The Coleman InstaStart Camp Oven Reviewed

It was my not-so-secret obsession with having chocolate chip cookies in the great outdoors that led me to purchase a Coleman InstaStart Camp Oven. Since I go camping on average of four times per year, I figured the Coleman oven would be a good investment, better than the aluminum-foil-cardboard-box oven that I was used to lugging around. So, armed with a 40% off coupon for Sports Authority, I bought my Coleman Camp Oven last year at a cost of about $70. To date, it has gone on five camping trips, producing food for an average of twelve people each time.

Out of the box, the Coleman Camp Oven looks like a beefy toaster oven, with a small window in front. You have to attach the oven door handle, which is a simple enough task. The oven runs on propane fuel, has a temperature gauge on the top, propane dial on the side, along with a push-button ignition. An interior rack easily adjusts up or down. While it can hold a 9"x 13" baking pan, the pan used can't have protruding handles, as the interior is a tight fit for that size pan.

On our first camping trip, we used the oven to heat up mini dollar-sized pre-cooked frozen pancakes for breakfast. Setting the oven temperature was a snap - just push the ignition to light the oven and adjust the propane flame by turning a dial. You watch the temperature gauge on top of the oven and adjust the flame as necessary to reach and maintain your desired temperature. We neatly arranged the pancakes onto a small 8"x10" baking pan and popped them into the pre-heated oven. About eight minutes later, the pancakes were piping hot, with no burned or over-browned areas.

Later that day, we used the oven to bake chocolate chip cookies. I'm a big fan of the wilderness, but I need my chocolate at the end of the day. We used ordinary "peel-and-stick" cookie dough, the Tollhouse brand found in the refrigerated dough section in the grocery store. The kids broke up the dough into their pre-scored little squares, stuck them onto the 8"x10" pan and baked them at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. We noticed that the cookies did not brown well, though they were well-cooked throughout. Nobody minded the lack of golden-brownness, and the cookies were devoured in an instant.

The next day was our big test - English muffin pizzas. We've tried these before in a box oven, but had trouble keeping the temperature of the oven constant, as we have to cook three batches of pizzas for our crowd of twelve. The Coleman oven handled the task easily, with no discernable variations in temperature as one batch of pizzas was removed from the oven and the next batch added.

Clearly, the Coleman oven was a big hit on its first camping trip with our crew. After a couple of easy trips, where it churned out cookies, warm cinnamon buns, and pancakes, I decided to give it a bigger test.

I bought a frozen lasagna and brought it on a weekend camping trip, thinking that the Coleman oven would have no problem cooking it. Well, it did and it didn't.

A well-frozen commercially made lasagna in a 9"x13" aluminum foil baking pan takes nearly 2 hours to cook in a home oven. In a camping oven, it takes a bit longer. After a long 2 1/2 hours, we pulled it out. The cheese never browned, but it was hot throughout. The lasagna was watery, mostly because everyone was so hungry, we couldn't wait for it to sit and absorb some of the water.

The oven fared better with baked stuffed French toast the next morning. A 9"x13" pan of stuffed French toast easily fed twelve people, and it was much easier to throw a pan of French toast into an oven, than to try to cook the same quantity over a camp stovetop. Again, the French toast cooked throughout, but was not really browned.

For us, the Coleman oven is a useful camping appliance to take along on car camping trips. It takes little space in the car, is extremely rugged, and makes it possible for us to throw together meals for twelve fairly quickly. It makes it possible for us to have hot scones, biscuits, cinnamon buns and yes, my beloved chocolate-chip cookies. I've also used the Coleman oven outside at home, for barbeques, when it is too hot to heat up the kitchen. If you plan to purchase a Coleman oven, here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Be sure to measure cookie sheets and pans before you buy them. The interior dimensions of the oven are at best 10.25" x 14".
• Clean the oven regularly with a degreaser. Like a home toaster oven, greasy spills inside the oven can create hot spots and be a fire hazard.
• Even though plastic ovenware may be home oven safe, I don't know if it is propane oven safe. Therefore, I don't recommend its use in a camp oven.
• Always watch the oven temperature gauge during cooking and adjust the propane as needed.
• The oven runs about 2 ½ to 3 hours on a full 16 ounce propane cylinder.
• Remember to have a flashlight handy when cooking at night. Even though the oven has a window, you really can't see anything inside of it without a light.