I have been a huge fan of the Anova SV stick and have it in use for years now. It is so much fun to use and extremely accurate.
Now my next endeavour…:-). I have been seeking for a combi-oven for home use for a while now. I really like gastro gears, but the convection ovens like RATIONAL etc. are much to big for home use as they seem to work with 1/1 GN (Gastronorm) trays only. Now I an searching for an oven that is compatible to 1/2 GN format.
I excitedly followed the development of the Anova oven from the beginning and it seems a good fit to our requirements in general. But from the measurements I am not so sure. Reading the tech specs 1/2 GN containers may not fit in this oven without using the trays that come with it?
Did I get something wrong here? Is there anyone out in the community who is using GNs and give me some hints?
I had to find out what is GastroNorm - GN - and found this at the Wikipedia
Professional kitchen equipment from America are often not built according to Gastronorm, but rather to national non-metric size standards. Both Gastronorm and non-Gastronorm pans are sometimes referred to as “hotel pans”, “steam table pans”, “service pans” or “counter pans”,
[ but such names do not say anything about the underlying standard which the equipment is constructed according to. Similar to Gastronorm, the American hotel pan system is based on a system of fractions, but with measurements which are non-metric and incompatible with Gastronorm. Hence, US pans can also be stacked and fit inside each other, similar to Gastronorm, but the two systems are incompatible.]
Hi Martin, lamentably, as a result of the pandemic many restaurants may not survive this year.
As a result you might be able to get a small used countertop RATIONAL at a good price from a used foodservice equipment store. Yes, it accommodates the 1/1 pans, but it’s not much larger than the Anova oven. Before buying one check your counter depth for fit.
They are rugged and long lasting in constant use, not really meant for home use. Therefore $10X the Anova price. Parts are always available too if there is a problem. I had one of the first Rational countertop models in 1976 and it was the heart of my kitchen. If you get one be sure to install their recommended in-line water filter.
You should be able to buy GN pans from the same source.
Hi Douglas, yes, GN stands for GastroNorm which is THE standard here in Europe. Everythings fits nicely together, you don´t have to deal with extra trays etc. There are alternatives e.g. in the US but they all follow a similar systematic approach. So you can prep you bread roles on a silicon try and directly put them in the oven without baking paper or additional tooling.
Hi Chatnoir, correct, we see that in Germany as well. But these 1/1 oven have massive dimensions and that´s why I thought about an alternative like the Anova oven.
The outer dimension of the APO’s wire racks is exactly the same as the inner dimension of an American half-sheet pan (I believe this is the same as a 1/2 GN pan). You can even use wire racks meant to go inside a GN pan as replacement shelves for the APO.
But of course this means standard half-sheet/GN pans do not fit, because with the taper and rolled edge on these pans they are about 1cm larger outside than inside. And that is why every single accessory that goes inside the APO has to be special - why you cannot use standard 1/2 pans, why they have to make a special perforated pan (that they’re always out of), why you have to put your pizza steel on a rack, etc.
My guess? Either the designer screwed up and it got too far into the manufacturing process before they caught it, or maybe they got a super great deal on the tooling for the oven interior from someone else who screwed up that way…