Oven Buying Guide
Choosing an oven for your kitchen is not an easy task. To lend a helping hand we have created an Oven And Cooker Buying Guide.
Our buying guide covers everything you need to know about cooking with gas, electric and steam ovens. It is also full of helpful tips and advice including the facts about Catalytic vs Pyrolytic self cleaning ovens.
Things To Consider Before Buying An Oven
Firstly you’ll need to think about your lifestyle and how much space you will have available in your kitchen design. This will help you to decide which type of oven is going to be the best for you;
Kitchen Size;
Small Kitchen - Consider built under double ovens or freestanding ovens which can come in slimmer 500mm widths.
Large Kitchen - Consider a range cooker or perhaps a single oven and steam oven housed side by side in a tall housing.
Lifestyle;
- Big Family/Traditional Kitchen - Consider a Range Cooker
- Healthy Lifestyle - Consider a Built in Steam Oven
- Modern and Stylish Living - Smart tech appliances with voice command functions.
- Can't Cook, Won't Cook! - Check out our low-mid range ovens, cheaper in price and great for basic use. We also have some great combination microwave ovens too - See Our Microwave Oven Guide.
- Love To Cook and Bake - Look for ovens with telescopic shelves and extra functions such as self cleaning pyrolytic liners, pizza oven settings, additional cooking programmes and probe technology etc.
What is the difference between catalytic and a pyrolytic oven?
Catalytic Ovens
Catalytic ovens are fitted with special catalytic liners which are coated with unique chemicals. These liners simply ‘line’ the sides of the oven cavity and are excellent at absorbing grease. The liners are often only found on the side of the oven so the remainder of the oven will need to be cleaned manually too.
Pyrolytic Cleaning Ovens
Pyrolytic cleaning is the absolute ultimate in oven cleaning. It is an ultra tough, effective cleaning programme found in many top of the range ovens available at Appliance House.
Temperatures reach over a soaring 400ºC when running the pyrolytic cleaning function which turns any food deposit inside the cavity into ash. It is safe to use; whilst the function is working its magic the oven door automatically locks and will only open again once a safe temperature is re-gained in the cavity.
This type of oven cleaning takes a few hours to complete which is considerably longer than the catalytic cycle but once complete your oven will be sparkling and all that is left to do is to wipe away the ash.
It makes oven cleaning incredibly simple and is so much better than spending hours of your time trying to scrub a greasy oven clean, costing around 40p per cleaning cycle it’s really cost effective too.
What is a built in oven?
A Built-In Oven simply means the oven is built into a unit which looks smart and tidy. Built in ovens are available as single or double ovens.
The oven can be fitted into a mid height or tall housing unit which saves you having to bend down every time you open the oven door. Built under double ovens are also available. These boast the same functions as many built in ovens but they fit neatly beneath your worktop. A Built Under Double Oven is a good choice if you wish to increase your cooking capacity while maintaining kitchen space. Single built in ovens can also be fitted beneath the worktop, under a hob.
If you have the luxury of space and a bigger budget then a range of built in ovens can be housed side by side within tall housing units. You could, for example, install a microwave oven, single oven and steam oven together. This would give you huge cooking capabilities and options.
You'll find a wide choice of options if you decide to install a built in oven in your kitchen which we discuss in more detail below.
What features should I look for in my new oven?
Soft Close Hinges- Soft closing hinges close the oven door gently and smoothly. Slow closing hinges also help to prevent excessive amounts of cold air swooping into the oven when you open the door to check your food. It's always better not to open the door if you can, of course!
Soft close hinges are a particularly good feature for those who bake often. Just a sudden jolt when the oven door closes can cause delicate bakes like souffles, to collapse.
Telescopic Shelves-Many high spec ovens now come with a telescopic shelf or two! Telescopic shelves can also be bought as an additional extra.
Fully extendable telescopic runners fit inside the oven and enable you to pull out the oven shelf out to a safe distance. They are very secure and make it so much easier to remove and place food into an oven. Once fully extended, you can easily rotate food during cooking without the need to place your hands inside the cavity. This makes cooking much safer. It's a great feature to have.
Smart Technology-A selection of elite ovens now come with smart features that take the stress out of baking and cooking! Whirlpool recently launched the W collection, a range of high spec ovens featuring 6th Sense Technology.
