Countertop Pizza Oven

Ooni Koda Pizza Oven Review

July 12, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

Ooni Koda is a Gas Powered Pizza Oven and in this review, we are going to talk about everything that you need to know about this new Pizza Oven.

The Ooni Pro and the Ooni 3 Pizza Ovens have been amazing and if you have been reading this blog then you know how much we love the Ooni Pro.

So, having a new release from Ooni was not only exciting but it piqued my curiosity to know where the Ooni Koda stands among the other two pizza ovens.

We have separate comparison posts as well, so make sure you check that out but for now, let’s dive into the review.

Design and Built of the Ooni Koda

The design of the Ooni Koda Pizza Oven slightly reminds me of the Napoli Pizza Oven except that the Ooni Koda has a Stainless Steel Finish.

The pizza oven has a stainless steel finish and the oven has pretty good heat retention. The oven also comes with a cordierite pizza stone which cooks the base of the pizza evenly.

The oven is light in weight and portable so you can easily carry it around if you want to take it along with you on trips or for camping.

Now, comparing the Ooni Koda with the Unni Pro, the Ooni Pro is a lot heavier and even though the oven is portable, it is definitely a task to carry it around as it is more than twice the weight of the Koda.

The Ooni Koda is designed in such a way that you do not need to install it, all you have to do is pull it out of the box, extend the folded legs of the oven and place the cordierite pizza stone and get started with the cooking.

This makes getting started with the Ooni Koda Pizza Oven really easy and once you have a gas tank with you, you can even get started with making pizzas on the oven.

Fuel used by the oven

The Oven is gas-fueled unlike the other models from Ooni which are multi-fueled.

The Ooni 3 which was really popular when released was a wood-fired pizza oven in the beginning and then they added a gas burner component making it multi-fueled.

This oven, on the other hand, is only gas-fueled and you cannot use wood as a fuel. Using the gas-fueled oven is really easy as you just need 15 minutes so that the pizza oven reaches the optimal temperature for cooking.

Make sure you have a temperature monitor so that you can see the exact temperature that different parts of the oven are and place the pizza inside the oven only when you feel it is right to do so.

The IF Thermometer is the one I like to use as I do not need to touch the pizza oven to know the temperature and can do so by just pointing the laser at the areas whose temperature I want to measure.

Cooking Pizzas Inside the oven

Cooking Pizzas inside the Ooni Koda is pretty simple as you just need to attach the propane gas tank to the oven and get it fired up.

The oven would take about 15-20 minutes to reach the temperature desired and once you have checked the temperature using the IF thermometer making sure it is above 400-degree Celsius, you can pop the pizza inside the oven.

Now, cooking a pizza inside the oven is easy as well since you just need to wait for 2 minutes or sometimes even less at higher temperatures and keep turning the pizza using a pizza peel so that you have a pizza that is evenly cooked from all sides.

One of the downsides of the oven is that the pizza peel comes without a handle, I usually prefer the handle as it makes rotating the pizza a lot easier and I do not need to be near the oven to turn around the pizza.

I would link to the pizza peel I usually use, but if you already have one that you feel comfortable with then go ahead and use that one. Click here to check out my favorite pizza peel…

Once the pizza has some leopard spots, the toppings are cooked to perfection and there is that perfect cheese melt, your pizza is ready.

The Pizzas cooked inside this oven are amazing and once you taste them, you are not going to ever eat a pizza outside. You can customize your pizza and cook thin crust or deep dish according to your needs.

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Maintenance

Since you are not using wood pellets like Ooni 3, it is much easier to clean up the pizza oven. There is not much soot that would be produced in comparison to a wood-fired pizza oven.

The design of the oven makes it really easy to wipe it down with a wet cloth and if you are too much into cleaning then you can do some thorough cleaning with dish soap and water once in a while.

Overall, cleaning and maintaining the pizza oven is really easy. If you have kept it outdoors, then I would definitely suggest that you wipe it down once before you get started with cooking on it.

Final Thoughts on the Ooni Koda

Ooni Koda is a REALLY nice pizza oven that I would definitely recommend. It is an affordable outdoor pizza oven that can help you make pizzas in less than 2 minutes.

