Here’s a fun gadget for the baker in the house. A .90 cubic foot brick oven that sits on your counter top. Cuisinart offers this oven with permanently built in bricks on the top and sides, two racks for multi level cooking, three settings and 1700 watts of power to reach up to 500°F . It has industrial style stainless steel housing and a tinted glass window to allow you to check your stone baked bread or pizza. It retails for around $250.
Ranges Ovens and Cooktops
Wood-Burning Oven
This may not fall perfectly into the realm of appliances, but it is so cool, it has to be shared. The wonderful bread baking site thefreshloaf.com has a post about a wood burning oven built buy the homeowner for about $3000. The oven heats up to 1000 degrees to bake pizza followed by loaves of bread and then roasted meats. Not only that, it looks great:
Newly Expanded GE Café Series of Appliances
The newest additions to the GE Café series include two counter-depth refrigerators, and a new electric range.
Refrigerators:
The counter-depth styling allows the appliances to blend seamlessly with the surrounding cabinetry, achieving a built-in look without the added expense of a built-in model.
The new counter-depth 25-cubic-foot side-by-side refrigerator is available with ClimateKeeper2™ technology, featuring a dual-evaporator system to create two zones of air circulation that help foods stay fresh. Because air is no longer circulated between the fresh-food and freezer compartments, the freezer’s cold, dry air won’t prematurely dry out foods, and odors won’t transfer between the compartments. Suggested retail price for this refrigerator is $3,249.
For home chefs who prefer the convenience of keeping produce and meats at eye level, GE will launch the 21-cubic-foot GE Café counter-depth bottom freezer with French doors. Now available with an internal water dispenser. Suggested retail price is $2,899.
Offered as a free-standing, slide-in range, the new GE Café Electric Range offers consumers without a gas line the ability to have a restaurant-inspired range. The range includes a fifth center burner and cast-iron griddle on the cooktop, a PreciseAir™ convection oven, and a double-oven configuration with a drawer that heats up to 450 degrees for added cooking flexibility. An optional stainless steel backsplash is available (model JXS80SS). The GE Café electric free-standing range (model CS980SNSS) will be available November 2008 with an estimated retail price of $2799.
Basic Appliance Care and Safety
If you are lucky, you rarely need to pay much attention to the appliances that run, some of them 24 hours a day, in your home. But to keep everything trouble free, it’s good to follow some basic guidelines for care and safety when using or installing appliances in your home. Handymanclub.com offers some simples steps for use with your washer, dryer, refrigerator, ranges, cooktops, even your water heater.
Ventilation and combustion (dryers, water heaters, ranges and cooktops)
• Clean the clothes dryer’s lint filter before or after each load. Check behind the dryer for trapped lint. Clear lint from the exterior vent often. Lint buildup results in inefficiency and excessive wear and can even pose a fire hazard. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an estimated 15,500 fires each year are associated with clothes dryers.
• Use only metal ducting for gas dryers because they run hotter than electric machines. Rigid rather than accordion-pleated ducting is best for airflow.
• Never vent clothes dryers or water heaters into the house to supplement heating.
Plumbing (washers, refrigerators and water heaters)
• To prevent leaky or bursting waterlines, check washing machine hoses for signs of wear. Consider replacing rubber hoses with newer braided stainless steel hoses.
• Check the screens at either end of the water hoses and remove sediment that may have collected there. This is especially important after road construction or water-main work has been done in your area.
• Periodically check that the washing machine is soundly footed and level so the hoses and the drain hose do not come loose.
• If a dishwasher’s tub doesn’t empty after operation, detach the drain line from the household drain and clean any debris from the line.
Gas (dryers, ranges and water heaters)
• Never use an oven as a room heater — combustion pollutants resulting from fuel-burning appliances can cause illness or death. Have gas appliances serviced periodically to ensure they burn with the proper mix of air and fuel.
• Be sure all vented appliances are checked for backdrafting. (This is one reason that it’s important for a city building official to inspect newly installed vented appliances.)