Ovens built with smart tech have internal sensors that monitor the temperature in the cavity. These clever ovens have the ability to automatically adjust times and settings during cooking to produce perfectly moist, beautifully browned cakes and evenly cooked lasagnes. You can expect perfectly cooked dishes every time!
Food Temperature Probe-Gone are the days of overcooked beef and dry chicken! Food probes help you to cook succulent roasts with ease. Simply push the probe into the centre of the dish/joint and attach it to the probe point inside the oven cavity. The oven will cook the dish to perfection by monitoring the core temperature of the food. Once it reaches the desired temperature your food is ready. If serving a roast, it is best to rest the joint before serving.
Built In Ovens
We stock many models of single and double ovens with conventional, fan and even gas options available. No matter what your budget may be we have a superb collection ranging from budget models by Indesit and Zanussi through to prestigious brands like De-Dietrich.
Most single ovens are 60cm wide however some models come in larger 90cm widths with up to 89 litre oven capacity.
Many cheaper priced built in ovens still look stylish and have excellent A class energy ratings but simply have less functions. Our low-mid range ovens are perfect for smaller budgets, first time buyers and rental properties where only basic oven use is required.
The more prestigious single and double ovens are packed with many features and come in a wider range of colour options; stainless steel, pearl greys, white etc. Features such as self cleaning pyrolytic liners and touch screen technology are more commonly found on the top range models. High spec ovens also provide plenty of cooking and baking settings making them an ideal choice for keen cooks and bakers.
For the tech savvy amongst us new state of the art smart appliances are being launched on the market. Smart ovens come complete with voice command functions which will let owners set cooking times and temperatures by voice activation!
Double ovens offer you the flexibility of grilling and roasting/oven cooking at the same time due to the addition of a smaller upper cavity. Often the top oven has an approximate capacity of 40 litres with an additional 60 litre capacity in the bottom oven meaning you’ll have bags of space to cook roast dinners with ease.
Free Standing Ovens
Free standing ovens are a great option for easy installation as you simply push it into the desired space. They are an affordable cooker option too as you get two appliances in one; a hob and an oven.
Freestanding cookers are available in both single or double ovens with a choice of gas, electric or dual fuel operation. Models are also available with a gas hob, induction hob, ceramic plates or an electric stove top. Options vary among brands.
If you want to clean up mess quickly an induction and electric stove cooker top model would be ideal. Their flat surface means they are very easy to wipe clean. Some of the high-spec models even have catalytic liners inside the ovens making cleaning so much easier too.
All models are labelled with an energy rating so you can choose the free-standing cooker with the most energy efficient option to suit your lifestyle.
Whether you're looking to save money with a cheap free-standing cooker or a sophisticated model, we'll have the perfect appliance for your home and budget. Our free standing cooker range start under £350.That’s a cheap cooker when you consider you have both an oven and a stove top included in one, freestanding appliance. One or two models even have a built in splash back too!
Before you buy a free-standing cooker you need to ensure the appliance fits into the space you have available in your kitchen.
Steam Ovens
Beautifully engineered and styled; cooking with a steam oven locks in fresh flavours enabling you to create healthy dishes with ease.
Steam Ovens are often easier to keep clean as food spillages do not get baked onto the inside of the oven plus many steam ovens have a steam cleaning oven programme to make deep cleaning of the appliance even easier.
We have some fantastic built-in steam ovens available at Appliance House. If you love to eat healthy food then a steam cooker could be the perfect option for you. The steam cooks meat, fish, vegetables and other food beautifully, plus you can roast to perfection too with a built-in steam oven, resulting in juicy meats with crispy outer skin.
Some of the elite steam oven models have a SousVide oven function that can cook vacuumed sealed food at low temperatures and include pre-programmed cooking recipes. You can also buy vacuum sealer drawers if you wish to use the professional cooking method 'SousVide' from home.
Our steam ovens are state of the art and come complete with touch control technology too. A great choice for any modern kitchen.
Why Choose Appliance House?
Whether you’re after a modern high tech oven, a more traditional range cooker or a cheap and cheerful single oven when you check out our extensive range of ovens, we guarantee you will find an oven that will tick all the boxes for you and will slot perfectly into your lifestyle.
If you’re struggling to decide on a particular model of cooking appliance then please pick up the phone and speak to one of our friendly team on; 0330 002 0229. We’re extremely clued up on ovens and other kitchen appliances and always happy to help!
We also offer affordable finance packages to help you spread the cost of you new appliances. T&C's apply