August 2008
Cooking appliances
Buy results, not promises
A 'PRO' FOR LESS GE's Profile PGB910SEM, $1,800, blends top performance with stainless steel, continuous grates, a bridge burner, and a griddle.
Manufacturers are serving up new names and claims as they prod you to spend a little more on your next range, cooktop, or
wall oven. But our tests of more than 100 models of kitchen appliances show that when it comes to good cooking, it often pays
to pay less.
You’ll find almost 30 Quick Picks from Frigidaire, GE, Kenmore, and other major brands in our Ratings. Samsung, the Korean company better known for its cell phones and TVs, recently joined the fray with its first smoothtop electric range. The $1,300 stove has three convection-oven fans and a steam-cleaning feature for the oven. Yet the steam did little to clean even the small messes for which it’s intended. And as we found, the three-fan oven proved no better than a twin-fan competitor’s when we loaded it up with cookies. (See The great cookie bake-off.)
Induction cooktops, which use a magnetic field to cook more quickly and efficiently than gas or radiant-electric models, have also made inroads. Many cost $2,000 or more, but GE’s new Profile matches the best for hundreds less.
You’ll also find more big names competing at the “pro” end of the kitchen appliances price spectrum as kitchens have morphed into places to show off as well as cook in. But our months of boiling, baking, and broiling tests reveal that you can cook like a pro without spending like one. Here are the details on our latest findings:
Ranges: Faux pro beats real. GE’s top-scoring Profile gas range heated quickly and simmered superbly. The 30-inch, $1,800 model also includes plenty of pro-look stainless steel. True pro-style ranges cost much more, and Kenmore’s $6,300 Pro 7962 dual-fuel range is no exception. Sears promises the new 36-inch-wide range will “dazzle the most discriminating chef or kitchen designer.” The all-stainless stove has extra burners as well as an extra-large oven with 14 rack positions that are supposed to yield more precise, even baking. While the Kenmore outperformed most other large dual-fuel models, the GE outcooked it.
Cooktops: Pricier isn’t better. Miele says its gas and electric cooktops are designed to perform to your highest expectations. While its gas model KM3474, $1,450, was very good at fast heating, it was only mediocre at low-heat simmering. KitchenAid promises complete versatility for its gas and electric models. Yet the gas model KGCC766R, $1,050, was mediocre in our high- and low-heat tests. GE’s Monogram ZGU385NSM gas cooktop, $1,400, met its precise simmering claims in our low-heat tests. But as with most gas models, it was mediocre at quick heating.
Wall ovens: Some promises are broken. We also found disappointments in the wall-oven aisle. KitchenAid’s Superba KEBS107S, $2,150, performed less-than-superbly in our kitchen appliances baking and broiling tests despite claims of unrivaled performance. Fisher & Paykel’s OS302 wall oven, $2,200, yielded unevenly cooked cakes, belying its promise of even heat distribution. Thermador’s high-priced ME301E, $2,400, is a top performer in our tests. But when it comes to repairs, the brand has ranked rock-bottom in our surveys for electric wall ovens.
You’ll find almost 30 Quick Picks from Frigidaire, GE, Kenmore, and other major brands in our Ratings. Samsung, the Korean company better known for its cell phones and TVs, recently joined the fray with its first smoothtop electric range. The $1,300 stove has three convection-oven fans and a steam-cleaning feature for the oven. Yet the steam did little to clean even the small messes for which it’s intended. And as we found, the three-fan oven proved no better than a twin-fan competitor’s when we loaded it up with cookies. (See The great cookie bake-off.)
Induction cooktops, which use a magnetic field to cook more quickly and efficiently than gas or radiant-electric models, have also made inroads. Many cost $2,000 or more, but GE’s new Profile matches the best for hundreds less.
You’ll also find more big names competing at the “pro” end of the kitchen appliances price spectrum as kitchens have morphed into places to show off as well as cook in. But our months of boiling, baking, and broiling tests reveal that you can cook like a pro without spending like one. Here are the details on our latest findings:
Ranges: Faux pro beats real. GE’s top-scoring Profile gas range heated quickly and simmered superbly. The 30-inch, $1,800 model also includes plenty of pro-look stainless steel. True pro-style ranges cost much more, and Kenmore’s $6,300 Pro 7962 dual-fuel range is no exception. Sears promises the new 36-inch-wide range will “dazzle the most discriminating chef or kitchen designer.” The all-stainless stove has extra burners as well as an extra-large oven with 14 rack positions that are supposed to yield more precise, even baking. While the Kenmore outperformed most other large dual-fuel models, the GE outcooked it.
Cooktops: Pricier isn’t better. Miele says its gas and electric cooktops are designed to perform to your highest expectations. While its gas model KM3474, $1,450, was very good at fast heating, it was only mediocre at low-heat simmering. KitchenAid promises complete versatility for its gas and electric models. Yet the gas model KGCC766R, $1,050, was mediocre in our high- and low-heat tests. GE’s Monogram ZGU385NSM gas cooktop, $1,400, met its precise simmering claims in our low-heat tests. But as with most gas models, it was mediocre at quick heating.
Wall ovens: Some promises are broken. We also found disappointments in the wall-oven aisle. KitchenAid’s Superba KEBS107S, $2,150, performed less-than-superbly in our kitchen appliances baking and broiling tests despite claims of unrivaled performance. Fisher & Paykel’s OS302 wall oven, $2,200, yielded unevenly cooked cakes, belying its promise of even heat distribution. Thermador’s high-priced ME301E, $2,400, is a top performer in our tests. But when it comes to repairs, the brand has ranked rock-bottom in our surveys for electric wall ovens.
