Oven Is Speedy, But Does
The Food Taste Good?

A rack of lamb or chocolate souffle in mere minutes?

When I heard about the oven by TurboChef Technologies that lets homeowners cook gourmet meals up to 15 times faster than a regular oven, I was skeptical. For someone like me -- who finds instant oatmeal tricky -- an oven this fast conjured visions of steak going up in flames or worse, mealy and flavorless microwave dinners.

So I tried it out. I went to a company showroom, and -- with the help of a company chef -- cooked a gourmet frozen pizza in two minutes, a large rack of lamb in five, a souffle in two minutes and asparagus in 45 seconds.

My test found that, if consumers don't mind the $6,000 price tag, the oven is easy to navigate and can produce a savory, three-course meal in 10 minutes. Unlike food cooked in a microwave, there was no uneven cooking or soggy crusts. The lamb came out perfectly medium and was nicely seared.

The oven, which works by using high-speed hot air and occasional microwaves, may be good for amateurs because it takes the guesswork out of cooking. The oven, not the cook, automatically chooses time and temperature. For example, when I put in the lamb, I merely selected from one of the oven's 500 cook settings -- in this case "broil," then "rack of lamb," then the approximate weight. I hit "start" and in five minutes and 25 seconds, it was done.

The faster speed can foil home cooks' rhythm. With a two-minute pizza, there's less time to set the table, do some cleanup, or linger over a glass of wine. Using your favorite existing recipes can also require some experimenting to find the most appropriate settings.

If need be, you can, of course, cook things for a longer time or take them out sooner. And quicker cooking time may indeed be convenient when entertaining for the holidays.

But then again, isn't there an element of tradition in putting a 25-pound turkey in the oven at dawn and having it roast for half the day?

Email your comments to rjeditor@dowjones.com.