Gas stoves.....are the fancy features really worth it?

[Ottakee]

I am a speed Queen type of gal...do the job, do it well, do it reliably, but no extra fancy bells and whistles.

 

That said, I need a new gas stove. We will go with white to match other appliances. Do I want the 5 burner with center griddle? Is that very useful or a pain the behind to use/clean? How about the double oven? Worth the added cost or more difficult to use as bottom oven is so low? Convection or is that just one more thing likely to break?

 

I have the money (Thanks to a gift) to get a good stove/oven. I cook daily, often multiple meals a day. Right now there are 5 of us but we can have more at times. I cook simple, comfort food meals, not gourmet type stuff where exactly temperature, etc is critical.

 

What says the hive who is more accurate for real life than any online reviews.

 

If you have a favorite brand/model/chain store let me know that too.

[Carol in Cal.]

I know I would never use convection, so I would not want to pay extra for that.  One thing I have heard about it is that it tends to vibrate a lot, so if you have things that need to rise or stay fluffy, you can't have them near it.

 

I used to have a stove with a center griddle, and I really liked it, but then I got an electric griddle that had a nonstick surface, and that was SO MUCH better that I would not have a center griddle again.  This is because I prefer a gas stove, but a gas griddle can overheat pretty easily, whereas an electric one just keeps a very even heat so nothing ever burns.  Also, although I refuse to cook with nonstick pans, a nonstick griddle is a real convenience when making pancakes or tortillas.  Plus you can move the griddle outside if you don't want to heat up your kitchen.

 

However, what I would have is those continuous grid burner surfaces so you can slide heavy, hot pans around the stove, and a super hot burner for searing, and at least one burner than can be set to a pretty low flame for things like melting chocolate.  So I would have 6 or 8 burners for sure.

 

A double oven is very convenient for entertaining, but if you have room for a wall oven, I'd go with a single oven and broiler for your stove, and a wall oven and maybe a warming drawer elsewhere in the kitchen.  The warming drawer is surprisingly convenient for all those times when you cook meat and then are supposed to keep it warm while you make the sauce, gravy, or mashed potatoes; especially when you're using pan drippings.  

[gardenmom5]

I am a speed Queen type of gal...do the job, do it well, do it reliably, but no extra fancy bells and whistles.

 

That said, I need a new gas stove. We will go with white to match other appliances. Do I want the 5 burner with center griddle? Is that very useful or a pain the behind to use/clean? How about the double oven? Worth the added cost or more difficult to use as bottom oven is so low? Convection or is that just one more thing likely to break?

 

I have the money (Thanks to a gift) to get a good stove/oven. I cook daily, often multiple meals a day. Right now there are 5 of us but we can have more at times. I cook simple, comfort food meals, not gourmet type stuff where exactly temperature, etc is critical.

 

What says the hive who is more accurate for real life than any online reviews.

 

If you have a favorite brand/model/chain store let me know that too.

 

 

are you doing a range?  or a separate cooktop - wall oven/s?

 

electric ovens bake better - but i adore my gas burners.  I don't' have a center griddle - but I do have a cast iron griddle that lives on my stove top.  my next one will have a griddle.  or maybe not . . . but I have a high btu and medium btu burner for the griddle, so I've learned how to get approx. the same out put from each.

I love the instant response of gas.

 

pay attention to the BTUs.   and make sure you have adequate exterior venting (required for gas).

good equipment makes a big difference - even with "comfort foods".

 

I have an older dual fuel (electric oven, gas cook-top) GE range - I love it. and the oven is bigger than most of the other dual fuels on the market.  (including ht higher end ones).  they no longer make it like that - I have  high output btu burners   as well as a low simmer.  the dont' make two high outputs anymore.

 

If I had the money and space - I'd have an extra-large double wall oven.  - wall ovens have more insulation - so usable space is reduced.  the extra-large is about the same volume as a range oven.

even just for large family dinners with meat in one oven and rolls in another . . .

[MEmama]

Ours came with the house. I've never used the convection "feature" nor the warming drawer. In 6 years I've never had occasion to find it useful, except for storage. I personally have no need for a griddle either, so I certainly wouldn't pay extra for one.

 

I can cook equally well on either electric or gas, though. I'm not fussy.

[PrincessMommy]

I currently have a double oven and I like it.  It is quite useful at large gatherings (Christmas, etc) when I need to cook/heat a lot of items at once.   I also use it because I bake bread and use both ovens to make a lot at once.

