I need to get a new oven to replace my current 20-year-old electric oven. The door doesn’t shut properly, so I normally jam it closed with something heavy, and the element isn’t heating evenly either - my cakes are browning more on one side than the other :o
So what should I look for when choosing a new oven? Gas vs electric, fan-assisted or not? What features are really useful and which features are nice-to-haves?
The oven will mostly be used for baking - cakes, cookies, sometimes bread. Occasional poultry roasting or oven-fried chicken. I also love grilled/roasted vegetables but nothing in the line of roast beef/lamb (I normally leave that to my red-meat-loving foodie friends :D).
I’ve read that if you do a lot of baking you should go with electric because the combustion involved with gas ovens dries the air out more inside the oven. That’s what I did. If I were buying a new stove today though I’d go with gas anyway because I’m really hating the electric burners.
As for the all-in-one devices, do they work as well as separate devices? (I think I may need a separate microwave - don’t think my mom would take too kindly to my hogging the oven if she needs to heat something up quickly!)
Oh, and the self-cleaning feature is definitely noteworthy, being the lazy bum that I am when it comes to cleaning
Careful what you wish for! I’m saving up for a cheap holiday in south-east Asia, and Singapore and KL are at the top of my destinations list. I hope to be able to do it towards the end of this year, but if I can’t then definetly next year for the Malayasian GP.
If you do make it here, you’re definitely welcome for dinner! In any case this region is foodie heaven so even if you don’t like my cooking there’s plenty of other yummy-licious stuff I can introduce you to. Let me know!
I’ve always wanted a 6 element stove top separate from a double oven. Alas, I have a regular old G.E. stove/oven.
Serious chefs prefer gas ovens because they allow much more control over the heat. If you turn the burner down a hair, you get instant heat reduction. On an electric stove, you have to wait for the surface to cool down. So if you’ll be making dishes that require precision then get a gas stove. For us mere mortals, an electric top is sufficient plus a helluva lot easier to clean.
Folks, an oven is that hot box that you bake cakes in. The hot flat thing that you put pots on top of is called a “range” or a “cooktop.”
Most people buy an oven with a range; the better cooks prefer an electric oven and a gas range. Unsurprisingly, they sell those. The fan is definitely a must. I don’t know if anyone makes an electric oven with a gas broiler, but I think it would be awesome.
Thanks for clarifying, Nametag. Yep, gas ranges are essential for Chinese cooking (things like stir-fries). Electric ranges don’t get hot enough. Utter frustration when my char kuey teow turned out quite soggy because the heat wasn’t high enough to cook the egg quickly.
I agree that a range with gas burners up top and an electric convection oven is probably the best if you are replacing an old unit and only have the usual 30 inches or so to work with.
However, such a unit usually requires both gas piping for the cooktop and a high capacity electrical connection (usually 220v in the US, not sure what it would be in Malaysia). Check to see if you have the connections that such a range would need before you decide.
If you get a range for the stove and don’t have a gas line for the stove top - do not - I repeat - DO NOT - get one of those glass top heating elements. They are easily scrathced - so if you like to cook sauces or sautee vegies or do stir fry, you can’t go to town on the burner.
Gas piping in Malaysia is pretty rare (only towns I’ve heard of with piped-in gas are those near oil refineries). Here we normally get gas in large canisters of 8kg or 14kg. Nearly everyone cooks with gas ranges. The electricity supply here is 220 - 240V, IIRC.
As for the glass top heating elements, is that an induction hob?
but nothing in the line of roast beef/lamb (I normally leave that to my red-meat-loving foodie friends :D).
