In your hunt for the right kitchen oven think carefully about what you want from it. These steps will help...
1. Choose your type of kitchen oven: freestanding cooker.
Generally the cheapest option, this is exactly what it claims to be; not built-in to your other cupboards but slotted into a space on its own. It will have one or two ovens, a grill and a hob and will be powered by gas, electric or, less commonly, dual fuel. A practical, no-nonsense solution.
2. Choose your type of kitchen oven: built-in oven and hob.
A built-in oven will blend seamlessly into your overall design and can be powered independently; an electric oven with gas hob is the most common combination. Ovens can be under worktops or at eye-level. This option will allow you to customise and keep those clean lines that come with any fitted kitchen.
3. Choose your type of kitchen oven: range cooker.
This is the country-kitchen option. This will not be blended in to your worktops; instead this oven will be a centrepiece of your kitchen. The top can include as many as six hobs with two ovens, a grill and a plate warmer beneath.
4. Your choice of kitchen oven should reflect your overall kitchen design.
If you see the kitchen as a functional space, your kitchen oven should be economical, compact and functional so perhaps consider a built-in oven with a separate hob. If, however, the kitchen is a comfortable living space where you will spend a lot of time preparing food, chatting and eating your kitchen oven should be a central feature of your design; maybe a range cooker would suit you best. Get some kitchen design ideas.
5. Consider the energy options for your kitchen oven.
Gas, electric or microwave?
- Serious cooks prefer the instant control of gas in their kitchen oven.
- Many choose electric for the more even cooking temperature it offers.
- Those wanting convenience might choose the speed and flexibility of a combined microwave/fan oven.
An electric oven is cheaper to buy, a gas oven will cost less to run whereas microwave cooking is faster and more energy efficient. Learn about kitchen trends with Tim Foley.
6. Take energy efficiency into account when considering how much to spend.
Every kitchen oven must be rated for energy efficiency. A is the highest rating and G is the lowest. A double oven must have a separate rating for each oven. A high rating for energy efficiency will mean that the oven is cheaper to run, so consider this when looking at how much to spend on your appliance. Learn about green kitchens.
7. It’s more than a practical choice; style is also important.
There are a multitude of colours available for your kitchen oven these days, so choosing something that fits with your overall design is crucial. If a country style kitchen is what you’re after then choose mellow, earth tones such as brown or green. But for the more modern style kitchen choose something with a stainless steel finish. Get some ideas for finishing touches to your design.
8. Reconsider which kind of hob you’d prefer.
Gas is still a very popular choice for hobs because of its instant controllability. But electric options are much more advanced than they used to be and offer greater flexibility than you might think. For example, a ceramic hob is considered highly effective with timers for accuracy and sensors to tell you when the hob is cool. Ceramic is also easier to clean than a gas hob. Learn more about kitchen appliances.
9. Consider your options for the number and type of oven space.
While a conventional or static oven simply uses elements to heat the cavity to a certain temperature, the fan oven, or forced air oven spreads the heat more evenly throughout. You might also want the flexibility of a double oven so that different dishes can be cooked at the same time on different temperatures. Get some kitchen planning ideas.
10. It won’t clean itself. Oh, hang on... yes it will.
There are a couple of options for self-cleaning ovens.
- Catalytic – liners are placed around the inside of the oven and absorb grease splashes which then burn off when the oven is turned to a high temperature.
- Pyrolysis – a system where the walls are treated and the oven runs at a high temperature so that all dirt is reduced to a fine ash which can then be cleaned off easily.
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