You can easily host pizza parties or have small family get-togethers where everyone would enjoy some hot, freshly made pies.

The oven is not as versatile as the Ooni 3 or the Ooni Pro pizza ovens but if you are looking for a gas-fueled pizza oven that gives you the best-cooked pies then you are not going to be disappointed by this model from Ooni.

It is portable as well and much lighter in weight than the Ooni Pro, so if you want an oven that works amazingly well and you can carry it around easily then Ooni Koda should be your choice.

Overall, I like this lightweight and compact pizza oven which is so easy to use without too many issues.

==> Click here for the best deals on Ooni Koda Pizza Oven

If you were planning to buy this oven then I would say you SHOULD go for it. Check out the pizza oven and let us know what you think in the comments below!

Which one of the Ooni pizza ovens is your favorite? If you have any experiences with the Ooni pizza ovens then let us know about it in the comments below!

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Ooni Koda vs Ooni 3 Pizza Oven

July 9, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

Ooni Koda is the newest released pizza oven from Ooni and the Ooni 3 Pizza Oven is the OG of pizza ovens. With their prices, nearly the same, both the pizza ovens have a lot to offer.

Ooni has changed the whole game when it comes to making Neopolitan pizzas at home. They have pizza ovens that are so affordable in comparison to most of the wood-fired pizza ovens and the ovens work amazingly well.

So coming back to comparing the two pizza ovens, it is definitely going to be interesting as both the ovens have some really amazing features.

Without wasting any more time let’s get comparing the two ovens-

1. Design and Built of the Pizza Ovens

The design of the Ooni 3 and the Ooni Koda pizza ovens are a little different when it comes to the designs of the pizza ovens.

The Ooni 3 comes with a door, a chimney so that there would be a way for the smoke from the burning wood pellets to flow out. The Ooni 3 needs around 5 minutes to be set up whereas you do not need to do anything as such with Koda.

One of hte major differences among the two ovens is that one was supposed to be a wood-fired pizza oven (Ooni 3) and the other one is a gas-fueled pizza oven(Ooni Koda).

So there are going to be some obvious design differences like the Ooni 3 has some space at the back to burn wood pellets while the Ooni Koda just has an outlet for you to connect it to the gas tank.

Both the ovens do the job well but when you look at them you can clearly tell they are both different when it comes to their design and this is mainly because they are slightly different kind of pizza ovens.

Now when you look at the weight of the pizza ovens, both of them are around 10 kgs which is pretty lightweight for an outdoor pizza oven.

They are easily portable and you can carry them around with you on road trips or when you go camping.

Fuel used by the pizza ovens

The Ooni 3 pizza oven is multi-fueled as you can use wood pellets or gas to fuel the pizza oven. You need to buy the gas burner attachment separately since originally it was just a wood-fired pizza oven.

The Ooni Koda, on the other hand, has the gas attachment inside it and all you need to do is connect it to a gas tank. So basically, you have everything already installed in the Ooni Koda.

If you are looking for a pizza oven that can work as both wood-fired pizza oven and gas-fueled pizza oven then you would like the Ooni 3 but if you are someone who is not that into wood-fired pizza ovens and just wants a nicely cooked pizza then you would love Ooni Koda.

Now, the real question is, if you add the Ooni 3 and the gas burner attachment cost it comes almost to the same price as that of the Ooni Koda.

So, is the Ooni Koda really worth it? Actually, there are so many users who found the Ooni 3 much easier to use with the gas burner. You do not constantly need to add wood pellets which vanish so soon and the heat remains constant.

I personally feel the Ooni 3 gas burner made things so easier to cook inside the Ooni Pizza Oven. It got heated up faster, no need to constantly feed wood pellets and the pizza tasted pretty much the same.

Ooni 3 wood pellets — Ooni 3 Wood Pellets

So, in all honesty, I’m all for the gas burner or the gas-fueled oven but in the case you want to have an option of using wood as a fuel as well sometimes, then you should definitely check out the Ooni 3.

Another important point that you should consider is that attaching the gas burner to the Ooni 3 and even assembling the pizza oven is a real pain. So if you want to skip all these things then directly click on the link below and shop the Ooni Koda Pizza Oven.

