Consider your family size,
style, preferences, and cooking needs
before embarking on the appliance purchasing journey.

Gas or Electricity?

This fuel preference is often determined by familiarity but if you dont have any previous cooking experience the following will be a useful guide.

• Gas

  Gas can be termed a wet fuel - this means the fuel has a greater degree of moisture. This has great benefits for cooking cakes and yeast foods. The moist environment give a lighter crumb meaning the cake is soft and spongy - not hard and crusty.

  "An incorrect temperature and cooking time can produce poor results even in a gas oven!"

• Electricity

  These ovens function with heating coils/elements, that heat the oxygen and take out the moisture. The result is a cooking time that is marginally shorter than gas and a cooked result that will be slightly crustier and firmer. This application is excellent for pastry and pizza.

This could be the size of the oven or the kitchen space available. The standard upright oven is 540mm wide and they increase to 600mm, 700mm to 900mm in width. Limited kitchen space may mean that the oven can be situated under the bench top with a slim-line cooktop positioned directly above. These underbench ovens are vented to the front. These ovens will frequently have a cool touch door and an ambient venting system that wont cook the cook.

Do you require a separate grill compartment?

This can be determined by the frequent use of the grill for toast & snacks, or the need to use the grill and the oven at the same time perhaps to meet large catering needs. Wall ovens, upright ovens and underbench ovens are all available with a separate grill facility.

In-oven grilling on electric ovens includes a split grill facility that can save time and energy - you are only heating half the grill to cook two steaks, etc. In-oven grilling does not cover the oven with splatter if the food is positioned correctly and the correct temperatures are followed.

In-oven grilling enables Turbo grilling where the oven does remain closed during grilling and the oven fan enables the entire food area to cook to perfection without turning. Its quick, clean and energy efficient grilling that is perfect for all styles of meat and vegetables. The remaining oven area can be used at the same time to cook side dishes and muffins, etc.

Style

Is often the deciding factor. The trend is towards a clean sleek style that has an easy grip handle and a simple operational panel. A good sized clear viewing window without decoration is beneficial. A bright oven light that casts few shadows when the oven is filled to capacity is a bonus. Ovens come with different lighting operations. Some have a separate oven light switch for independent operation, others have the oven light, on for the entire time that the oven is in operation. Look for smooth unfluted knobs, especially if they are not removable, and an oven with a minimum of decoration groove and grill work.