Mimipadv: CLJ is a married couple. They have two little girls.

I could kinda' maybe see having 10 burners if you had teenaged boys. :-)

lantro: ha! So true!

While double ranges would be superfluous in my kitchen, and it sounds like in others, until you walk a mile in another's shoes, you really dont know what their life is like. Perhaps they host fifty people for Thanksgiving? Perhaps they boil down fifty gallons of maple sap weekly to make their own syrup? Who knows?

Thanks again Benje for posting this. It is a clever idea for those folks who, for whatever reason, want or need that extra capacity. And thanks to Tracie, too. I enjoyed reading both of those blogs!

I think it's a very neat idea. It practically goes without saying that most people don't need that capacity. I first saw this idea on the Beekman Boys, a reality show about an ex-Martha Stewart exec and his partner going country. They've since replaced this set up with a fancy French range, but I love the below look, using two extremely affordable ranges:

For me, it's not so much the quantity of food, but more about the size of your preferred cookware. With my 36" 5 burner cooktop, using two 12" pieces (say a stock pot and a skillet) leaves little room for anything else. I would be super happy to have my same 5 burner setup in a larger space, but have yet to see anything that gives me that option. 10 burners in a 60" space just seems silly, IMO.

There are two of us, and 4 burners is often not enough. We seriously considered two 30" in one of our kitchen plans. Gas and induction ranges. With a smaller kitchen footprint, I have had to opt for a 30" induction stove for every day use, and a large double burner gas camp stove to pressure can on. That eats up space, so that can get put away for 9 months out of the year.

I do LOTS of canning and scratch cooking. Imagine:

Large burner for 1 large pressure cooker to process product (8 quarts or 15 pints) (two canners are better so you can have one heating while the 2nd is cooling down). It's 2 1/2 hours between loads if you are canning chili. I need to can a combined total of about 1000 jars of various foods a year.

Smaller burner for simmering jar lids.

Large burner for Hot Water Bath to sterilize jars as you can.

3 burners to heat up stock pots of apple sauce, chili, or spaghetti sauce so you may can them.

1 large burner to saute the onions / meat for the sauces/chili.

On top of that, you may wish to have dinner or supper too! (Apple sauce does not a meal make!)

Add to that, baking bread or baking squash to freeze, I can see me using 2 full 30" stoves with ovens (probably only have 8 burners, though). As it will be, I will have to rotate uses and take longer to get my tasks done. Imagine how long it would take cooking in colonial times!

I like the idea, especially if one is gas, and the other is induction, as suggested above. Two ovens would be a bonus. If the burners seem crowded, maybe a piece of heat-proof countertop between the ranges (the size of a griddle) with sheet pan storage in a cabinet below, painted, or faced, to match the finish of the ranges.

I thought about doing the same thing with two low-end fridges, with the reversible doors, in my kitchen, but I couldn't spare the drawer space and cabinet storage. I keep my old fridge in the mudroom for overflow, and for grains, beans, flour--anything I don't want pests invading.

Seen this a few times on houzz. And once in real life, in someone's kosher kitchen.

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Seriously, how is buying 2 Frigidaire ranges trying to impress the Joneses? It's the exact opposite, the epitome of practicality for someone who needs lots of capacity.

Buying the Viking would be trying to impress the Joneses.

In the end, it's still a Frigidaire. Low end internals with a faux pro skin. Sabjimata did the same thing a few years ago with two Five Star ranges. Using an obscure semi-pro range that even the food trolls haven't heard of, now,that's ouside the box.

Double ovens? Definitely! I prefer them as a separate stack, though. My 48" cooktop with stainless steel surround has functioned beautifully, with 6 burners, a grill and plenty of room for hot pans. I've had all six going occasionally. Another option, and perhaps an even better cost saving.

Consider the hoods and look through those pictures again. I don't see a hood in one, in another it seems to be either missing or way too high, and Sabjimata's appears to be too small.

Loonlake- how the heck are two of you going through 1000 jars of food a year?

No need to make snotty remarks about "Better" grade appliances. There are plenty of people who want more looks/features/quality than "Good" appliances have to offer, but can't afford the "Best".

