Kitchen appliances

[cabanafrau]

Must be my lack of training, because the issue I had was lack of variation with gas, it always was too hot. The gas stove had 3 settings, High Medium and Low, my electric stove has 10. But in all fairness, the gas stove was a commercial stove so it was designed with someone with some cooking experience, not an 19-22 year old, cooking on it.

I strongly suspect you did not have to "set" that gas stove specifically on high, medium or low exclusively. I have never seen a gas stove with only 3 fixed settings on the burners. Electric stoves can have multiple settings (my new gas has multiple as well). The tricky part about electric is if you've been cooking away on six or seven and now is the time to move to three, changing the control reduces the power level but the burner doesn't cool quickly. On a gas burner you can vary the heat level much quicker. And those settings on the control aren't limited except for the top and bottom, in between each is a sliding scale of heat to be applied or reduced. That's why chef's use it.

QUOTE="tvguy, post: 56393070, member: 58756"]I am also in California. We just did a story on a big new commercial food operation, everything is electric with the electricity coming from solar panels on the roof.[/QUOTE]

That may be fine for a commercial food operation, which is quite different from residential or even a restaurant's needs, if it's a restaurant making food from fresh ingredients that is.

 

[cabanafrau]

I'm actually looking for a gas stove. Has to be convection, but not much else. Any good brands or models?

I'm happy with my new GE Profile for the reasons I listed above. I have used the convection only a few times because I bought the stove at Easter and don't really use the oven in the summer months, but I was happy with every dish I used the convection option for.

 

[tvguy]

I strongly suspect you did not have to "set" that gas stove specifically on high, medium or low exclusively. I have never seen a gas stove with only 3 fixed settings on the burners. Electric stoves can have multiple settings (my new gas has multiple as well). The tricky part about electric is if you've been cooking away on six or seven and now is the time to move to three, changing the control reduces the power level but the burner doesn't cool quickly. On a gas burner you can vary the heat level much quicker. And those settings on the control aren't limited except for the top and bottom, in between each is a sliding scale of heat to be applied or reduced. That's why chef's use it.

QUOTE="tvguy, post: 56393070, member: 58756"]I am also in California. We just did a story on a big new commercial food operation, everything is electric with the electricity coming from solar panels on the roof.

That may be fine for a commercial food operation, which is quite different from residential or even a restaurant's needs, if it's a restaurant making food from fresh ingredients that is.[/QUOTE]

Yes, they feature "Farm to Fork" ingredients sourced from within 150 miles

 

[QueenIsabella]

We bought a 4-door French Door fridge last year and we love it. It looks just like the picture a PP posted, with the two top doors, and then the drawer that slides out. It has an ice/water dispenser on the front--it produces enough ice for a family of 6 in the south, so there's that. You can set the temperature of the drawer, separate from the rest of the fridge. We all really, really love that fridge.

Unfortunately, it's kind of pricey. But, here's how we got a great deal: Lowe's was having all appliances on sale, so we figured we'd look. This model was out of our budget (regularly $2200 for our size, marked down maybe 25%? I don't remember.) Anyway, this particular fridge was there, marked down because it had been returned. We asked the guy, "Why should we pay X for this fridge, when we can get a brand spankin' new one for X + $50?" He admitted that they hadn't marked the "used" one down properly. He also said it had never been actually used, it had been delivered, and then didn't fit in the space. So, he applies the discount to the "used" fridge (which still had its protective plastic on it), and we get a $2200 fridge for $1300.

So, look around, find out where the best deals are, and ask about when sales will be happening (I think Nov.-Dec.). The added moral to this story is, measure your space very carefully.

P.S. We happen to like Lowe's YMV. However, I wouldn't recommend Sears at all, their customer service has been terrible for so long, I wouldn't set foot in there, just on the off chance something went wrong.

 

[cabanafrau]

That may be fine for a commercial food operation, which is quite different from residential or even a restaurant's needs, if it's a restaurant making food from fresh ingredients that is.

Yes, they feature "Farm to Fork" ingredients sourced from within 150 miles[/QUOTE]

I think I was making a slightly different point. I was referring to a restaurant taking fresh ingredients and prepping and cooking them to immediately serve to a diner on the spot. It sounds to me as if you're discussing a commercial kitchen operation prepping and cooking fresh ingredients for distribution through some kind of supply chain. If so, cooking on that large of a scale may be approached differently, which is why the electrical method may be both useful and resourceful. A chef cooking the same ingredients to serve the same dish immediately to a diner may be likely to approach the whole thing quite differently.

 

[tvguy]

Yes, they feature "Farm to Fork" ingredients sourced from within 150 miles

I think I was making a slightly different point. I was referring to a restaurant taking fresh ingredients and prepping and cooking them to immediately serve to a diner on the spot. It sounds to me as if you're discussing a commercial kitchen operation prepping and cooking fresh ingredients for distribution through some kind of supply chain. If so, cooking on that large of a scale may be approached differently, which is why the electrical method may be both useful and resourceful. A chef cooking the same ingredients to serve the same dish immediately to a diner may be likely to approach the whole thing quite differently.[/QUOTE]
It is a sports arena with a capacity of 17,000+, so the food is all prepared and served on site.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

That's kind of against the grain actually. Most cooks will tell you it's easier to burn things on an electric range because of the nature of the beast. Of course it's possible to cook with electric just fine. We had an electric range for years. I did put in a two-burner gas cooktop because the gas allows for much more variation in temps and when the stove died earlier this year that was replaced with gas.

