| Brief Guide to Buying an Oven |
The oven is one of the essential elements of any kitchen, so it is worth taking some time to consider the options available, and what would best suit your needs. If you are replacing an oven, without altering your other kitchen fittings, then the choice may be limited by the space available: but if that is not the case, then you'll be free to consider all options money permitting. You can spend anything between a few hundred pounds to many thousands. But remember, ovens are at heart simple bits of equipment: they provide a hot space in which to cook food and this task can be performed by inexpensive ovens almost as well as by the really expensive ones. How your food tastes will depend more on your skills as a cook than on the sophistication of the oven.
Ovens essentially come in two forms. The built-in oven will fit into a space among your kitchen cabinets, and will usually be placed well above the ground, so the upper shelves are at about eye-level. Built-in ovens may be single ovens (with just one door, and one oven-space or 'cavity'), or double ovens (with two doors and two cavities). A double oven will offer a combination of features: the larger oven may, for example, be fan-assisted, and the smaller one a conventional oven, with a grill. The separation of these functions is important if you want, for instance, to bake one dish and grill another simultaneously. Slot-in ovens, by contrast, are free-standing: they stand on the floor, often in a space between kitchen units. They usually include a hob (the set of rings that you use to heat pans on) above the oven, and the grill will either be below the hob, or at eye-level. The oven part will be at about knee-height, which means that you have to bend down to use it; this can be awkward when baking large dishes in heavy cookware, such as a cast-iron casserole. Because of the height restriction, standard-size slot-ins are usually single ovens, but double or multiple ovens are available in wide models, such as the kitchen ranges (see below). Both built-in and slot-in ovens have their merits and drawbacks: your choice will depend on your personal preferences, your budget, and what your kitchen layout will permit.
The standard sized single oven is about 60 cm high by 60 cm wide by 60 cm deep (H60 x W60 x D60); the capacity is about 55 litres. Built-in double ovens are usually about 90 cm high. However, there are plenty of other sizes, both built-in and slot-in, such as 70 cm wide, 90 cm wide, or 110 cm wide. If there is a choice of sizes that you can use, work out how much oven space you'll need when you cook for a maximum number of guests. For instance: for a traditional Christmas dinner, you'll need enough space for the turkey, plus shelves for roast potatoes, and perhaps also for a roast ham. It's better to think big: cooks seldom complain of having too much oven space.
For the majority of ovens there is a straightforward choice between electricity and gas (although some run on LPG (liquid petroleum gas), or oil). In addition, some ovens are 'duel-fuel'; they run on gas and electricity such as an electric oven with gas hobs. Which of these you choose will depend first and foremost on the power sources available in your house. Many people simply do not have access to gas. It is not something to fret over: electricity is fine for ovens, and indeed is probably the best option. The gas/electricity dilemma is more pertinent to hobs (see below). But some cooks prefer a gas oven: gas creates a slightly more humid heat, so food (such as roasting meat, or cakes) does not so easily dry out. Note that all gas appliances must be installed by a CORGI-registered engineer.
Most ovens have a conventional cavity and a grill. 'Multi-function' ovens can offer a fuller range of tasks, including fan-assisted cooking, the ability to use the top element only (for browning), and the bottom element only (for finishing pastry-topped dishes, for example); some also have a rotisserie spit, and defrosting facilities.
In conventional ovens, and particularly in gas ovens, the area in the top of the oven is hotter than the area in the bottom (a phenomenon known as 'zoned heat difference'). This can be useful if you are cooking several items at once, but want one to cook faster than the others. With fan ovens, the heat is pushed around by an electric fan usually located in the back wall of the oven so the entire cavity is filled with consistent heat.. The circulation of hot air within the oven lends a welcome dry-heat effect to some foods: meat or fish, for example, laid on a wire rack, cook in a way that begins to resemble cooking on an open fire or on a barbecue, with a crisp exterior. Another advantage of fan ovens is that compared to conventional ovens they take far less time to heat up. There is in fact a distinction between a fan oven and a fan-assisted oven. Fan ovens have an electric heating element in front of the fan. Fan-assisted ovens have conventional heating elements in the top and bottom of the oven; the fan has the task of simply pushing the heated air around. But in terms of usage, there is little difference, except that a fan-assisted oven takes slightly longer to warm up. Note also that because of the more efficient way that the fans transfer heat, cooking times need to be reduced, typically by 10 per cent for anything that stays in the oven for longer than 25 minutes. Most fan ovens are electric ovens, but some gas ovens are fitted with fans.