I never understand the appliance snobbery either, hvtech42. We occasionally eat at fine dining establishments that are considered on the gourmet-end and have very good reviews. I occasionally cook similar, gourmet-style meals at home as we would order at those type of restaurants. If I follow a good recipe and purchase quality ingredients, my results are just as good. ($1400 Samsung)

loonlakelaborcamp, now I understand why you're not just loonlakecamp. I bet your meals are yummy.

I love the idea and thought of it too, but I love the idea of having a griddle more than anything, one that is built in not interchangeable grates. Could not figure out a way to get a 30" stove with half of it griddle.. lol

And Xedos.. wow.. personally.. some of us do it for the pure enjoyment of cooing. I have a family of 4 and 3 of...no.. two of them eat like birds, yet I am opting to get a 48" stove because I love to cook, period. Being rude with your original statement of the "Joneses" offers nothing to the conversation.

Russ

The whole point is that they aren't getting better function out of that setup by hitching together two mules that got hit with a curry comb and some Showsheen and pretending that they are thoroughbreds at the track.

It's all about looks, NOT cooks. If they were truly interested in producing better meals, a single smaller BlueStar would have done the work, and they might still have afforded actual ventilation. That whole shiny stainless setup isn't about cooking at all. It's about being 5' of stainless steel, without regards to the functionality. Impressing the neighbors who don't know what's underneath the shiny.

Aaahh well, that makes sense then. Did not get that before, but then again, all I am in it for is the pure joy of cooking. Sure, it looks awesome, but if that was all "I" was after, I would have a hard time choosing which stove because they all look awesome. I narrowed my personal choice down based upon the reviews and the videos etc. Would love to SEE it before I buy it, but that would cost me a lot of money to fly up and look at it and use it.. heh.. gotta save that for all the other stuff I need to add into the house ;)

Russ

Xedos,

1000 jars between two people is just about 3 jars a day. Due to corn allergies, I can not eat most canned or processed foods. When even a can of kidney beans has to have corn syrup in it to sell, I have to process most of my own "convenience" foods. Imagine anything you may buy premade-broth, canned tune/chicken, tomato products, canned fruit, canned beans, soups, veggies-having to be made from total scratch to avoid a severe reaction. Also, not all jars are quart size. I can up 200 8 oz jars of applesauce to use for work lunches for the two of us -- can't just pull out a Mott's applesauce and pop it into the lunch bag.

Bread is a whole other story -- must make from scratch -- won't pay 5.00+ for a half pound loaf!

loon - wasn't being antagonistic . Just curious.

3 a day, everyday still vexes me; but I don't use a lot of canned goods.

Probably shouldn't jump into this but I can totally see the type of things loonlakelaborcamp is canning as being the types of canned goods people would use on a regular basis. You can make fresh marinara sauce every time you have that type of pasta dish or you can can a batch of home-made marinara and just use that. Same good taste but easier on a daily basis for a quick meal. I'm in the process of canning home-made apple pie filling. I could make a fresh pie each time or I could use my canned filling. Tastes the same (yummy!) but much easier. Add in allergy issues and it all makes sense to me.

@Sophie, I still don't understand why someone needs such an expensive range to cook gourmet foods. Obviously if someone wants to spend the big bucks on a pro-range, they can do so. I'm not judging. But I also don't understand the contempt for lower-end appliances.

My niece almost married a chef who has worked at many very high-end restaurants. One year he made Thanksgiving dinner using my mom's almost 40 year old, electric coil-top, electric oven, Kenmore range. It was heavenly. He never complained about it being harder to get a good result. Gosh, I wish she had married him. I miss his cooking. :)

No affront taken, just explaining the numbers.

Wish I could use most of the fresh foods from the store, but most fruits and veggies are waxed, oiled or gassed with "edible" corn based products to keep them "fresh". Must grow your own or obtain locally - hence the canning/drying/freezing for the remainder of the year.

Same thing on many meats - even fresh ones. Injected with "flavor enhancers" or rinsed with "sterilizing" agents. All OK for most, I just can't handle them. So when I order a quarter of beef or pork or a couple dozen stewing hens (organic), I'm making soups, broth or lunch ready meat products that I will use throughout the year.