Actually if someone is used to electric, they will burn stuff on a gas stove for a bit. A gas stove top is continuous rather than having discrete settings and doesn't give one quite the read on how hot it really is. You have to go by trial and error until you get a feel for it.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Must be my lack of training, because the issue I had was lack of variation with gas, it always was too hot. The gas stove had 3 settings, High Medium and Low, my electric stove has 10. But in all fairness, the gas stove was a commercial stove so it was designed with someone with some cooking experience, not an 19-22 year old, cooking on it.

I've seen gas stove tops with high medium and low settings printed on them. But I've never ever seen one commercial or residential where one was limited to just those settings. Now if you were limiting yourself to just those settings, often times I have notice that these printed settings are rather useless. ie low is really high, medium is higher, and high is thermonuke. But I have never seen a gas range where one was limited to using just the settings printed on the dial.

 

[ImDMous]

We have a GE Profile gas range with self-cleaning and convection and I love it. Had it about 8 years so far. Ours only has 4 burners but there is a lot of empty space in the middle so I'm assuming higher models have a burner there as well.

 

[cabanafrau]

We have a GE Profile gas range with self-cleaning and convection and I love it. Had it about 8 years so far. Ours only has 4 burners but there is a lot of empty space in the middle so I'm assuming higher models have a burner there as well.

Sounds like you have an earlier generation of what we just purchased this year, with the center burner for griddle/grill. I'm glad to hear you're still happy with it. I hope to have mine for many, many years to come.

 

[cabanafrau]

Actually if someone is used to electric, they will burn stuff on a gas stove for a bit. A gas stove top is continuous rather than having discrete settings and doesn't give one quite the read on how hot it really is. You have to go by trial and error until you get a feel for it.

But if you know how to cook and are attentive to what you're cooking it's far easier to adjust the heat on the gas precisely because of the continuum of the control and the fact that once you adjust it downward the heat does indeed decrease. Whereas with electric it's quite easy to turn down the heat and burn something because the burner isn't as reactive in an immediate sense.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

But if you know how to cook and are attentive to what you're cooking it's far easier to adjust the heat on the gas precisely because of the continuum of the control and the fact that once you adjust it downward the heat does indeed decrease. Whereas with electric it's quite easy to turn down the heat and burn something because the burner isn't as reactive in an immediate sense.

The conversion takes some getting used to even for a seasoned cook. And it's not always readily apparent when one has burned something say for example chile on the bottom of a large pot full. Further, though you can turn down the heat immediately, the pan or pot you are cooking in does not cool down immediately.

 

[pat fan]

I'm happy with my new GE Profile for the reasons I listed above. I have used the convection only a few times because I bought the stove at Easter and don't really use the oven in the summer months, but I was happy with every dish I used the convection option for.

I have a commercial gas convection at work (lunch lady) so I'm used to it there. Muffins and breads come out SO nice, it's why I want I've at home! Wish I could bring my work oven home, but it's a little big for my kitchen, lol!

 

[VolvoManiac850]

Is there any love for electric ranges out there? I personally like the smooth top electrics since they're easy to clean and the quality of the food has always been good. I know some cooks are adamant about using gas, but I've never noticed a difference in food quality (I grew up with a gas range).

Speaking of things that don't get much love, am I the last person left who likes old-fashioned top-bottom refrigerators? I have the nice, simple GE model without any ice maker or dispenser (aka things which can go wrong and have on other 'fridges in the family). I have four ice cube trays, and while they do take up a little real estate in there, I don't really have a lot of things I freeze (although that could change given the cake I need to put up there...)

 

[pat fan]

Speaking of things that don't get much love, am I the last person left who likes old-fashioned top-bottom refrigerators? I have the nice, simple GE model without any ice maker or dispenser (aka things which can go wrong and have on other 'fridges in the family). I have four ice cube trays, and while they do take up a little real estate in there, I don't really have a lot of things I freeze (although that could change given the cake I need to put up there...)

In general, the less fancy gadgets the better for me! I have an old school fridge, freezer on top, fridge on the bottom, standard doors, no water or ice. My dryer and washer are pretty basic too. I only want to switch to a gas stove for the convection and power outages.

 

[tvguy]

Is there any love for electric ranges out there? I personally like the smooth top electrics since they're easy to clean and the quality of the food has always been good. I know some cooks are adamant about using gas, but I've never noticed a difference in food quality (I grew up with a gas range).

Speaking of things that don't get much love, am I the last person left who likes old-fashioned top-bottom refrigerators? I have the nice, simple GE model without any ice maker or dispenser (aka things which can go wrong and have on other 'fridges in the family). I have four ice cube trays, and while they do take up a little real estate in there, I don't really have a lot of things I freeze (although that could change given the cake I need to put up there...)

As I posted, my cooking problem with gas is clearly a lack of training or experience. However, DW and I both had bad experiences with natural gas appliances in our parents homes, and we made a decision to buy an all electric home so natural gas isn't even an option. Adding to that, electricity is far cheaper here that natural gas, and last year we put solar panels on our house, so only about 15% of our electricity comes from the public utility, most comes off our panels.

 

[North of Mouse]

This is our fridge (or the current version, ours is 2 years old)...it's fantastic. So flexible in storage options. http://www.samsung.com/us/home-appl...ounter-height-flexzone-drawer-rf28hmelbsr-aa/

This is the one we have also. It's two years old, have had no issues, and love it. Also, love my smooth top electric stove - it's 15 years old.