With built-in ovens, hobs come as separate units; but with slot-in ovens they are usually integrated. The advantage of a gas hob is that you can turn the heat up or down at the twist of a knob: in other words, the rings respond immediately, which is particularly useful when cooking dishes in which the precise heat is critical milk-based sauces, for instance. With electrical hobs, it takes some time for the ring or plate to heat up or cool down so if you want to switch from a fast boil to a simmer, you cannot do this quickly. That said, the newer electrical hobs do have improved sensitivity and response times. Choices among electrically powered hobs include the traditional metal plates, ceramic hobs and halogen hobs (heated by halogen lamps).
Cleaning an oven caked with baked-on grease-splashes is no-one's idea of fun. But modern technology has come to our aid to help minimise this chore. Some ovens have removable 'stay-clean' liners on the walls, which can be taken out and wiped clean in the sink. 'Catalytic stay-clean' liners are treated with a product that absorbs grease and burns off the dirt at high temperatures. The more expensive 'pyrolitic self-cleaning' ovens have a facility in which, when the oven is heated up to 500ºC (932ºF) for a couple of hours, the grease turns to ash and falls to the base of the oven, from where it can simply be swept away. Other cleaning systems include grease filters that can be removed and cleaned in a dishwasher, and 'hydro-cleaning' systems, which make steam from water and detergent to loosen the grease.
Other options on ovens include clocks, timers, 'memory-programmed settings', and bells or buzzers to announce when the cooking is done. A delayed-start timer or auto-timer allows you to preset the oven times, put a dish in the oven and then go out: the timer will start the oven while you are away in order to deliver a fully cooked meal just in time for your return. Such devices are useful, provided that they are relatively simple: you may not use a complicated timing device often enough to remember quite how it works without consulting the manual. A delayed-start timer may sound appealing, but how often will you actually use one? And can you really trust it?
The term 'range' is generally used to refer to wider-than-usual slot-in ovens. The best-known brand name is Aga, but there are plenty of others, in many different styles. They all usually have four or so ovens, and the bigger area on the upper surface offers the possibility of more hobs in a greater range of sizes, or options such as a wok-burner and a griddle. Ranges can be powered by electricity or gas, or oil. The classic heavyweight ranges, made of cast-iron, have the advantage of storing heat, and so they radiate warmth throughout the winter (and, conversely, may make the kitchen too hot in summer). They also offer a great diversity of heat, in both the ovens and the hobs an enticing prospect for the keen cook who likes to make really slow-cooked stews as well as to flash-fry meat and fish on searing heat. The best of the great kitchen ranges are extraordinarily versatile, but as with ships it takes time and experience to get to know them well, and to get the best from them; then they become not simply ovens, but a way of life.
It is possible to use a microwave oven in very much the same way as a conventional oven. And these days, some microwave ovens are combined with conventional oven facilities, and even grills. Traditionally, microwave ovens were worktop devices, but now they can be built-in, or can form part of a double-oven set-up. Before you invest in an expensive or built-in microwave, it is worth considering how much you will use it. Despite the potential to cook just about anything in a microwave oven, most people use will use one only to reheat or defrost relatively small quantities of food, taking advantage of the fact that a microwave oven can - by and large - do such things much faster than a conventional oven.
Take the kitchen into the garden! The old farmhouses of Italy often have a big brick oven out the back, used for baking bread and for slow-cooking stews. They make the perfect pizza ovens. With a dome-shaped interior, and a front door that serves also a chimney, they are heated up to a high temperature with large quantities of wood; the ashes are later pushed out of the way to clear a cooking surface on the base of the oven. To build such an oven requires a considerable investment: there are specialist suppliers in the UK. Much cheaper options (costing tens of pounds rather than thousands) include small outdoor ovens made of cast-iron or clay. They can add variety to the more familiar barbecue, as well as some welcome warmth on a cool evening.
Warning: Missing argument 2 for guidefooterdivs(), called in /home/www/default/briefguides/content/ovens.php on line 43 and defined in /home/www/default/briefguides/content/guidefunctions.php on line 219
Comments on this brief guide would be welcome. Also, please let us know if you do put in a link to this guide from your website and we will try to reciprocate with a link from us to your site.
Copyright: these pages are protected by copyright and reproduction of this material is strictly prohibited. Copyright belongs to Giant Games Limited, owner of the briefguides.co.uk and onlineshopping.co.uk websites.
© 1997-2006 Giant Games Limited, but you are welcome to have a link to this webpage.