Just this side of commercial grade
Written: Apr 25 '01
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Pros: Serious power, easy to clean, and more features than I can use.
Cons: Smallish oven
The Bottom Line: If you want luxury looks and features, and don't want to pay commercial prices, you want a KitchenAid range.
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| ayjay's Full Review: KitchenAid Slide-In Gas Range |
O.k., so I was attracted to the KitchenAid because it's really good looking. But it really performs, too. The KitchenAid KGST307HBS has near-commercial grade performance (think Viking) with luxury brand looks and features (think Thermador or Dacor) for hundreds or even thousands less.
We just finished remodeling our kitchen. Not just because the old one was in bad shape, but because we really like to cook. There was one place we didn't want to skimp, and that was the range (actually, we wanted a separate cooktop and double ovens, but space was at a premium). The slide-in look is nice, and offers more room on the cooktop for big pots and pans. It also overlaps the counters slightly, so food doesn't fall between the range the and cabinets. All the controls are at the front (easy to reach) and on the top (out of the sight and easy reach of small children). There is also a lock-out feature, meaning kids can't turn things on if you don't want them to.
On to the the cooktop. One burner has 14,000 BTUs, one has 12,000, two have 6,000. 12,000 is serious heat, and 14,000? We're getting into commercial territory there. The 6k burners have enough power to do a good saute, but can be turned down to a genuine simmer if needed. The grates are huge and heavy, which makes them feel very durable. They are also continuous, meaning you can slide the pans around without picking them up. The sealed burners and glass surface makes clean up surprisingly easy.
The oven is so packed with features I am convinced I will never use them all. It has convection, which is supposed to cook faster and more evenly. In the past, no one used the convection feature on their ovens because they didn't know how to adjust the recipe. KitchenAid offer "Easy Convect", where you enter the time and temp of the regular recipe, and it does the conversion for you. There is a probe so you don't have to wonder if the pop-up in your turkey is working. The keypad allows direct temperature input, so if you want 420 degrees, that's what you will get. No more just-to-the-left-of-the-425-mark. There's more, but you can read the manual, too.
One drawback: the oven is a bit on the small side. The convection fan takes up a bit of space in the back making the oven a little shallower than you might expect. It hasn't been a problem yet, and thanks to the convection, you really can load in three racks of cookies at once and have them all come out right. But that really big pizza pan just fits.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1290
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Epinions.com ID:
ayjay
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Reviews written: 74
Trusted by: 7 members
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