3 a day is easy to use. 1 8oz apple sauce for lunch, a pint of chicken for lunch sandwiches, and a jar of green beans with the remaining chicken and broth to add to supper. Good thing the jars and tattler rings are totally reusable! We generate only about one kitchen size garbage bag of refuse a week.

Everyone has different kitchen needs - extra range space needed by some, double ovens by others, even full size fridges along full size freezers is what may fit your lifestyle. Hey, some don't cook hardly at all and don't even need a vented hood! Used to be, in the 50's every home in our area had a HUGE single basin kitchen sink -- mainly to wash everything from dishes,clothing, hair, even the baby! I can't imagine using my divided sink to scrub down an infant! We all need to design our kitchens to fit our lifestyles and needs. I hope others think about side by side ranges to save money if they need the stovetop space.

LMAO Funky!

I for one saw a 30" next to a 30" setup and thought it was awesome.. again, it would work totally well for me but I am soooo looking forward to that griddle. I just wish I could afford the 60" Culinarian with a 24" griddle and 6 burners, but 8k is already making my wife ask if I could live in the thing :P

R

It's true that there are very few people out there who could actually use the capacity of a 60" range in their home. And it's probably true that the majority of people who buy a 60" range are just doing it for show.

However, putting 2 Frigidaire's side by side is no more showy than buying the real thing. And, what if they don't need 60" capacity? What if they only need a 48" or even a 36" range? The 60" Frigidaires will still be cheaper and offer most of the functionality.

I have a friend with 2 basic side by side ranges who loves the setup and finds it very useful. They aren't "pro look" ranges, just standard freestanding ones. And, they aren't particularly close together, so there is no way you could make the argument it was done just for looks. But this configuration offers him the features of a bigger range he wanted, without breaking the bank just to get better looks and a few extra options he he didn't need.

Folks regularly plan gw kitchens with two sinks, two refrigerators, two ovens and two dishwashers. I wasn't expecting such strong criticism of this 2-range idea that (from what I can tell) is basically just an additional 2 feet of cooktop space beyond what might be considered "normal" here. It's been in interesting discussion to watch.

It sure has helped me pass the time today more ;)

R

Maybe they just don't like to cook! ;)

Oh, if only I had room for 2 ranges! What a help that would be during canning season.

What did I say that was so funny, Russ? Confused. I mean, nobody is answering my question about why someone needs such a fancy, expensive range to cook a good meal on. Am I deluding myself and my food really sucks? Are you all laughing at the small town hick behind her back? Heck, I can cook good possum stew on a propane campstove. ;)

I'm not knocking anybody who wants and can afford a high-end appliance. But I don't understand the scorn by a couple folks here for mid-to-lower end ones. I feel like a rube.

I've never had very good luck with coil top electric stoves. But other than that I've used everything from an avocado green gas stove with a bottom broiler (which given the color was quite a bit older than I am), to a smooth top electric cooktop, "normal" sealed burner gas cooktops, a couple different pro style ranges and a commercial Viking range. Some of them were more fun or easier to use than others but none of them made me a better or worse cook or kept me from cooking something I wanted to. (The ancient avocado stove's broiler was actually the best one I have used aside from having to sit on the floor to check the food)

I am a bit skeptical about anyone needing 10 burners in their kitchen. For canning it seem like having a second outdoor cooktop would be more practical so you don't die of heat stroke or have to spend a ton of money on a monster ventilation system and make up air.

I was laughin about this:

"Gosh, I wish she had married him. I miss his cooking. :)"

I thought that was funny :P

Cooking possums and coons, I draw the line at that. Ate an armadillo years ago.. was not bad.. but I have far too many choices to eat a coon.

R

Funky--I agree. I don't begrudge anyone a fancy appliance, but I don't think they serve a practical purpose either. They can't turn bad food into good food, and I don't even think they can turn good food into better food. It's all about technique, experience, ingredients and so on. But this example can be extended to every consumer sector. Cheap clothes are no less effective than expensive ones, although (like expensive appliances) they may look better to some.

Maybe you're being sarcastic when you say you don't understand the scorn...but I'll spell it out: c-l-a-s-s-i-s-m.

