Buyers Guide to Electric and Convection Ovens

The electric oven is the standard when it comes to home cooking. Chances are some of your favourite foods you enjoyed as a child came from an electric oven. And now that you are old enough to cook yourself, many people love to replicate their best culinary experiences, while creating brand new ones as well. Whether its cookies, pies, or good old fashioned roast beef, electric ovens have allowed us to produce great food in the comfort of our own homes. While the basic mechanics behind how electric ovens work has not changes, there are many new ovens with varying features on the market. It can be hard to decide which one to incorporate into your kitchen, but a little research will pay off in the long run. Even a fairly simple electric oven may fit your needs. Or you could get something on the high-end of the scale which will give you enough features to keep you busy for many meals to come.  

The first thing you need to do when buying an electric oven is to plan your budget. It can be very tempting to go for the most extravagant model you see. Some ovens with their space-aged designs and sleek appearances may have you drooling to bring one home. But take into account how much cooking you actually do. How many people do you usually cook for? Do you have lots of dinner parties? What other cooking methods to you employ? If you don’t have very demanding cooking needs then there is no reason to spend any more than $800 on an oven – and even then, that’s probably too much. On the other hand, if you cook every day and foresee yourself getting great use out of your oven, then you might go with a more expensive model. So set a decent budget and allow yourself a bit of leeway when you actually see what’s available.

Oven Size matters

Make sure to look at your kitchen space and see what size oven you can accommodate. Older kitchens or apartments may not have compartments to fit wall ovens. And not all freestanding electric ovens are the same size. Also be aware of the depth you are working with. Take accurate measurements and use them when browsing for your new oven. This will also allow you to eliminate ovens that don’t match your allotted space, thereby saving you time.

A freestanding electric oven is something that does not need to be installed in a cabinet wall. It stands alone as its own separate appliance and it’s the standard type of oven you see all over the place. It will have an oven on the bottom portion, and then a cooking range on top. They are more commonly known as freestanding electric ranges, or simply electric ranges. The advantage to this type of oven is the price since these are the least expensive ovens on the market. They are also easier to fit into an older kitchen. People looking for healthy eating while staying away from fatty and high cholesterol foods to avoid can also use broiling and baking options to bring nutritious recipes to life. The disadvantage is that many new homes call for a wall oven to be installed, while the cooking range is located as a separate entity somewhere else in the kitchen. But if you have room in your kitchen, and you don’t do much fancy cooking, then this would be the way to go.

When it comes to built-in wall ovens, the single oven is the simplest and least expensive. These are good for large-sized roasts or pan-baking. If you usually only cook one thing in the oven at a time, then there won’t be much need to go beyond a single oven. But if you are a cooking fanatic and want the most options available, then a double oven is your best choice. With the extra space you can cook more food, or even use the second oven in different ways (ie. broiling or something similar to using a gas BBQ) while something else cooks in the other. These types of ovens are installed in your wall for great cooking convenience. You can also find built-in under ovens that are installed at lower levels on your wall.

You can also find a countertop convection oven, microwave convection oven, or a convection toaster oven.

We’ll just assume that the ability to cook food effectively is the number one feature to look for in an electric oven. And the truth is, even the more inexpensive models can handle that task quite well. So what are some other features that we should look for that may make a particular oven stand out?

Self cleaning - No one likes to clean their oven. As a result, we’ve probably all seen what an old oven looks like when it hasn’t been cleaned for years. The grease and grime is quite dirty, and all of the messy build-up actually interferes with the cooking process. Many new electric ovens have self-cleaning functions that make cleaning a breeze. A microwave convection oven will also offer this feature.

Convection - It’s very common to get convection as a feature in many electric ovens. In fact, many ovens you find will be billed a convection oven. Convection ovens circulate the hot air around your food to allow for faster and more even cooking. Look for countertop convection ovens, microwave convection ovens or convection toaster ovens.

Microwave - Some ovens can double as microwave ovens so you can imagine how convenient that can be. Defrosting food in microwave convection ovens is also very handy.

Oven racks - How many racks does the oven have? Also make sure that they slide out easily. And if you need more, find out if they are easily attainable/ replaceable.

Lighting – It’s a lot easier to cook when your food is well lit so take a look how bright your oven can be. Also consider the window/ door area as you will always want an oven that you can see into.

Timers – A clock and accurate timer is always useful when cooking big meals. If you are willing to put the time into learning all the functions, then an oven with more complex timing cycles may be for you.

Brand name – This will be a substantial purchase in many cases so go with a brand you trust. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive model. If you’ve had an oven that lasted for years, then it might be a good choice to go with that brand again. Stay away from manufacturer that you’ve never heard of.

Buying an electric oven doesn’t have to be a difficult experience. Just be prepared with your own needs and expectations, and you should be able to find something that matches.