# Why do all gas stoves/ranges have a big griddle down the middle now? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 10, 2022, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292 "2022-12-10T13:49:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/21 "2022-12-10T17:08:27Z")
> [@chela](#): > > My Samsung range has five burners with three iron grates spanning it. The middle burner is elongated We have a 9-year-old Frigidaire with the same configuration. We had to provide our own griddle pan for the middle burner; it works well for pancakes, French toast, bacon, etc., but doesn’t heat evenly. The back half cooks quicker than the front half. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/22 "2022-12-10T17:11:11Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I imagine that it’s useful if you need to be baking things at two separate temperatures, or making a large meal (e.g., Thanksgiving dinner). But, I also imagine that a lot of people who buy them rarely, if ever, use both ovens at the same time. Yep. We haven’t had ours very long, but the only time both were in use was Thanksgiving. There is some advantage to having just the smaller one to use when it is all that is needed. But most of us don’t “need” two ovens. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/23 "2022-12-10T17:11:52Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > This was when I was around ten years old, and I lived at home until college, and to my knowledge the lower oven was NEVER used…except to store the cast iron pans she used on the cook top. See, it was a gas stove, and the always on pilot light served to keep the air in the oven warm enough to thoroughly dry off the pans and they never rusted. 😁 Most of the ranges I’ve seen have a storage drawer below the oven, but in my mother’s current one, it’s a warming drawer, though she never uses it as that. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/24 "2022-12-10T17:18:09Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I am leaning towards a Wolf Oh fuck me, the lowest end gas Wolf is over six grand. I think I’ll take a step or two down. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/25 "2022-12-10T20:49:08Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > This was when I was around ten years old, and I lived at home until college, and to my knowledge the lower oven was NEVER used…except to store the cast iron pans she used on the cook top. See, it was a gas stove, and the always on pilot light served to keep the air in the oven warm enough to thoroughly dry off the pans and they never rusted. My range has a small oven below the main oven. The main upper oven has a broiling flame, and is mostly what we use for baking, broiling, roasting, etc. We use the lower oven to store flat things – the broiling pan, the brownie tins, the cookie sheets. BUT, about once a year I pull all that out and use the lower oven. I’ve used it for Thanksgiving and for New Years, when the main oven was full, and I wanted to cook something else (that is short, and won’t make a mess, since the lower one doesn’t self-clean). I really love that I have that additional capacity, even though I don’t use it very often. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/26 "2022-12-10T20:52:38Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Oh fuck me, the lowest end gas Wolf is over six grand. I think I’ll take a step or two down. Yeah, Wolf makes high-end ranges and ovens. (The company also makes Sub-Zero refrigerators and freezers, and Cove dishwashers; all of them are premium priced.) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/27 "2022-12-10T21:14:15Z")
Weird; I’ve heard of Wolf ranges and Sub-Zero refrigerators but never heard of Cove dishwashers. (A friend moved to a new house with a Sub-Zero refrigerator. It’s all hidden behind panels that match the cabinets, so it’s not at all obvious that’s where the refrigerator is.) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/28 "2022-12-10T21:24:22Z")
I have a friend who moved into a house with all Wolf appliances. He hates them. The fridge died, the dishwasher breaks dishes, and I forget what’s wrong with the stove. But he’s replacing them with more ordinary brands. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/29 "2022-12-10T23:02:08Z")
I recently upgraded to a very nice [22,000 BTU Samsung cooktop](https://www.samsung.com/us/home-appliances/cooktops-and-hoods/gas-cooktops/30-gas-cooktop-with-22k-btu-true-dual-power-burner-2018-na30n7755tg-aa/). It has 5 normal round burners and came with a cast iron griddle that fits over the two left burners. I don’t really see the point of a griddle and I’ve used it exactly once, mainly just to see how it works. I expected the heating to be quite uneven because of the two isolated burners under it but it does seem to heat quite evenly. But I wouldn’t get a cooktop with a dedicated griddle; it would just be a huge waste of space. Funny story (well, funny now I guess, not at the time). Less than a week after the new cooktop was installed, our housecleaner decided to clean the top of the cooktop with oven cleaner. The front panel is made of aluminum and was grossly discolored by the oven cleaner. It cost $300 to get a replacement panel (it’s just a stamped piece of aluminum). I replaced it myself (not entirely trivial); otherwise I suppose it would have been an additional couple of hundred for a professional to replace it. Moral of the story: DON’T USE OVEN CLEANER ON ALUMINUM. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/30 "2022-12-11T01:05:35Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I recently upgraded to a very nice [22,000 BTU Samsung cooktop](https://www.samsung.com/us/home-appliances/cooktops-and-hoods/gas-cooktops/30-gas-cooktop-with-22k-btu-true-dual-power-burner-2018-na30n7755tg-aa/). That’s my cooktop! It is _awesome_. That middle burner is a goddamn jet engine, great for searing and wok cooking. @hajario, check out Samsungs, solid brand. EDIT: [this appears to be the range equivalent of the cooktop @markn\_1 and I are so pleased with.](https://www.samsung.com/us/home-appliances/ranges/gas/6-0-cu-ft-front-control-slide-in-gas-range-with-smart-dial-air-fry-wi-fi-in-tuscan-stainless-steel-nx60t8711st-aa/) 22k BTU center ring burner, same as the cooktop version. Griddle is pop off with grates below, toss the damned griddle in the pantry and use the whole cooktop. Comes in other colors than the one shown. FYI, Best Buy is a good place to order appliances. Everybody seems to order at other places like Lowe’s which is constantly out of stock, and BB in my experience isn’t. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/31 "2022-12-11T01:26:25Z")
