Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1 Microwave Oven with Air Fryer, Convection Bake, FlashXpress Broiler, Inverter Microwave Technology, 1000W, 1.2 cu ft with Easy Clean Interior - NN-CD87KS (Stainless Steel)

I replaced a 35 year old Panasonic microwave that was still working. The transition to the microwave function was easy, including defrosting. I read that there was a big learning curve for this 4 in 1 combo. I practiced by twice making cheesy potatoes with the straight convection and then the combo 1 to compare results. I also have learned to use the broiler. I plan on learning each function as I need to use it, including the air fryer. It has been a godsend this week when my traditional oven igniter stopped working. So far, after over a month, I am very pleased with this appliance, including appearance, function, and versatility. The learning curve is true, but not overwhelming. It is a bit noisier because the cooling fan continues after the cooking is done, but it is not an annoyance to me. I would definitely recommend this product.

I had been using a Sharp Carousel microwave (with a power rating of 1100 W) for over 20 years. The Panasonic differs in 3 respect: it uses the newer “inversion” technology, the microwave is rated at only 1000 W, and it has a grilling element on top. It’s taken me a while to adapt (and I’m still modifying my old recipes) but I’ve reached some conclusions. First, the inversion technology really does heat the food more evenly, and makes the device much more useful. I was often reluctant to defrost food with my older machine because the surface 1-2 inches would get too warm while deeper food remained icy. And for the same reason, I rarely cooked any food in it (even homogeneous items like a hamburger). With inversion technology the food heats more evenly and I’ve started to use it for simple meals. At only 1000 W, it takes a little longer to cook food than I would like, but I assume that they reduced the power of the microwave to divert power to to grilling elements. It used to take me 1 min 20 sec to heat water for instant coffee - now it takes 1 min 40 sec; and I could make one potato in 7 minutes while now it takes 7 min 30 sec. This is not a big deal, but I would have preferred a 1100 - 1200 W microwave. Finally, the grilling element is a really nice feature. Previously (in my old microwave), frozen fish fillets came out watery. If made in my toaster oven it took 22 minutes (as specified on the fish carton). With the Panasonic, using combined grilling and microwaving, the fillets cook in 4-1/2 minutes and come out fully cooked and crisp!I’ve noticed many complaints about the machine’s power - especially with the grill. It’s not really discussed in the user manual (but a it was discussed in the manual fro another Panasonic device and it appears to apply to this model as well) - when one selects “combined microwave + grill” the microwave power is reduced to 40% and only one of the 2 grilling elements glow. I assume that this was done to prevent too much power from being used, and possibly to slow the cooking rate down - but it does reduce the power. I have found that for some foods it’s better to use the microwave and grill sequentially rather than simultaneously (For example, I cook frozen french fries using the microwave at power 8 and then brown them with the grill on high power). But for some foods it’s simpler just to use the combination. It takes a bit of experimentation to figure out the best settings for each meal - but having the grill available really does help. It’s simpler than using 2 appliances and foods come out evenly cooked and crispy.On the down-side, the keyboard is poorly thought out. I am used to a numeric keyboard. If I want to cook a thing Power 3 I would press “Power” and the number “3”. With this machine you have to press the Power button repeatedly as it counts down from 10 to 3 with each push. And there are 3 buttons to set the time - one for units of 10 min, one for units of 1 min, and one for units of 10 seconds. (You can’t heat something for 8 seconds or 15 seconds - you can only enter time in 10 second intervals!) Again, it would be so much simpler to press “Time” and then 1-4-0 (for 1 min 40 sec) than to press the 1 min button once and the 10 second button 4 times. I have a few other minor issues with the keyboard, but they are less important. Also as noted, the interior light is too small.All in all, I think this microwave has proven to be more useful than my older machine and I am very happy with the purchase. But due to the reduced microwave power and it’s complicated keyboard system, it gets only 4 out of 5 stars.