 

I have a large family, so it does come in handy when everyone is together...otherwise the 2nd oven rarely gets used.

 

The top oven is also convection.  I like the feature because I can cook things faster.  But, the convection does make noise with the fan running.

 

That's my 2cents.

 

 

 

 

[Miss Tick]

Our range came with the house. It has a built in griddle and we use it pretty regularly, 2x a week? I don't know that I would buy it myself, but if I could find one made to fit over a couple burners when needed, that would be just as useful and obviously more flexible. I've never found myself thinking, "oh, if only I had another oven." so for me I don't think that feature would be useful. This oven is connection, and I use it for baked items, but I have no idea if it is worth it to buy new. I might see if Consumer Reports has am opinion on that.

 

Happy cooking/baking!

[historically accurate]

I am a speed Queen type of gal...do the job, do it well, do it reliably, but no extra fancy bells and whistles.

 

That said, I need a new gas stove. We will go with white to match other appliances. Do I want the 5 burner with center griddle? Is that very useful or a pain the behind to use/clean? How about the double oven? Worth the added cost or more difficult to use as bottom oven is so low? Convection or is that just one more thing likely to break?

 

I have the money (Thanks to a gift) to get a good stove/oven. I cook daily, often multiple meals a day. Right now there are 5 of us but we can have more at times. I cook simple, comfort food meals, not gourmet type stuff where exactly temperature, etc is critical.

 

What says the hive who is more accurate for real life than any online reviews.

 

If you have a favorite brand/model/chain store let me know that too.

 

The only option my stove has from that list is the double oven. I use it enough to have it - I use it for gatherings (Thanksgiving/Christmas). I have also scrubbed it and used it for guests who have allergies so there is no cross-contamination in the other oven.

[prairiewindmomma]

I have the center griddle option, and never use it.  I do, however, use my quick boil gas dial quite a bit.  I don't use my convection feature.  I wish my oven was double. 

[regentrude]

I have a gas stove and only ever use the convection feature when I bake. It distributes the heat more evenly, and I do not have the trouble with burning I had with the old stove.

Also, it allows you to bake things on several racks simultanouesly; since the air is moved around, the lower racks dont block the heat from reaching the upper ones.

 

The center large burner is useful for rectangular pans, like when youare searing a large pice of meat before it goes in the oven, but I would not pay extra for it. In ten years, I have never once used the griddle that came with it.

 

[regentrude]

I know I would never use convection, so I would not want to pay extra for that.  One thing I have heard about it is that it tends to vibrate a lot, so if you have things that need to rise or stay fluffy, you can't have them near it.

 

No my experience. I bake everything with the convection setting, and there are no noticeable vibrations. No interference with things rising (I set bread for the second rise on the stove top while the oven preheats in convection setting)

[regentrude]

Question for those who never use the convection: how to you bake on mutiple racks at the same time? Do you rotate your baked goods to get an even bake?

[bolt.]

I use my convection setting almost all the time.

[prairiewindmomma]

Question for those who never use the convection: how to you bake on mutiple racks at the same time? Do you rotate your baked goods to get an even bake?

 

I do, generally. When making cookies, however, I will usually pull both at the same time as some of us prefer soft cookies and others prefer crunchy.

[gardenmom5]

Our range came with the house. It has a built in griddle and we use it pretty regularly, 2x a week? I don't know that I would buy it myself, but if I could find one made to fit over a couple burners when needed, that would be just as useful and obviously more flexible. I've never found myself thinking, "oh, if only I had another oven." so for me I don't think that feature would be useful. This oven is connection, and I use it for baked items, but I have no idea if it is worth it to buy new. I might see if Consumer Reports has am opinion on that.

 

Happy cooking/baking!

 

here's the cast iron griddle that fits over two burners - and frequently get's left there . . .  

 

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-LDP3-Reversible-9-5-inch-16-75-inch/dp/B002CMLTXG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1497727534&sr=8-4&keywords=lodge+cast+iron+griddle

run it under hot water to clean - never use soap.  lightly brush with oil every once in awhile as it's heating.  love it.  I do find the "grill" surface a pain to clean.

 

we occasionally use the convection oven.  it bakes more evenly.  can be good for breads.  the fan is noisy.   I have no vibration,

the warming drawer is used occasionally - for rising bread, or just keeping something  warm.

 

I absolutely find it worth having burner/pan holders (can't think what they're called) that make a flat surface on the cook top. you can slide pans - and will always have adequate support for the size pot.

