I’m Obsessed with This Controversial Appliance — And It’s On Sale for Prime Day Right Now
It’s tough for me to make a big purchase. I like to think about it for weeks, months, maybe years. Or, more likely, I just continue to drop hints in the hopes that someone (my husband) gets whatever it is for me. However, there is one pricey appliance that I would buy over and over again: a June Oven. While Wirecutter gave it a nay and America’s Test Kitchen gave it a yay, I personally love it so much that I convinced my parents and my aunt to buy one, both of whom have the same anti-spending predilection as me. The good news? This pricey piece is on sale now as part of Amazon Prime Day, so if you’re spend-adverse like me, you can rest easy knowing you’re scoring a great gadget at over $250 (!!) off.
But is the June Oven something you need? Yes — and I’d even say that it’ll make your life easier.
What’s a June Oven?
The June is a countertop smart oven that functions as a convection oven, air fryer, roaster, slow cooker, dehydrator, toaster, proofer, and warming drawer. It also broils and reheats.
The oven has an intuitive touch screen, but you can set the temperature, turn the oven on and off, and choose a cooking program via an app on your phone, too. It has food recognition software, so it automatically selects a cooking program, temperature, and time based on the food you place into it. It can tell a potato is a potato, cookies are cookies, and almonds are almonds. Another cool feature? The June has a temperature probe, so that you can make, say, slow-roasted salmon and have the oven turn off as soon as the salmon reaches 130°F, so there’s no danger of overcooking. It’s compatible with Amazon Alexa, too.
And while I have an older generation, the newest June Oven Premium can act as a grill and pizza oven, with a stone fire pizza mode and optional enameled grill/griddle and pizza peel accessories. It also has heating elements that can be controlled individually, which allows for better roasting options, amongst other changes.
Why I Love It
Whether I’m making toast, cooking bacon, baking chocolate chip cookies, roasting potatoes, or air-frying french fries, June just makes it easy. You put food in the oven, touch the screen to confirm that the food recognition is correct (99% of the time it is) and that’s it. If something looks a little underdone or you want your toast a little, ahem, toastier, you can easily add extra time once the initial cook time has wrapped up. June also learns your personal preferences. For example, if you’re making medium toast but take your toast out 30 seconds before the timer wraps up, it asks if you want to calibrate the medium toast setting to be 30 seconds shorter.
I also love that it makes simple tasks basically thought-free, like toasting nuts or making croutons. I usually forget about these sorts of things, leaving them to incinerate in a normal oven, but June makes my forgetfulness impossible because it shuts off automatically after the cook setting wraps up. The same is true for the temperature probe: I don’t have to worry about temping a chicken every minute or so towards the end of cooking — when it’s done, the oven tells me.
June also really helps those who lack cooking experience. Since getting a June Oven, my husband, who previously didn’t cook at all, uses it every day. He bakes whole potatoes, cooks brownies, toasts open-face sandwiches, and roasts chicken thighs. The June gives him the confidence that he’s not going to over- or under-cook anything.
I’ve found its size to be advantageous as well. With it being larger than a toaster oven and smaller than a traditional oven, it’s perfect for two people. Unless we’re entertaining — which, uh, we do none of anymore — we rarely turn on our full-size oven. My parents, the empty nesters, almost exclusively use their June oven, too. Its compact nature has another perk: June takes about half as much time to heat up as a regular oven. Mine gets to 450°F in about 9 minutes, compared to the 20-plus minutes it takes my regular oven.
What Could Be Better About It
The June Oven is, admittedly, tedious to clean (see here). And I say that as a person who loves to clean. Obviously, the price is also a barrier, too, as the June costs anywhere from $599 to $999, depending on the model you get. Personally, I’ve found the features to be worth the cost. I’ve also had fantastic experiences with the company’s customer service. They are super responsive to email and regularly monitor this Facebook group, should any questions or problems arise.
The Bottom Line
The thousand-dollar question is: Should you buy a June oven? If you value convenience, have a smaller household, or just like the idea of an all-in-one smart oven, the June Oven might be right for you. And while, yes, it does have a hefty price tag, remember that it is replacing a lot of gadgets. With June, you don’t need a standalone air fryer, toaster oven, dehydrator, or slow cooker. I don’t even own a microwave, opting to use June’s reheat function instead. Also, again: It’s now on sale for over $250 off for Prime Day, which is not nothing!
You may need some time to think about it. And that’s OK — it means you’re like me. But if you’re ready to buy it now, I envy your decisiveness! I’ll just be over giving my husband not-so-subtle hints about how much pizza we could make in the third-generation June.