Electric
• Diehard DIYers may bristle at this warning from the CPSC — nonetheless, it’s a lifesaver. Never attempt to repair a microwave oven — because they use high-voltage power, they can pose a risk of electrical shock even after they are disconnected from the power source.
• Use dedicated circuits for large appliances such as washers and dryers.
• Keep appliance cords away from hot surfaces.
Kelly Ripa helps bring Electrolux Kitchen Appliances to America
Electrolux, known mostly for vacuums in the US is known in Europe for its premium appliances. This spring they are trying to make a splash here in the US with Kelly Ripa.
KitchenAid Adds Induction Cooktops to Series
KitchenAid, is now offering induction cooktops in its Architect Series II Collection. If you are not familiar with induction cooking and the difference between cooking with induction technology rather than conventional heating methods, you can read more about them in Conduction Cooking is Hot- and Cool and How Food Cooks – Conduction, Convection and Radiation. Induction cooking allows a cook to go quickly from a simmer to a sear. Because of this special electromagnetic process, cookware used with the cooktop must be made of magnetic metals such as steel or iron.
The Architect Series II induction cooktops feature nine heat level settings and a performance boost function that increases the temperature level above the highest setting to quickly bring liquids to a boil. A hot surface indicator light provides a warning if the surface is too warm to touch, even after the burner has been turned off. Another helpful feature is size pan detection that automatically adjusts to fit the size of pots and pans in use, a keep warm function, touch activated controls and a frameless design with beveled glass edges.
The suggested retail prices range from $1,999 to $2499.
KitchenAid”s New Retractable Down-Draft Vents
KitchenAid is adding to their retractable down vent line by including 30 and 36 inch widths in their Architect Series II design line. Retractable vents are installed flush to the countertop behind the cooktop, pop up for use and retract out of sight when not in use. Many homeowners look for this type of vent for island cooktop installations. The new motor design allows for more storage underneath the counter.
These models feature a higher 14 inch downdraft with an exhaust capacity ranging from 600 CFM (cubic feet per minute) with and internal blower, to 900CFM with an external blower that clears grease heat and odors out of the kitchen. Integrated electronic controls blend into the vent.
Suggested retail prices range from $699 to $959.
Miele’s New Line of Ventilation
Debuting in February 2008 were five new island and wall ventilation hoods that increase Miele’s product offering to more than 30 hoods. The four 30” – 48” width units are available in classic stainless steel or may be custom ordered in over 200 colors for the ultimate in design customization. An impressive 70” wide, double chimney model DA 5341 D island hood comes in stainless and provides a double blower.
“Miele ventilation hoods really do move air in style,” states Paul McCormack, Senior Marketing Manager for Miele, Inc. “Our newest ventilation hoods offer clean, simple lines that are so beautiful – they feel more like commissioned art, than functional appliances. In fact, each one is carefully crafted – almost entirely by hand – by the artisans working at Miele’s Arnsberg, German production facility.”
The five new styles range from 30” to 70” wide, including both island and wall installations. With over 200 RAL colors, designers can fully customize or simply stand out in stainless. All the hoods come with 4 speeds, centered controls, delayed shutdown (for either 5 or 15 minutes) and programmable filter timers that indicate when it’s time to wash the dishwasher-safe filters. Built-in smart technology alerts the vent hood if it is left on its most intensive level to automatically shut off in 10 minutes. Each wall hood may recirculate air as well as vent to the exterior, while the island hoods are vented-only. The new products also come complete with integrated halogen lighting (plus dimmer function) to provide a superior view of what’s underneath and to provide ambiance.
KitchenAid Introduces First 30″ Five Burner Cooktop
If you’ve been longing for an extra burner, but are short on counter space, KitchenAid offers their newest cooktop- a five burner that fits in a thirty inch space. Part of the new Architect Series II appliance collection, they will also be available in a thirty-six inch size if you have a bit more room to spare.