Cooking Pizzas Inside the oven…

Cooking Pizzas inside both the ovens was a pretty easy process although I must add, Ooni Koda is much easier to manage as all you need to do is adjust the knob in order to manage the flame of the pizza oven.

But overall the pizzas are cooked in the same way in both the ovens. You can cook 12-inch pizzas in both the ovens as their dimensions are pretty much the same.

You would be placing your pizza on top of the cordierite stone which helps in distributing heat evenly on the base of your pizzas.

Ooni Kodi Review — Cooking with Ooni Kodi

cooking a pizza inside the oven is easy as well since you just need to wait for 2 minutes or sometimes even less at higher temperatures and keep turning the pizza using a pizza peel so that you have a pizza that is evenly cooked from all sides.

I would link to the pizza peel I usually use, but if you already have one that you feel comfortable with then go ahead and use that one. Click here to check out my favorite pizza peel…

Once the pizza has some leopard spots, the toppings are cooked to perfection and there is that perfect cheese melt, your pizza is ready.

The taste of the pizzas cooked inside both the ovens is amazing and once you eat them you are never going to want to eat outside.

Overall, cooking is pretty much the same with both the ovens.

My Final Thoughts

If you are not that into wood-fired pizza ovens and just want an oven that would give you an authentic pizza, then you can go for the Ooni Koda.

The Ooni Koda is so much easier to set up since all you got to do is pull the oven out of the box, unfold the legs of the oven, place the cordierite stone and get started with the cooking.

==> Check out the best offers on Ooni Koda Pizza Oven

The Ooni 3 requires atleast 5 minutes or even more for the assembly and you need to keep adding wood pellets every 5 minutes to keep the temperature of hte oven constant.

With the Ooni 3, you even have the gas burner attachment which makes cooking similar to the Ooni Koda but fixing it to the oven was a real pain to me.

==> Check out the best offers on Ooni 3 Pizza Oven

So consider the points above and choose the pizza oven carefully. Personally, I would go with the Koda as it makes things so much easier.

Which pizza Oven is your favorite among the Ooni 3 and Ooni Koda?

If you have any experiences with these pizza ovens then do share them with us!

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Can I use Feta Cheese on my Pizza?

June 13, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

While we are at it talking about different cheese and if you can add them on your pizza or not, Feta cheese is the one of the most popular cheese and most of the people are confused if you can add them on pizzas or not.

I believe it is a personal choice but if you ask me I do not add it to my pizza. Not that it is a bad cheese or it makes the pizza taste bad, but to me, it just does not make any difference.

There are different kind of cheeses that are added in a pizza based on their taste and texture. In the case of feta cheese, neither does it melt like Gouda cheese nor does it give a stringy texture like the Mozzarella cheese.

So, does it still make sense to add feta cheese in my pizza?

Well, atleast for me it does not but if you are someone who fancies feta cheese and think that it can never go wrong with any dish then you are most welcome to use it.

However, if you are reading this post just to know if this is an ideal cheese for pizza then I would say NO, it’s not. You have way better cheeses out that that have textures that go well with pizzas and you can try them out.

What are the types of cheeses you should use in Pizza?

Personally, I would say Mozerella cheese is hte best pizza cheese. Well, it is called pizza cheese for a reason, it is stringy gives a hint of creamy flavor and not that overpowering.

Freshly made mozzarella cheese is ideal for cooking as with high moisture content in it you get the perfect bowing effect that you are looking for on your pizza.

I like to mix a little bit of cheddar and provolone cheese but both these kinds of cheese alone cannot be used on teh pizza as they are just not made for that higher temperature cooking.

If you just add these cheese you would see that the fat separates from the cheese giving it a not so appealing look.

This does not happen in the case of Mozerella cheese and it browns really well because of the high moisture content as well.

What about Feta?

Feta can be used on top of cheese but it is not going to melt or give a stringy texture. Honestly, I do not see it performing well with dishes where you expect the cheese to either melt or give a good texture once it undergoes heat.

It is good to put in salads and other dishes where it does not come in direct contact with heat but otherwise you might want to reconsider your cheese options if you are thinking that it will go well with pizzas.

In my opinion, it is better to add it later if you are into this cheese, like on top of a slice or something otherwise, itis best to stick with Mozerella cheese and cheddar cheese mix for your pizzas.