[MEmama]

Question for those who never use the convection: how to you bake on mutiple racks at the same time? Do you rotate your baked goods to get an even bake?

I've never needed to bake items on multiple racks.

[Cinder]

We have a Samsung with the center griddle burner--it came with a non-stick griddle. I used it a bit at first, mostly for cooking pancakes or french toast, but hardly use it anymore. Our stove top is standard sized so when the griddle is in use you can't use the other burners. What I do like about this model is that it has two power burners in front; the two rear burners are the two smaller ones you'd find on a standard stove. And it puts out more gas overall than our old Kenmore. Med on this stove is like med-hi on that one. One of the negatives is that if you bump the knobs--which are on the front of the stove--they might turn on; they turn on a little too easily. Overall I like this stove but probably wouldn't get one with a center burner again.

[MommyLiberty5013]

We had a gas stove with a double oven (not a warming drawer) at our old house. I loved the double oven and miss it so much. It was great for some meals requiring baking (like spaghetti squash and also bread) at the same time.

 

If I could get a double I would in a heartbeat.

[Pawz4me]

I have an electric range with a convection option. I do use it occasionally and find it very handy when I'm baking/roasting anything that I need to speed up a bit. It seems to bake a lot faster than the normal oven setting with no big risk of drying something out as can happen if you boost the temperature to speed things up. There is a bit of fan noise but no vibration at all.

[gardenmom5]

when considering ovens - consider what you bake. . . . we roast turkeys- so I was measuring to make sure there was enough room. even in a standard 30" range - oven sizes vary.

[Ottakee]

This would be a stove/oven combo, not the in the wall double ovens (which I might love).  Just your basic 30" wide stove.

 

I LOVE the point about the grills for the burners going all the way across the stove so that you can move things around without them tipping over.

[regentrude]

I've never needed to bake items on multiple racks.

 

 

So do you never bake big batches, or you bake them sequentially?

I love that I can bake multiple sheets of cookies at the same time. Otherwise, Christmas cookies would take for.e.ver.

 

It's also handy for preparing a meal that involves several different pans of roasted stuff. Very easy, once the oven is on, to roast potatoes and veggies and meat and whatnot and cook it all at the same time. 

[Ottakee]

Will the convection feature make my brownies turn out better?  Make it so I can do 2-3 pans of cookies at a time?  Those would be life changing for me :-)

Those with the convection feature, does it make repairs much more likely?  If the convection fan goes out will the oven still work as a standard regular oven?

[MEmama]

So do you never bake big batches, or you bake them sequentially?

I love that I can bake multiple sheets of cookies at the same time. Otherwise, Christmas cookies would take for.e.ver.

 

It's also handy for preparing a meal that involves several different pans of roasted stuff. Very easy, once the oven is on, to roast potatoes and veggies and meat and whatnot and cook it all at the same time.

We have a family of three and we don't entertain. Thus, nope, no big batches and no need for multiple racks.

 

Roasted veggies get thrown together in one pot. We don't eat meat.

[gardenmom5]

Will the convection feature make my brownies turn out better?  Make it so I can do 2-3 pans of cookies at a time?  Those would be life changing for me :-)

 

Those with the convection feature, does it make repairs much more likely?  If the convection fan goes out will the oven still work as a standard regular oven?

 

I can do multiple sheets of cookies - they're not quite the same as single.  it would probably be different if I had smaller cookie sheets - but I have huge ones. . . .it came with three oven racks.

but again - I have a dual fuel so the oven is electric, the burners are gas. the front two are high output. (I would NOT want only one)  one is "simmer".

 

I've never had to have my oven repaired and it's 15? years old.  wow. . .time flies.  that's when I redid my kitchen.

[Ottakee]

I ended up with a white gas single convection oven range that has the center griddle.  The griddle though is flush with the burners so you can slide things around, use the griddle at the same time as the burners, etc.....and it has the largest griddle available.....fits 6 grilled cheese at once.  I also bought the burner grates for the center for when I don't want the griddle but need the burner for something else.

We looked at another one that the kids liked as it had a "pizza" button for the oven.  With that one though the griddle was much smaller and it was raised so you couldn't use the griddle and burner with a frying pan or larger pot at the same time.

[Guest]

We got a new stove/oven awhile back and our number one goal was NO ELECTRONICS.  Those things break, and the replacement cost is 75% the cost of a new stove. 

 

We went to an appliance store, saw a stove that was all manual control, found that there was one scratch-and-dent that was less than half the price of the already-on-sale appliance (it was on deep discount already because it was last year's model--the manufacturer had moved from square handles to round.  (eye roll). Well, the salesperson looked it up and there was one fresh and new in the box, without the scratch, and she sold it to us for the same price.  Happy.

