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Appliances
There are several factors to explore when purchasing kitchen appliances. It's nice to have appliances
that match one another as well as the rest of the kitchen décor. It is important to find kitchen appliances that fits your needs.
Ask yourself what is important to you: design, functionality, and capacity-and-how it's used-Do you cook a lot?
For others or just you? Then make your decision.
Kitchen Appliance makers have as many options and features you can wish for-each tailored to meet specific needs.
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| Cooking
Today's kitchens feature a wide variety of cooking appliances.
Cooktops are installed in a countertop opening and offer you a choice of porcelain coated, painted steel, stainless steel, brushed chrome or glass tops. Built-in ovens do not have exterior side panels, so they must be installed in a cabinet, in a wall opening or under a counter. Lastly, a freestanding range consists of an oven with a cooktop. Drop-in and slide-in ranges have up front controls and extend over the countertop.
A new feature to ovens that you might be interested in is convection.
A true convection cooking system utilizes both a rear element and a rear fan to circulate preheated air around the
oven for faster and more even cooking results than conventional cooking. Some convection ovens allow you simply to enter your
conventional cooking time and temperature, and the oven makes the precise conversion itself.
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Ovens
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A built-in oven can be mounted under the counter with a cooktop above but is more commonly placed higher on a wall.
The great advantage of a wall oven is easy access: You don’t have to crouch to get at baking goods.
The standard width is 30 inches, but narrower models are available.
A double oven offers the possibility of roasting in one and baking in the other.
Some people have both a range and a wall oven: Most everyday baking and broiling is done in the wall oven,
and the range’s oven is available for multicourse meals and large parties.
It was once true that gas was the better choice for cooktops and electric the better choice for ovens.
However, recent advances make both heat sources attractive options for either type of cooking.
In most areas of the country, gas is more economical than electric power.
A convection oven has a high-speed fan that circulates the air, maintaining a steadier temperature.
The result: Food cooks faster and browns evenly, meats are juicier, and baked goods have a more delicate texture.
A “true” convection oven, with its burner in the rear of the oven chamber rather than at the bottom, works even better than a standard model.
Checkout ovens carried by Kitchen World from
Kitchen Aid
and Whirlpool
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Cooktops
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A cooktop is basically the top of a range without the oven. It drops into a cutout in the counter,
like a self-rimming sink, and slim models invade little of the cabinet space below.
Most cooktops come in 30- or 36-inch widths; they’re all at least 2 to 3 inches shallower than the standard 24-inch cabinet depth.
You can also buy glass and ceramic cooktops to build-in flush with a counter (the oven mounts in cabinets elsewhere in the kitchen)
or as ranges that include ventilation hoods and microwaves.
A double oven offers the possibility of roasting in one and baking in the other.
Some people have both a range and a wall oven: Most everyday baking and broiling is done in the wall oven,
and the range’s oven is available for multicourse meals and large parties.
It was once true that gas was the better choice for cooktops and electric the better choice for ovens.
However, recent advances make both heat sources attractive options for either type of cooking.
In most areas of the country, gas is more economical than electric power.
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Microwaves
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There are several options today with Microwave ovens. Traditionally, microwave ovens are placed on the countertop.
In today's modern and space saving kitchens, Microwaves can also be integrated into the range hood and mounted under the cabinets.
Ovens are made with cooking wattages from 350 and up. The microwave industry has chosen as its standard the 700-watt oven.
Therefore, all the recipes that are published in cookbooks, newspapers, magazines and demonstrated in classes are developed and
tested in the 700-watt oven.
There are two basic decisions to make when choosing a microwave oven: size and power.
Capacity: The size, measured in cubic feet, refers to the dimensions of the cooking chamber, not the exterior dimensions of the unit.
Power: Power and size generally go hand in hand and most recipes are calculated with cooking times based on high power.
Whatever size works for your kitchen, select the highest power available to get the most out of your microwave.
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| Cleaning & Sanitation
Cleaning up the kitchen is just as important as cooking, so we've dedicated some space to the different appliances available
that will make that task easier.
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Dishwashers
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The standard dishwasher is 24" wide, 24" deep, and 34" high. Compact models, usually 18" wide, are also available.
Dishwashers can run from a couple of thousand dollars down to a couple of hundred dollars, with the difference in price
reflected in the number of features a given model offers.
Nearly silent machines are now available because of improved sound insulation, sound-absorbing washtubs,
vibration absorbers, and low-noise pumps. Top-of-the-line models have all these plus a stainless-steel tub,
which is quieter than the usual plastic. With many brands, these are optional and will boost the price.
For example, KitchenAid offers four different levels of quiet, depending upon how much you want to spend.
Finishes include stainless steel, white, black, and--with some--custom panels that match cabinetry.
In their Designer Series, ASKO, for example, offers deep rose, teal, plum and slate blue.
They will even paint the control panel to match any color sample provided by a customer, or offer a replaceable panel
in a wider range of colors to blend with base cabinets.
Checkout dishwashers carried by Kitchen World from
Kitchen Aid
and Whirlpool
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Compactors
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A trash compactor can reduce the volume of trash by 75%. A little space in your kitchen and some general maintenance
and you can reduce your daily chore of taking the garbage out to a weekly one.
Compactors are available in the following designs:
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A freestanding compactor has a finished top and can be used for additional counter space.
Make sure you don't place anything breakable on top of the compactor.
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An under-the-counter compactor doesn't have a finished top and can be installed between cabinets.
Trim kits are available for a flush console look.
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| Refrigerators
Refrigerators vary widely not only in terms of design, but also in performance.
Side-by-side refrigerators, with their large freezer capacity and convenient configuration,
are the most popular refrigerator models. They are also the least energy efficient models.
Most manufacturers offer a through-the-door ice maker/water dispenser as an option on all side-by-sides
and while this is a popular feature, it is also the most frequent cause of repair for these models.
Top-freezer refrigerators are the next most popular models.
These tend to offer smaller freezer compartments than side-by-sides, and the freezer is at eye level,
placing the refrigerator at a lower and less convenient place. Top-freezer models are less expensive than
comparable side-by-side refrigerators. One benefit of the top-freezer models is that they can hold very
large horizontal items like pizza boxes and birthday cakes while the fridge compartment in a side-by-side unit might be too narrow.
Bottom-freezer refrigerators are catching on in popularity, although manufacturers generally offer only one or two
models of the freezer-on-the-bottom units. These refrigerator freezers are the most energy-efficient, and place
frequently used refrigerator space directly at eye level. In general, most freezer doors swing open like the refrigerator doors,
instead of sliding out like a big drawer as they once did. And as an added bonus, the freezer compartments on these models
are larger than for top-freezer models. Manufacturers add lift-out baskets and sliding shelves to make it easier for
homeowners to reach their frozen foods in these models.
Built-in refrigerators are still specialty-type refrigerators. Many manufacturers offer built-ins as shallower versions
of their other models to fit in flush with cabinetry, but they tend to be wider than other refrigerators to make up
for the space they lose in depth. Homeowners can customize their built-in refrigerator to coordinate with their cabinets
by adding custom-made panels that can be added to the refrigerator's facade. Most built-in models tend to have unfinished
sides and tops, since they generally are not exposed to the kitchen.
Kitchen World carries a diverse line of refrigerators, from the standard out of the box black or almond exterior,
to more customized units with wood or stainless steel exteriors.
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