Do you use Feta on your pizza? Let us know in the comments below!

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How to use Cheddar Cheese on a Pizza?

June 11, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

Cheddar Cheese is another kind of cheese that has a really sharp taste and can go anywhere from being milky white in color to orangish yellow.

This cheese is used in many dishes because of its amazing flavor and one of my favorite dishes that have loads of cheddar cheese in it is Mac and Cheese.

This is probably one of the best things you have eaten in your childhood and you already know how cheddar cheese can add a lot of flavor to any dish.

Cheddar cheese cannot give your pizza that stringy texture but when mixed with Mozzarella it sure adds a lot of flavor to your pizza.

I do add some cheddar cheese in my pizza cheese blend that has a mix of Mozzarella cheese, Provolone cheese, and Cheddar Cheese.

Does adding Cheddar Cheese in Pizza Helps?

Ofcourse, you ahve to add some cheddar cheese in your pizza. Well, you might need to add some mozzarella for that stringy texture but if you want to get that amazing sharp flavor then you can add cheddar cheese as per to your liking.

Having only cheddar cheese on your pizza might not be as a good idea as mixing cheddar and Moerella cheese in order to get the perfect cheese blend where you get the wonderful taste and the stringy texture.

There are different kind of cheeses that you can add to your cheese blend giving your pizza a unique taste.

For example, if you want to have a nice cheese melt on your pizza then you can add some softer cheese like Taleggio in order to get that creamy taste.

The key is to make sure that your pizza cheese blend has the right proportions of all the different cheese that you are going to add in your pizza.

Getting that perfect pizza

A lot of people think that the more cheese you add in your pizza, the better your pizza is going to taste. Now, as much as I like the idea of it, sadly it is not true.

If you really want to get the perfect pizza then you have to balance the cheese and the pizza crust and the toppings.

The best part about a pizza is having a perfectly cooked pizza crust, if you have a soggy pizza crust then everything else just falls apart.

Now, you need to have the perfect crust and toppings of your choice and then comes adding the right amount of cheese so that you get the perfect texture and taste as needed in your pizza.

Personally, I like adding a lot of veggies in order to give a nice crunch to my pizza but I do make sure that I do not overload the pizza with a lot of them.

Once done with that I just sprinkle some cheese on top of the pizza according to my linking and then cook it in my Uuni Pro pizza oven.

The overall result is simply amazing and I can say that adding cheddar cheese does add that much-needed flavor in the pizza.

I love all the cheeses that I use in my pizza cheese blend and I can never go without cheddar cheese in it.

Sometimes when I do not have the time, I just get some cheddar cheese and mix it in 50-50 ratio with the Mozerella cheese in order to get the perfect taste.

This is one of my favorite pizza cheese blends and let me know yours in the comments below.

Cheddar cheese is a crucial cheese that I add in my pizzas and if you have not tried adding it in your pizza yet then I would definitely recommend that you do so.

It packs in a lot of flavors and a little bit goes a long way. You can experiment by mixing it with different kinds of cheese as well and adding it on your pizza.

Let me know how you use cheddar cheese on your pizza and if you mix it with any other kind of cheese.

Share your experiences in the comments below as it really helps our readers!

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Provolone vs Mozzarella – It is a Cheesy war!

June 7, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

Provolone and Mozzarella are both kinds of cheese that you are going to use on a pizza but the main question that arises is what do they do and how do they make pizzas taste better.

The Provolone and Mozzarella cheese are different from each other in a lot of ways including the taste as well. The Provolone cheese is cured while the Mozzarella cheese is freshly made and needs to be consumed at the earliest.

You even have low moisture Mozzarella which is the one that you get in packets in a supermarket. This cheese is made in a way that it lasts longer but it has less flavor in comparison to the freshly made mozzarella.

The freshly made mozzarella is something I usually choose while making pizzas as it gives the pizzas a really authentic and fresh taste. Overall, the freshly made Mozzarella is something you should definitely try.

Provolone Cheese

Provolone Cheese is cured and they come as large solid blocks of cheese that are hung outside because as they get older, their taste gets sharper.

