The Heated Debate – Which Oven?

The Heated Debate – Which Oven?

Probably the most important appliance in your kitchen is your oven, so how do you go about choosing the best one? Of course, the most obvious limitation will be your power source. If you don’t have gas, then clearly you will have to go with an electric oven. That said if you do have the choice most chefs choose gas, as it’s thought to be more controllable.

Like any purchase, when it comes to choosing an oven, you need to look at a number of factors

Budget

If you’ve spent a lot of money on your kitchen, then it’s not a good idea to skimp when it comes to your oven, especially if you do a lot of cooking or entertaining at home. Before you even fit a new kitchen, you should plan your oven into your overall scheme. After all, the oven will have a big impact on your kitchen design. Make sure you factor for it in your budget too.

Size

Your next biggest concern will be size. This may be constrained by the size of your kitchen, but you obviously need to take into account how many you’ll be cooking for. A large family, for example, will need to plan teir kitchen for a bigger oven while a student may only need a combination microwave grill, even if he or she has plenty of space.

Bear in mind too that the bigger the oven, the greater the energy costs will be to use it. The majority of ovens come in a standard size of 60cm wide and 55cm deep, but overall design can make ovens of the same capacity look vastly different in size. A range with two ovens, for example, will need much more space to install than a standard oven.

Features

When it comes to features, there’s a huge choice these days, from double ovens to ones with integrated microwaves and grills, fan ovens and self-cleaning ovens. Think about how you will be using yours and make a list of the features you’d like to see. More than ever, with spiralling electricity and gas costs, energy-efficient ovens are very popular. Look out for ovens that are rated ‘A’ if you want to keep your energy costs down.

Style

Again, this one depends a lot of the size of your kitchen. However, the choice between a freestanding oven and an integrated one can have a huge impact on the overall look of your kitchen. Whereas some people, mostly in traditionally styled kitchens, might want to make a feature out of their oven (an old fashioned Aga range for example), others will integrate theirs into the overall design of the kitchen, perhaps as a ‘built-under’, so it’s hardly noticeable at all. An integrated eye level oven is a better idea if you’ll be using it a lot and, needless to say, will be much easier on your back.

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