelled ovens, however pyrolytic coated systems are even more expensive. Thus, catalytic cleaning is the golden mean, which is the best choice for people who prefer to choose the best functionality for the least money.
Affordable price allows even relatively inexpensive models of ovens to be equipped with catalytic cleaning systems.
conclusions
The catalytic method of cleaning the oven has both its pros and cons, but as usual, only you can make your choice. We can only note the balance of systems with this method of cleaning and collect the pros and cons of this technology together to facilitate your choice:
pros
Profitability, does not require additional energy costs;
Versatility, suitable for all types of ovens;
Availability, price with catalytic cleaning does not significantly affect the price;
There is no need for special cleaning cycles.
Minuses
Labor-intensive mechanical cleaning of the panel, if necessary;
Catalytic enamel does not cover the entire surface of the working chamber;
The service life of the panels is limited;
Dairy and sugary foods will neutralize the catalyst;
Catalytic enamel does not protect the entire surface of the working chamber.