They taste pretty good with bacon and meat, so if you want to go with these as your pizza toppings then you might want to not miss putting this cheese in your pizza.

The Provolone cheese when fresh has a slightly milkier and sweeter taste but when it gets old you get a sharp taste so adding even a little bit on your pizza is going enhance the flavor of the pizza.

Provolone can be kept as long as you want as well as it won’t go bad in taste, actually, it gets better. It has a nice smoky flavor to it and when used in pizza cheese blends it really gives a whole new twist to the pizza.

Along with the crispy crust and the well-cooked toppings, you get a creamy, sharp flavor with every bite taking the pizza to a whole new level.

How aged Provolone cheese are we talking about?

When it comes to the aging of cheese, it is very common to find cheese in supermarkets which are sold as aged but can actually be underaged.

It is more advisable to get cheese from someone who specializes in making them rather than getting them off the counter in a supermarket from a particular brand.

The problem that I usually find with such cheese is that they are really heavy on additives and are highly processed as well with a very high level of sodium.

Now, this not only affects the taste of the cheese but it is also going to be a lot unhealthier because it is heavily processed.

Try getting cheese from a place that specializes in cheese making. If you are someone who is health conscious then definitely do not go for teh cheese that you get in supermarkets.

Provolone cheese has to have the perfect taste so that it does not taste either too milky or way too sharp. Too sharp taste can actually ruin the dish so you need to find something that is perfect for your liking.

The Provolone cheese is the one that gives pizzas a nice sharp taste and is an essential type of cheese in my pizza cheese blend.

Moving on to the other kind of cheese…

Mozzarella Cheese

Mozzarella Cheese is another kind of cheese which is heavily used in pizzas and it kind of gives pizzas that stringy texture that we are looking for.

Even Mozerella Cheese has different types of them are in this post we are going to discuss everything about different kinds of Mozerella cheese.

The one which you usually get in the supermarket, atleast where I live is the low moisture mozzarella cheese/pizza cheese. Now, this cheese is low in moisture content and it can be stored for a really long time.

Another thing about this cheese is that it has added preservatives and other ingredients that kind of increase the melt and the longevity of the cheese.

Personally, I find the taste of this cheese really bland and if you add too much of it on your pizza it can really make the pizza really heavy and soggy. So be careful on the quantity of pizza cheese that you add on top of your pizza.

Which is the best Mozerrlea cheese?

I personally love the most is the Whole milk Mozeralla. Yes, you might think that the whole Milk mozzarella can make you fat but here is the thing…

The whole milk mozzarella that you get in a cheesemaker’s shop has a lot more taste than the Mozeralla cheeses that you usually find in the supermarket.

This cheese has a lot of flavors and all you need to do is place a few chunks of it on your pizza so that when you take a bite on your pizza you get a flavourful taste.

This cheese tastes creamy and you need to use the day you purchase it as it can go bad otherwise. It is high in moisture content as well since it is freshly made.

The ones that you get in the supermarket has a lot of additives and a lot of other ingredients that make it an unhealthy option in many ways.

Basically, it is processed a lot so that it makes your pizza stringy and all of that. It has low moisture as well and chemicals that help it melt and brown in the way that it does.

So how much of Mozerrella is too much?

Honestly, if you use too much of Mozerrella in your pizza, it is just going to make your pizza soggy and heavy. You might want to use a pizza cheese blend that really helps to give your pizza the right amount of taste.

Pizza blend that I use has Provolone cheese, Cheddar Cheese and Mozerella cheese. These three types of cheeses make my blend perfect and adding a little bit of it on the pizza gives a perfectly balanced taste.

Nowadays, you find pizzas loaded with cheese and honestly, that is not just unhealthy but it also takes away the authentic taste of the pizza.

If you really want to make an authentic pizza then I would suggest that you use the slightest amount of cheese that has a lot of flavors.

This way you get the taste of the crispy base along with the toppings and cheese rather than making the whole pizza taste like cheese which is just not the ideal pizza flavor.

So, in conclusion, both Mozerella and Provolone are crucial in pizza making and when you make a pizza cheese blend out of these two pizzas then the result is simply amazing.

Do, try using them in order to get the perfect pizza taste!

Let us know what are your thoughts in the comments below!

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