Its features include full-width cast iron grates, sealed high-output BTU burners ranging from 20,000 BTUs to 7,000. Infinite heat control offer greater more accurate temperatures. Select models have a clear coat protection on the finish and can feature a Glass-TOuch display with a control lockout for safety.
These cooktops are scheduled for availability in early summer, suggested retail prices will range from $1,199 to $1,649.
High End Appliances – What are You Getting for Your Money?
Stainless steel looks beautiful in the kitchen, but shine doesn’t necessarily equal performance. Do high end appliances (many with those gleaming finishes) really rate having such high price tags? Sometimes they really do. But that doesn’t mean you should rule out mid-priced options. As mid-priced manufacturers start adapting some of the features the pricier models have to theirs, the average homeowner is able to get in on the fun.
If you, as most consumers do, want to know what you are getting for your money, Bill LaHay has gotten it all down for you in the ReadingEagle.com. We can start with what you get for the big bucks in ranges:
Like the hearth of a primitive home, they’re often the centerpiece of the modern kitchen, with typical price tags from around $4,000 to $10,000. This doesn’t even include some exclusive European brands.
The heavy-gauge stainless-steel housings account for some of the cost, but that’s just a start. Control knobs are beefier, oven racks are heavier and multiple halogen lamps light the oven compartment.
On the cooktop, large-capacity gas burners kick up the heat with a wide range of control, from a delicate simmer to a high-output setting for fast boiling or searing flavor into meats. In 36-inch and larger sizes, you can also add grills or griddles to the burner mix.
Look for ratings around 15,000 Btu (British thermal units), a measure of heat energy. The burners are fitted with continuous cast-iron grates, and most have an automatic reignition feature that lights an accidentally extinguished flame instantly so gas fumes can’t accumulate to dangerous levels. Electric ranges use sophisticated electronics to achieve similar levels of burner speed and control.
Down below, a gas or electric oven will feature a convection mode with concealed elements or burners and a fan to circulate air. Every feature is designed for durability, for faster or more even cooking, or for more control over the process. That’s also true when you purchase a separate cooktop and oven, a better option in some kitchen layouts.
Refrigerators, of course, have a different kind of temperature-control issue, but larger capacity, better access to contents, heavier shelving and hardware, multiple cooling zones and options for built-in design are what you get when you go high-end. Expect prices to start at around $5,000 in this category.
Finally, there are premium dishwashers. Stainless-steel liners, better motors and extra insulation keep them running quieter. Some versions sport hot-water boosters, optical scanners to “read” the water quality and adjust water use accordingly, and enough cycle options to keep even the most obsessive cook happy.
Some are configured as drawers and others accept cabinet door panels so they’ll blend inconspicuously into your kitchen. Best of all, these are still affordable, with typical prices ranging from $1,000 to $2,500.
It’s not true in every instance, but brand names can often indicate what category an appliance is in. You’ll find these pricier “premium” goods sold under names such as Dacor, DCS, Gaggenau, GE Monogram, KitchenAid, Miele, Sub-Zero, Thermador, Viking and Wolf.
There’s nothing wrong with splurging on this top-notch stuff when you have the budget for it, but don’t assume that more affordable goods won’t serve you just as well. The field of mid-priced appliances with stainless-steel cabinets and other quality features has grown faster than any other segment of the appliance market.
Amana, Bosch, Electrolux, GE Profile, Jenn-Aire, Kenmore, LG and Maytag are just some of the brands that offer these exceptional appliance designs at half the cost of goods sporting the high-end price tags.
There’s no end to the list of “must-have” amenities for the modern kitchen, and most of these manufacturers round out their lines with warming drawers, ice makers, wine chillers and other products. Big kitchens can accommodate all of these goodies, but in many homes they can easily cramp the kitchen and rob storage space.
Focus first on the essentials, and then see if other specialized appliances make sense. Even if budget isn’t a factor, you’ll be happier if your kitchen looks less like a machine shop and more like home.