 

I like having 5 burners, but I rarely use the center one.  I use the grill outside.  Indoor grills are lovely but there is a lot of gas and fat residue from them, too.  I like having convection bake as well as regular bake.  But that one feature is pretty much the entire Special Feature List we got.  OH--I also like having a continuous grill, so you can move pots around without having to center them on the burner support.  Plus it just looks tidier. 

 

:0)

 

NO ELECTRONICS!!!!!

 

[Katy]

I would opt for a cheaper range and put in a matching convection microwave above the stove.  That way you have a second & smaller oven for when you need it.

 

I like double wall ovens, but I think double ovens in a range tend to make both too small.  I'm also not a fan of convection unless you get a convection microwave - the couple convection ovens we had (not new) weren't reliable - so neither was temperature or cook time. Stuff tended to burn and/or require 4 times the bake time as normal. Convection microwaves seem to work well though.

 

I can't tell you if you'd use a griddle or not.  Depends on what types of breakfast you cook. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I have one with convection, but have never used that.  I like having the 5 burners and do sometimes use the griddle.  It's also good for super large pots (I have a couple of huge pots).  Warming drawer I have used, but could live without. 

 

I did have a microwave above my stove when we moved in.  That's the first thing I ripped out.  I'm short so that is not convenient for me.  Also, it was too close to the stove top so having a tall pot under there wouldn't work out.  Maybe those aren't factors for you though.

 

I would have liked the double ovens.  I kinda wish I had gone for that option, but I can't say if I would have ended up liking it or not. 

[kewb]

I am a fairly no nonsense cook.  My current stove/oven came with the house when we bought it 20 years ago.

It is a convection oven.  It has yet to give me an issues and is no noisier than the regular bake option. 

I wouldn't use the center griddle because I like my electric griddle pan that I can take outside to cook things like bacon and I make pancakes maybe 2x a year. I grill outside because of the smell and grease factor, like the bacon.

We don't entertain the way we used to so I don't need the double oven.  If I was going to go for a double, because sometimes I do wish I had that extra oven, I would want the double wall oven.  I don't like bending to lift out the heavy items. 

 

[ktgrok]

Will the convection feature make my brownies turn out better?  Make it so I can do 2-3 pans of cookies at a time?  Those would be life changing for me :-)

 

Those with the convection feature, does it make repairs much more likely?  If the convection fan goes out will the oven still work as a standard regular oven?

 

I've never used convection for brownies, but maybe? In that type of instance I'd follow the "rules" that say to turn down the temp 25 degrees and cook for the same length of time. That's how my instruction manual says to use convection. But...I generally cook most things at the same temp and cook for a shorter time because I'm in a hurry. It definitely helps things brown more evenly. 

 

And yeah, if the fan went out it would still work as an oven. 

 

I love having a convection setting on my oven. Mine is not a fancy one...it's just a switch I flip that says "speed bake". My parents have a fancy one that will calculate time and temp based on non convection instructions or some such thing. It's like a artificial brain. Mine is a normal oven just with that switch that turns the fan on. 

[dsmith]

We never thought we would use convection, but decided to try it anyway. We use it ALL THE TIME! We do a lot of freezer cooking and often forget to thaw something until a few hours before dinner, so the convection is a big help for those days. We've also used it for roasting chickens, a rib roast, even french fries. We also got the big center burner that a griddle can be put on, and we hate it. Maybe a built in griddle would have been better, but the flame on this burner isn't high enough to be useful for a griddle so we end up using the regular burners. 

[My4arrows]

We moved recently and I really like the stove top that is here. It has the 4 burners and the middle griddle burner. I use it all the time and it's handy during holidays when we are cooking more. It also has the two ovens and I love that option. The top is smaller so it warms up quicker when we are just doing something quick or smaller meals. The bottom is bigger and has convection (which is usually use and haven't had issues with). I told DH we are in trouble if this one breaks since it's what we are used to now and I don't even want to know how much it costs to replace. If you cook daily and especially holidays these features are useful IMO.

[Alessandra]

Question for those who never use the convection: how to you bake on mutiple racks at the same time? Do you rotate your baked goods to get an even bake?

I have a convection, but I rotate.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Question for those who never use the convection: how to you bake on mutiple racks at the same time? Do you rotate your baked goods to get an even bake?