Russ, since you're the pertinent monitor- how does what you find funny add to the conversation?

It is not about the "fancy appliance". If I could find what I want in a less expensive brand, I would get it in a heartbeat. I can't.

Can I cook on a $600 stove? You bet. That is not the point.

I love to cook, love to eat a lot too.. lol, but I get up for work at 4:30 in the morning. We get the kids ready for school and then we leave the house by 6:15 am, the latest, so we can get coffee on the way in and get the kids to where they catch the bus. We do not get home till 5:30pm and then it is get the kids fed and homework done, and all the daily chores.

Like I said, I love to cook. I do not have time to get a clunky griddle out, clean off whatever got onto it while it was stuffed in the back of the pantry or wherever, get everything ready and cook something fun then clean it back up and put it away.

Now, this CC 48", has a built in griddle. I know where it has been, I can turn it on as easy as the coffee maker and be ready to cook. No dragging it out, trying to locate the cord to plug it in, etc.

I like my cooking, so I don't want only 4 burners, so I opt for the 6 burner with a griddle and drop the grill.

If you look at the 60" with the 24" griddle, now THERE is a beast I would love to have.. heh.. but way way out of my price range...I'd use that 24" griddle like no-body's business.. heh.. but, on the 48", I would have to give up 2 more burners, not worth it to me.

Do I like that the stove looks nice? you bet. Are people jealous of it and I have not even gotten it yet? oh heck yea... but if I could find 2 30" stoves that gave me what this 48" does, I would take it.. but they would not have the right "feel" of the 48" setup, I do not think.

So, while some may do it for the looks, it is not all about "classism".. it is sometimes about making cooking more fun, easier, and all in one package.

Russ

Xedos - Sometimes adding a humorous addition helps keep things civil. I think most everything funky adds to a thread is useful and well intentioned, even if it is wrong.. (just kidding funky!).. heh.

I recognize not everything has to be on point, and sometimes we can get lost in the 'points' and stick ourselves with it till people start to scream. imo.. a nice humorous addition can sometimes bring us "back to reality"

R

A high end range IS about better technique and control--and better results, faster.

For instance, instead of steam frying your Kung Pao Chicken in tiny little batces that let the first batch cool down bythe time you're done with the fourth, you can do a large batch. The 22K BTU burner doesn't let the wok temperatre drop. So not only is your food done faster, it's done at the higher temperature that stir fryng is supposed to be done at. Restaurant qualityresults at home. Instead of browning the beef for your stew in little batches, your skillet doesn't drop below optimum searing temperature when addinng it all in, so it all gets browned quickly and you're ready for the next step of stock and veggies much faster. You can put 4 healthy sized steaks onto a grill pan,and keep them searing and get good grill marks on both sides witout waiting for the pan to come up to temperature and ending up with kinda not really brown meat with no seared portons.

You can hold over a hollandaise sauce on the simmer burner without it breaking and with no double boiler. You can melt chocolate. You can slow cook. The low lows are ust as important as the high highs.

You can fit a full sheet pan in the oven. A full sheet pan! And it will cook that cake evenly. It will roast potatoes and meats evevly, and a LOT of them. 550° for true crisp thin crust pizza? Sure! The capacity and temperature control are huge, and I'm just talking a 30'' BS.

Then there's the broiler. Infrared, just like a restaurant. Broiled crispy browning requires high BTU's to sear properly. You can get stellar results from a whole sheet pan of teriyaki chicken or chicken kebabs.

Better food, faster, with more capacity, is why cooks choose a pro style range. You can get some of the same cooking results on a consumer grade range if you're willing to wait long enough, and keep waiting, cooking in batches, but many other results are just not reproducable with a lower powered consumer range.

You said it better than me, Sophie, thanks. I am not versed in the professional 'answer' to the questions about why, all I know is that I 'feel' the better answer when I see these and I 'feel' how it will help me enjoy what I love to do, cook.

While some will find happiness in other ways of cooking and CAN do so with two 30" stoves, I have contemplated everything I plan to use mine with and found this is the most cost-effective way to meet my needs.

