There are many things that can happen in life that truly cause someone a real headache. And one of these things is when your trusty oven dies out. Or it could be that you are just moving out of your parents home, and you are in need of a oven. This is one of those situations that you never really think about until it happens to you, than once it does happen, you wish that you would have been better prepared. Well, for the past year I have worked at a national reseller of home electronics in the appliance department. And throughout my time there, I have learned some really great things to make sure to look for when looking for a new oven – thus this guide.
The first thing that you are going to need to be aware of when you’re purchasing a new oven, is whether you are looking for a three or six pass heating element. Now, I know what most of you are thinking, “What is a heating pass element?” Basically, if you were to open an oven door, and look at the very bottom heating elements, most of them – unless you are looking at the high-end models – and you will see a thin-wire looking bar. This “bar” will curve itself around the bottom of the oven, and if you were to count how many times it goes from the front to the back, than that’s how many “passes” it has. The main difference between the two of them is how evenly the over is going to be heated. If you go for a three-pass than you are going to be basically getting mediocre heating – and the dreaded “hot spots” where, somehow, your pizza is burnt of the far right side, while the left side is perfectly cooked. However, when you choose a six-pass, you are going to be getting evenly distributed heat throughout the entire unit. And no matter if you are an avid chef, or if you are just the average pizza cooker, you are going to want to make sure that your oven displaces its heat evenly. The price difference varies between the two models, the three-pass or the six-pass, however, it is not a huge difference. Expect to spend about $75.00 – $100.00 more on a basic six-pass oven.
The second thing that you need to have on your checklist when on the hunt for a new oven is whether or not you are going to be in the need for a “warming zone.” What is a warming zone? If you were to look at an oven that obtained this feature, it would be a third heating element that is found in-between the two upper heating elements on the stovetop. The basic function of this feature is to keep your food warm after cooking, without cooking it any further. The element heats up to the warmth of a 110 light bulb, so you don’t have to worry about it cooking your food while its on it. Basically, your food will stay nice and warm for those family dinners when people are wanting to go back for seconds, thirds, fourths, etc. Of course, this feature is purely optional, however, throughout my time with dealing with many different types of individuals – families, bachelors, single mothers – I have found that whenever people invest in this feature, they are very satisfied and there isn’t a day when they don’t use it. So, it might seem funny that I would have this “feature” down as a “necessity” but when you think about it, the use of this warming zone is wide-spread.
And the last main thing that you will need to consider when you are buying a new oven is first off, if you are wanting to move into the Convection Oven category, and if you are, what type of convection oven you are wanting to go for. First off, why would you want to buy a convection oven? Well, if you are a heavy cooker, than you will absolutely want to upgrade into this category. When you cook with a convection oven, your food is literally treated differently. The heated air inside of your unit is literally moving around the food, caressing and hugging it – too poetic? – thus cooking your food perfectly. Have you ever been to a restaurant and wondered how they got their bread so incredibly golden brown? Most likely, they used a convection oven. However, if you are not an avid cooker, than you will see a difference in the food you do cook, but you must think if buying into this upgrade is worth your money? There are two different kinds of convection ovens:
1. American Convection
2. True European Convection
What is the difference between the two of these? Well, a lot actually. Convection usage has been wide-spread in Europe for quite some time. Of course, when America decided to move convection overseas, they had to do it their own way. And this time, it wasn’t a good improvement. The main differences between the two, is that true European Convection uses an actual heating element as the convection fan, thus circulating pre-heated air. Normal convection doesn’t use this at all. There is literally just a fan in the back of the oven unit, and it actually circulates normal air that is then heated by the air that is already in the unit. Once can imagine that by doing this, your oven is constantly going through a battle of keeping the inside of the unit warm. Thus, if you are going to go with a convection oven, than you MUST choose a TRUE EUROPEAN CONVECTION OVEN.
OVEN BUYING CHECKLIST:
1. Three-pass or Six-Pass Oven
2. Warming Zone.
3. American Convection vs. True European Convection Oven
