The kitchen, like the ancient hearth, gathers everyone who came for food, warmth and a kind word. And her heart, the stove, is an almost sacred object, because it depends on her what you feed your loved ones with. The wisest priests and priestesses have their secrets on how to pass for the great culinary wizard, having spent as little time as possible in the kitchen. They especially appreciate the technique that saves time on cooking, as well as time to care for it. And such a function as cleaning the oven, catalytic or some other, is one of the most useful for home wizards. We will briefly review existing cleaning systems and dwell in more detail on one of them, catalytic.
Chemical cleaning of the oven, catalytic, as it is commonly called, has been used for quite some time. The principle of operation of this technology is as follows. A special material, an oxidation catalyst, is applied to the side plates of the oven along with enamel. Outwardly, it looks like a grainy surface. This material is usually cerium 4 oxide, and copper, manganese or cobalt oxides, as well as combinations thereof, can be used in the most effective cleaning plates. The catalyst accelerates the decomposition of hydrocarbons, that is, burnt fat in the oven, splitting it into organic substances - carbon and water.
The main advantage that gives you automatic cleaning of the oven (catalytic, as already mentioned) is that this process does not require your direct participation. You can literally forget about cleaning the oven. But only for a while, since manual cleaning of surfaces where there are no catalytic plates will still be necessary. The door will still require attention. However, the main cleaning will be carried out already in the process of baking or grilling, which means that it will not require additional time and energy. Another big plus: catalytic oven cleaning, unlike pyrolytic, is also available in gas ovens. This system also does not impose restrictions on the location of the oven relative to hobs and wall panels. In addition, it is quite affordable and is offered in models of not the most expensive stoves. This function is used by such well-known manufacturers as Ariston, AEG, Electrolux, Smeg, Siemens and some others.
Among the shortcomings of such cleaning, one can note the need to wash the oven, at least the bottom and the door, at least sometimes. And after several years of operation, the panels, if they are not bilateral, will have to be replaced with new ones. In general, for those in whose stove catalytic cleaning of the oven is provided, the reviews are mostly positive. But among the users of electric stoves of the latest generations, there are more and more fans of another type of automatic cleaning, pyrolysis.
Pyrolysis is the breakdown of fat and other contaminants during very strong heating without oxygen. This requires additional energy. They are not too noticeable, because such cleaning is only required from time to time. However, this system has special requirements for wiring and the location of the stove in the kitchen. Therefore, in gasified homes, its installation and use are often problematic. Some buyers are scared away by the price of such an oven, associated with the need to increase its reliability and resistance to high temperatures. In addition, the function of pyrolysis is usually equipped with multifunctional, and therefore, more expensive models.
Another way to make your work a little easier is to hydrolyze the oven. Unlike previous methods, hydrolysis is not carried out automatically and requires regular use, however, the procedure itself is quite simple. After cooking, plain water or water with a hydrolysis agent is added to the pan, after which the oven is turned on again for a short time. Such a system is somewhat less effective, is less common, and only in electric stoves.
Innovations in oven cleaning include systems such as EcoClean and Aqua Clean, created and implemented by individual manufacturers. They have a different principle of action and, accordingly, different performance, however, they are successfully applied and, most likely, will be more widely used. In addition, almost all plate manufacturers currently offer a coating that prevents the accumulation of fat. And the main measure of maintaining cleanliness remains cooking under the lid or using a baking sleeve. And yet, if you decide that you need such an “au pair” as automatic oven cleaning, the catalytic system remains one of the most affordable and, importantly, universal.