R

Now , for all of you who just love cooking or NEED to feed Brady Bunch or Partridge Family sized numbers:

Feed the masses cooktop x 2

Feed the masses dbl oven

Same number of burners, about half the price as Sophie's mule team. The same or better performance , and it allows for better storage and better ergonomics in the kitchen.

So, let's stop kidding ourselves that a 60" , or double 30" ranges are all about the love of cooking or efficiency for canned goods operations ok?

Allow me to spend the the whole $5400 and I'll supply you with up to TEN burners, or a griddle , or 6 + a grille, or 4 + both , and an induction burner that'll boil faster than anything you can fathom, and / or we can up grade the ovens and......on and on.

Better performance, less cost when you go separates. That 60" is about looks , plain and simple. Nothing wrong with that - but let's be honest about about, eh.

Xedos, can ya individually list your suggested components? Because it's not our shopping cart, your link is a blank nothing. I'd be interested in your take on barracks cooking.

I'll edit this to just say, you are wrong. We chose what we chose because of how it cooks, period...well, not period.. it DOES look good.. but that was not the main concern.. the Italian (spain?) stove looks freaking awesome.. but I have no idea how to cook on that and so would never spend that money.

Believe it, do not believe it.. your choice.. but don't tell us why we chose it and stop being rude and assuming we are shallow and we chose it only for looks.

R

High end appliances look better, have more features, and if you buy the right ones, deliver better performance. If you can afford to buy/repair them and love to cook, you should absolutely put them in your kitchen.

However, that does not mean you need to act like a snob. Remember that any cook worth their salt will be able to get great results from normal appliances, too.

End of story. Was that so complicated?

It also does not mean you ARE a snob just because you want / own one.

Russ

Russ, you are/were both off base and out of line.

It's fine to have a differing view and to like things that are cool or pretty just for the sake of such. All I'm saying is just don't try to hide that's why you like something under the guise of neeeeed.

Before you popped in we were also discussing 60" ranges and double 30"s as a &$$ saver - so don't @ssume any of this applies to YOUR situation with a 48"er.

Sophie - fixed the link.

YOU are out of line. You are calling us all liars here telling us we did not buy it for the cooking ability and everyone here is telling you we did. So, get over yourself. You do not want a high end stove.. that is fine, but stop telling us we are shallow because we DO want it.

When I cook my gumbo, I cook like I am cooking for an army and yea.. I have been known to tie two long spatulas together to reach the bottom so I can stir it. I cook like I am cooking for an army. If it were only about the burners themselves, you bet..I would buy 2 30" stoves and call it done. I have priced it that way, but the griddle is where I am going. Could I get 2 30" stoves that have half griddle and half burners? Maybe...thought of that too.. but then I would have two griddles to regulate.

Does not matter, not getting a 60" stove anyway, but the point is, not once have I looked at someone and thought "yea.. you do not want that for cooking.. you want it so you can show off".

Offer input.. but stop being the north end of a south bound mule. We want what we want WHY we want it is none of your self-righteous concern.

Don't like it? Don't open that can of worms.

R

BTW - Benjesbride... back to the topic.. I wish to heck I could find a way to make that happen and save a couple thousand. I have toyed with the idea over and over and just cannot figure out a way to get the efficiency of the CC burners and the griddle and burners the same way as the 48" stove I am looking at getting.

But thank you for getting us thinking about it again.

Sorry we took it off topic.

Russ

Xedos - I like the ovens you picked, but I did not need a double oven as I got the stove, but that is what we were getting. Someone recommended a high end oven, I saw no point in spending that money as a "regular big box store oven" would do just fine.

I am not a fan of cooktops... just never cared for them. I had one and it broke and was massively expensive to repair.. could have almost bought a brand new one.

I want a griddle I can clean but do not have to store or take up counter space. Now, I even looked at cooktops vs the stove and looked at putting in a double oven instead.. would have gone that way, but the dang cooktops I saw that did what this stove did were the same amount.

I like open burners. I like a built in griddle, not one with a hot plate you can set on top of the burners.. i.e. pull it out put it away.

I liked the reviews/examples of the heat distribution of the Capital. Those were the deciding factor of this stove, to be honest. There were stoves a little less expensive than the CC, but they did not perform the same, from what I saw.