First, this is a great appliance. Had a Panasonic microwave for years 10+ years that worked flawlessly and would still have it except that the door opening button/mechanism broke. That’s how I ended up in the market for a new one, and Panasonic was my default first choice.We also had an old, beat up toaster oven that lived in our pantry and we would have to drag it out and set it up on the counter to use it. It was the right tool for many jobs where a microwave just wouldn’t do the food justice: reheating pizza, poultry or fish with the skin, or pretty much anything that should be crispy. It made a super useful small oven for when I wanted to cook or heat something too small to warrant heating up the whole over (and house). As convenient as this item was, it didn’t get as much use as it would have if we had the counter space to keep it out and ready to go all the time (we don’t). So, when I saw Panasonic was making combination units like these… it was a natural fit!When I saw this particular unit, it checked all the boxes. A microwave AND a toaster oven? Having a second mini oven just sitting out on my counter is super awesome. We use this thing all the time to roast and reheat and even do some baking. Not only is this a “toaster oven”, it’s a CONVECTION oven. This thing makes awesome chicken wings and does a great job crisping up things.But it’s got more. It’s got a broil option and an AIRFRY option. What?The broil is really just “toast”, but it gets the job done. Well. Some jobs. It can make toast and does “broil”, but the element is under-powered. I’ve tried broiling steaks, pork chops, etc… it never really works out how I imagine it will. I’ve had no luck getting a decent crust to form, or even anything remotely resembling a sear. This might be because the bottom plate still spins on the broil setting and this is probably because the heating element is only proving direct heat on about half space. Whatever the reasons, the result is that long before you will get good browning, the meat will be cooked through. This is disappointing to say the least. It’s actually, I would say, inferior to a standard toaster over or convection toaster oven in these use cases.The next let down, and it is more of a mixed bag here, is the air fry function. Now, a thinking human might ask a basic question here: “what exactly is ‘airfrying’”? And the answer from what I can tell appears to be: marketing. See, if you’re unfamiliar with the concept, there no such thing as frying something with air. Frying requires fat. Now, the idea is that you can emulate/simulate/mimic the results of deep frying a food in fat by instead coating it in a thin layer of far (coat it with some oil by tossing in a bowl or use a spray) and then subjecting it to dry heat where the air is moving very fast. If that sounds a lot like convection, that’s because it is. Most air fryers have much smaller compartments that the spacious interior of this unit. That helps allow the fryer to get all the air on the inside moving quickly enough and maintain the temperature of that air even at higher temps.On this Panasonic, the only difference that I can tell of the Air Fry mode is 2 fold: 1) supposedly the unit runs the convection fan at a higher speed/more consistently, and 2) there’s no temperature control at all. That second part is quite odd to me. I’ve not seen any other air fryer on the market without a temperature control. I guess on this unit the temperature is cranked all the way up for the Air Fry setting? It’s hard to know, you see, because neither the manual, nor the marketing materials are clear on just exactly what it’s doing differently in this mode. But, I can tell you this: it’s not a particularly effective “air frier” compared to other options out there. I don’t have first-hand experience here, I’m just going based on the many Air Frier recipes and videos I’ve tried to follow and gotten nothing close to the results promised, and in some cases the results I clearly observed in the videos (of the recipe creator who is of course using a uni-tasker air frier).This is not to say that the air fry function on the unit doesn’t sometimes prove useful and offer good results for me—just that calling this an air frier and expecting it to stand up to dedicated air frier appliances is a bit of an overstatement. For me, this is a let down, but not a deal breaker by any means.To summarize: f you’re looking at this because you primarily want an air frier and are intrigued that this might also eliminate your need for a separate microwave on your counter, stop now and reconsider. Or try one out first before you commit to the admittedly high price tag here. Be prepared to be disappointed and end up returning it. If, on the other hand, you are looking primarily for a great microwave and you think having the other features would be nice, then definitely consider this. Just be aware that you may still end up wanting/needing to buy a dedicated air frier if that is something that’s important to you.This same point should be taken with the broil/toaster function. If you’re looking for something to sear cuts of meats, or if you toast bread a lot, this might not be the droid you’re looking for. If those features are just nice to haves that you think would be handy in some niche kitchen scenarios, then by all means consider this.I hope Panasonic improves on this design and concept, because it really is a nice overall appliance. It’s great microwave (though lower power than my last Panasonic—something which I’m occasionally reminded of when reheating large items). And it’s also a great convection oven, although preheat times are slow and heat loss when you open the door to put your food in is a big issue (it’s a problem with any oven really, but the small size here makes it a bigger problem, I think). But the notion of a single appliance on your counter that can microwave, bake, roast, broil, air fry, and everything else is an awesome one. I haven’t seen any competitor bring a unit to market with a broad a set of features. The combo cook modes are especially compelling (for example it can microwave and then automatically broil to crisp something up… something it does better in theory than reality, but does work well for some kinds of things like casseroles). I could see this being especially handy in an RV, cabin, or dorm room situation. This and an Instant Pot would be all you’d need! This is welcome addition to my kitchen as is, but a 2nd gen option needs to increase the wattage on the microwave, GREATLY increase the power of the broiler, and improve the air fry feature to better serve in that role and compete with actual air friers out there.Last note is that this thing comes with 3 accessories required for its use: a metal plate that the manual insists is required when using any of the non-microwave cook settings without ever explaining WHY this would be (it doesn’t SEEM like it should be… but I don’t know if I want to risk it to find out), a metal rack that puts the food more in the center of the oven, and a metal basket that the manual insists MUST be used when air frying and MUST NOT be used when baking/broiling etc. Again, without explaining why. What? I mean, that makes no sense. It would be really helpful, Panasonic (if you are listening), to explain to your customers the reasoning behind the instructions in cases where it’s not at all obvious. I mean, is this just a recommendation? Because it’s written as a requirement and even as a recommendation, I don’t see the rationale. I’ve used my basket in convection mode and nothing has exploded and I’ve used air fry mode with just the metal rack and it was fine… so…This does add a bit of complexity. The controls are also somewhat non-intuitive and you’ll have to actually read the manual if you actually plan to use the many features of this thing. The different rules for which things you need to use when cooking on which modes and which things not to use on which modes seems more cumbersome than it would be if it was explained why and increases the learning curve a bit.One last word of caution: if you are someone who uses a microwave lid (you know, those plastic covers that keep the food you’re heating from splattering inside the microwave), get rid of that. Eventually, sooner or later, you will leave that in the oven and forget it’s in there and preheat the convection oven only to find it’s melted (or worse). Since microwaves are things we have historically not had to worry about melting/combusting things, having one that is also an actual oven does require a slight shift of mindset and alertness when it comes to old habits. No one would ever leave a plastic lid in a real oven, but with a microwave one might do so without a second thought. So, yeah, just something worth consciously noting in your brain right from the get go, rather than waiting until you melt or ignite something. I, personally, am above such errors and mistakes, of course. This is in no way rooted in my own shameful “teachable moment”. Of course not.