Cookers. What sort do I need??

With 2 types of oven on the market (gas and electric), as a customer, we are not spoilt for choice. In fact, many manufacturers don't actually make the gas oven plumbing for the more popular electric version.

If however, gas is your oven of choice, the majority of them are under mount. This means that they fit underneath the worktop and are available in either single or double oven configuration. The double oven is in fact a small top oven, more grill than oven and then a full size oven below. As mentioned the choice is limited as the number a manufactures making this type of appliance is very small.

There are two main types of electric oven; built under in double oven configuration or built in, which can either be single or double ovens. If you want a single oven built under, then this is a standard built in appliance and you would need housing for this. The built in double ovens are much larger that the built under double ovens.

All electric ovens come with a grill and an oven cavity. With the more competitively priced appliances the number of cooking functions are limited, but usually include a “fan oven” setting and a “hot air setting and have a basic timer on them. As you proceed up the range then the number of functions and features increases. At the top end of the market the ovens will come with up to 17 different types of cooking methods and a whole host of timer/delay functions and memory functions for your favourite dishes.

One of the most useful features that is appearing in the middle of the market is Pyroklean. Now this has been around for a number of years, but is becoming more and more common and it is the one feature that I shout about.

It is a process where by the oven cleans it’s self and is done by the oven heating up to some 500 degrees C and burns off all the cooking residue on the inside of the oven. The oven door is locked and can not be opened during this cycle. When the process is finished and this usually takes about 2 to 3 hours, all you do is wipe out the inside with a damp cloth. No more marigolds and nasty oven cleaner fluid .On the range of ovens that I sell which is Gaggenau and Siemens the cost of running this process is some £0.25 to £0.30pence per cycle.

The type of oven that you choose will depend on your budget, what sort of cook you are and the look that you are after in your new kitchen. If you are an accomplished cook, then some of the features will be very useful, for example, the feature that is bottom heat only, is very useful for cakes and quiches as you do not need to blind bake your pastry.

Have a chat with your design studio; there are a mind of information and the type of appliances available and their range of functions.