Too late to edit - the range above has a stupidass oval burner in the center. [This one](https://www.samsung.com/us/home-appliances/ranges/gas/nx58k9850ss-slide-in-gas-flex-duo-range-with-dual-door-stainless-steel-nx58k9850ss-aa/) looks like it has the awesome 22k btu ring burner. It’s dual-oven, but I’d bet Samsung has a single oven version. Samsung’s website exhausts me or I’d figure that out. 🙂 ETA this one looks pretty cool oven-wise - you can use it as two ovens or remove a divider and use it as one oven. Which may be awesome or a terrible gimmicky mess. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/32 "2022-12-11T01:42:00Z")
That thing is a beast! I was perusing Samsungs earlier. It has an air fryer! Why on earth does an oven need WiFi? Lol. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/33 "2022-12-11T01:46:18Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Why on earth does an oven need WiFi? Lol I know, right? My cooktop has wifi, and all you can do with it is run an app that will tell you if a burner is on or not. That’s it. 🙄 FYI, it appears there’s an oval center burner on these and the 22k burner is front-right. Not ideal IMO, though it’s really difficult to suss out the burner arrangement on Samsung’s site. I’d google a specific model and find reviews, there’s always plenty out there, either blogs or youtube vids. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/34 "2022-12-11T01:59:06Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > Grill a steak in January, without freezing your butt off outside? > > Isn’t that what an iron pan is for? Och, you southerners. You’re supposed to get out there, hiking through the snow in the backyard, brush the snow off the grill, turn it on to melt accumulated ice, and grill that steak! ❄ ❄ ❄ ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/35 "2022-12-11T02:43:46Z")
Yeah, the main reason I selected this model was because of the power. My previous cooktop’s biggest burner was 10,000 BTU and it seemed to take forever to get a pan up to temperature. I love that middle burner on the new one. Re wifi: not only is the wifi pretty much useless, it has a big antenna module that sticks out a couple of inches behind the cooktop. When I had it installed I just took the whole module off. It wouldn’t even have fit in my countertop with the wifi module attached. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/36 "2022-12-11T03:49:32Z")
In a recent podcast episode of The Sporkful, the host interviews testers from the labs at Consumer Reports about ovens. The CR guy talks about many high-end commercial-type ovens that are low-rated, and much less-expensive brands that are top-rated. I will definitely spring for a year’s subscription to CR when my current oven finally bites the dust. (Already replaced a heating element, a door spring, a control panel, and the gasket.) > **[Inside The Consumer Reports Test Labs](https://www.sporkful.com/inside-the-consumer-reports-test-labs/)** > > You don’t want to know what they do to test an oven’s self-cleaning function. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/37 "2022-12-11T03:50:58Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I will definitely spring for a year’s subscription to CR when my current oven finally bites the dust Yeah, I did that when I did my kitchen remodel. A year’s subscription to CR is small price when you’re buying multi-thousand dollar appliances. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/38 "2022-12-11T04:23:59Z")
Current kitchen has an ancient Wolf 6 burner with convection oven. It’s just the two of us now. Mostly I use one or two burners and bake in the toaster oven/air fryer. Also use the outdoor gas grill and smoker a fair amount. And the Instant Pot. The big oven is used very infrequently. I did like the central grill on a Thermador two homes ago. But my grill option was charcoal then. And four kids in the house back in the day. Had multiple burners going and used a bigger oven each more frequently then. My next range will be electric induction. No induction love here? ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/39 "2022-12-11T15:10:48Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I find it a little funny that you ask about why they all have a griddle “now” - my parents stove had one back in the 70s and it wasn’t high-end. > [@hajario](#): > > Fair point. Now that I think about it, the 1960s era range in my childhood home had four burners and there was a metal cover in the middle that lifted up to reveal a griddle. My stepdad tried to make pan cakes on it once. That must be one of those things that went out of fashion for a while. I was born in '78, and I’ve never lived with a stove that had a griddle. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292/40 "2022-12-11T15:55:15Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > This was when I was around ten years old, and I lived at home until college, and to my knowledge the lower oven was NEVER used I basically use the lower oven as a proofing drawer. I put the dough there to keep it at 80-ish degrees. I bake a lot of bread, maybe 150 times a year, many of those times multiple loaves (neighbors trade eggs, fruit and vegetables for my bread) I’ve also used it as a warming drawer to keep all the food brought by guests for big parties which are almost always pot luck. Pre-COVID we had a group of families who would rotate hosting Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chinese New Year and July 4. All the hosts used at least one oven as a warming drawer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-gas-stoves-ranges-have-a-big-griddle-down-the-middle-now/976292.md?page=3)