Show me an alternative to the 48" CC that meets or exceeds it usage/abilities.

Don't just tell me I am getting it because I like to show off. I work my stoves to death.

Last thanksgiving.. I cooked so much I had to take my propane smoker on the back porch and box off the openings to get it up to 350 degrees so I could bake my green bean casserole in it and my sweet potato casserole.

R

Russ - you need to start your own thread if you want to talk about why you chose YOUR cooking appliances and their merits.

Talk about off topic.

And, didn't you say you were checking out of this discussion five responses ago ???

And nowhere did I call anyone a liar. You are out of line again.

What do you suppose a service call on your new range is going to cost ? Risk of needing service and the ensuing choice of whether to fix or repair is built in to any choice of appliance whether it be a $400 cooktop, $2500 range, of $4500 espresso maker .

Gosh, don't know if I'm going to make things better or worse but...here goes!

I asked Russ what was funny and, chuckled at his response. Thanks for clarifying, Russ. I thought it was because I'm so clueless about high-end appliances.

The only person who has seemed rude in this discussion was Sophie, in the original statement slamming the Frigidaire. (And I'm guessing Sophie wears big girl panties and doesn't care if I think the comment was rude, lol.) With Sophie's further explanation about how a high-end range works, I can definitely understand why it could be an advantage to have one. I simply wish Sophie had explained that in the first post.

In fact, after hearing that explanation, I'm super-glad I've never had the pleasure of cooking on a high-end appliance because I'd want one. And I'm really way too-too cheap to spend the money on one or on the high-end exhaust system I'd need or on the return air system that would require. So, it's all good. If I was going to break the bank on something super-expensive, it would be around the world plane tickets and a year or two off. :)

For canning, we have a few extra burners that we use in either the garage or on the patio depending on weather and time of day we're canning. Small batches done on my cheap kitchen range.

As for the back and forth sniping, please take it to private messaging. Thanks.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Fancy equipment is nice and pretty - but there is no substitute for skill.

Even skill can make ingredients like that possum edible. But no amount of BTUs , or soft close doors , or accurate to the half degree temp probe is going to do anything for the finest cut of meat or sushi grade tuna if you only know how to unwrap it and press sensor cook on your microwave !

Now, should I use my Target counter top microwave, the Drawer microwave, or the $3000 Miele microwave to heat that tuna ?

Oh, think I should slice it up first ? With a ginsu, a cutco , or my $500 shun ?

Boy , oh boy, do I love to cook.

xedos - I do hope you don't fixate on how people choose to spend their money in other areas. I imagine it would be exhausting criticizing car choices, house choices, vacation choices, etc.

The car I drive is 1/3 the cost of my neighbors - both have 4 wheels and a steering wheel. A house on my block is newly built, has the same sf, and is twice the cost of mine. (the horror...) We go camping to get away and others need an expensive island experience to recharge inner batteries. I plan to have 15K invested soon in a range and ventilation. My neighbors most likely do not. For us, having a quality range with lots of surface real estate that we will use twice daily for 10 or more years has more value than a cruise/island/BMW/newly built home. We eat in most meals, we can a lot, we make a lot from scratch (pasta, bread, etc). Everyone chooses what is important to them. We pay our bills, work too hard, pay lots of taxes, have our retirement needs squared away, and have produced and financed 2 additional tax payers (you are welcome society). We have plenty to live the life we desire, to retire with, and to gift our kids now so they can invest in their future now rather than get a pile of money when they will least likely need it.

Owl, sarcasm is tough to convey on the internet.

I'm not fixated on anyone's choices , and am quite thankful we live in a place where there is plenty of choice and we can exercise making a choice.

I am also glad that your 60" range works for you and makes you happy.

Curious why you're not tempted to save some dosh by ordering the frigedaires that bride showed us ?

Our space isn't 60" But, after looking at it, we wouldn't want that type of burner configuration, and I doubt we would want anything with the word "professional" stamped on it or that doesn't have a lot of reviews. There are a number of 30 inchers close to the above price point that have a better service history if we were looking. ETA -- if it is any consolation for you - our microwave will be a $10 yardsale find.