Ooni has just released its largest and most advanced pizza oven yet. The Koda 2 Max marks the latest addition to the brand's extensive gas oven lineup, and it features a 24-inch capacity that can cook 20-inch NYC-style pizzas, two 12-inch pizzas, or even three 10-inch pizzas at once.
If you've been interested in finding the best Ooni oven for you, but have felt limited by the thought of cooking your pies one at a time, Ooni has answered your prayers. The brand behind some of the best outdoor pizza ovens, Ooni has continued to innovate year-on-year since the days of the trusty Fyra 12, but the Koda 2 Max is the first release to feature a 24-inch cooking unit.
Generous cooking space aside, the oven can be paired to your smartphone to give you temperature readings in real-time, and can even operate as a dual-zone oven thanks to its two independently operated gas burners.
What we know about the Ooni Koda 2 Max
Announcing the new oven, Kristian Tapaninaho, Founder and Co-CEO of Ooni, said “the Koda 2 Max has several advancements, including zonal cooking and smartphone connectivity, which offers users extreme flexibility and control. Our goal is to create products to elevate the joy of being together, and the Koda 2 Max enables our community to do this perfectly.”
The oven features a new 'digital temperature hub', equipped with a pair of digital food probes. These take internal temperature readings when roasting meats in the Koda 2 Max, meaning you cook a lot more than just pizza. Like many of the best meat thermometers, this hub can also connect to your Smartphone, allowing you to monitor your food remotely while you prepare side dishes, and it can even notify you when your food hits its desired temperature.
Ooni Koda 2 Max — our first impressions
Pizza oven sales went wild during the pandemic, but when I threw my first pizza party in my newly-purchased Ooni Fyra 12, I found that I barely had any time to talk to my guests. Because I was only able to cook pizzas one at a time, I had a constant conveyor belt of pies to attend to, as well as the challenge of re-fuelling the wood oven and monitoring the ever-changing temperature.
The convenience of remote temperature monitoring and the ability to cook two (or even three) pizzas at once gives home pizza ovens the ability to replace the best grills as the perfect cooking purchase for summer parties, so it's no surprise that rival brands are rolling out larger and more advanced ovens, such as the Gozney Dome or the Alfa Nano.
We'll be reviewing the Koda 2 Max as soon as we're able, but while we don't think an oven of this size or price point will be right for entry-level pizza oven enthusiasts, it's a brilliant option if you're interested in upgrading your tech or love to host alfresco.