 

I rotate the pans.  But duh, I have convection so why not use it?  I forget I guess. 

 

That said, I rarely bake on multiple racks.

[AMJ]

I am a speed Queen type of gal...do the job, do it well, do it reliably, but no extra fancy bells and whistles.

 

That said, I need a new gas stove. We will go with white to match other appliances. Do I want the 5 burner with center griddle? Is that very useful or a pain the behind to use/clean? How about the double oven? Worth the added cost or more difficult to use as bottom oven is so low? Convection or is that just one more thing likely to break?

 

I have the money (Thanks to a gift) to get a good stove/oven. I cook daily, often multiple meals a day. Right now there are 5 of us but we can have more at times. I cook simple, comfort food meals, not gourmet type stuff where exactly temperature, etc is critical.

 

What says the hive who is more accurate for real life than any online reviews.

 

If you have a favorite brand/model/chain store let me know that too.

 

 

Take along some of your biggest diameter pans, and one or two tall pots.  Try them out on the top of any stoves you are considering.  Our current stove supposedly has 5 burners, but:

• the small middle burner can't be used if any of the corner burners are in use (pot areas overlap)
• there's a small projection at the back of the stove to vent moisture from the oven past the control panel -- this projection sticks out over burners, making the two back burners, where I like to put stock pots and bigger stuff, only suitable for small pots and pans
• the burners are supposedly 12", but I have a hard time keeping two 12" pans centered over their burners on the front of the stove

Each of these "features" we didn't realize until we had the stove home.

 

Also consider how you will clean the stove top.  Ours has two massive iron grates which are nearly impossible to get into my sink at all to clean.  Our previous cheap stove had individual grates for each burner that abutted together (so pots could be slid around) but broke apart nicely for cleaning.  Additionally, our so-called "easy clean" sealed burners are very shallow, so spills get cooked on quite solidly before I'm done cooking, causing them to take a lot of soaking and scrubbing to get clean again.  I wish I had gone for open burner, possibly with drip pans beneath -- the spills don't get cooked into rock because they fall farther from the burner flame.

[Alessandra]

I have a five burner stove: the middle burner is oval. The stove came with a griddle for the middle burner -- you remove the grate to use it. However, I hardly use it, as I prefer my larger griddle that goes over two burners.

 

What I love about the stovetop is the continuous grates, so I can slide pots around, and four different BTUs -- hot, simmer, and two in between. I still remember the first time I used my new stove and being amazed at how much more quickly a pot of pasta water heated up on the big burner. I also love that I can easily simmer a pot of rice without burning by using the simmer burner.

 

I would love to have two ovens, but, more important to me is to have an oven that holds a large turkey, so I went with a single oven. I periodically look at stoves with two side by side ovens, but the ones I see are large and expensive. And take up more space than I have.

 

I still remember stove in my parents house -- six burners, and to the right a separate broiler with a raised griddle above it. Two 36" ovens below and a plate warming shelf above. Love, love, love stoves like that.

 

I have SQ too, but I found that stoves in my price range all had push button panels for oven. Stovetop has old fashioned knobs. I have a warming drawer that I mainly use for storage.

[vonfirmath]

I know I would never use convection, so I would not want to pay extra for that.  One thing I have heard about it is that it tends to vibrate a lot, so if you have things that need to rise or stay fluffy, you can't have them near it.

 

I used to have a stove with a center griddle, and I really liked it, but then I got an electric griddle that had a nonstick surface, and that was SO MUCH better that I would not have a center griddle again.  This is because I prefer a gas stove, but a gas griddle can overheat pretty easily, whereas an electric one just keeps a very even heat so nothing ever burns.  Also, although I refuse to cook with nonstick pans, a nonstick griddle is a real convenience when making pancakes or tortillas.  Plus you can move the griddle outside if you don't want to heat up your kitchen.

 

However, what I would have is those continuous grid burner surfaces so you can slide heavy, hot pans around the stove, and a super hot burner for searing, and at least one burner than can be set to a pretty low flame for things like melting chocolate.  So I would have 6 or 8 burners for sure.

 

A double oven is very convenient for entertaining, but if you have room for a wall oven, I'd go with a single oven and broiler for your stove, and a wall oven and maybe a warming drawer elsewhere in the kitchen.  The warming drawer is surprisingly convenient for all those times when you cook meat and then are supposed to keep it warm while you make the sauce, gravy, or mashed potatoes; especially when you're using pan drippings.  

 

Our convection oven does not vibrate. My husband (who does more baking than I) is quite pleased with it.