Trying to decide between three smooth-top ranges - help please!
beckington
4 years ago
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PROUser
4 years agobeckington
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Who else is trying to decide between Culinarian and Blue Star?
Comments (95)I understand that the oven door on older versions of the BlueStar RNB could get quite warm (I've heard this described as "very warm" and "surprisingly warm" by two personally-known owners and in various ways by folks posting on the internet). My range is from this spring, 2011 -- I wouldn't say notably warm for either the door or the knobs. I can place my hand flat on the oven door, while the oven's in action, without any discomfort -- half a second, ten seconds, it just doesn't matter. It's not hot. Three kids and two small dogs and it's a non-issue. The culinarian is probably a very fine product -- certainly the specs look good and far be it from me to dispute anybody's happiness with his or her purchase. Folks should keep in mind that problems and praise for that range or any other on this board -- for all of this board's virtues -- represent a very small number of reports that may be more or less representative (or wildly unrepresentative) of the larger universe of consumer experience. With the culinarian, especially, we're talking about a very small number of reports on a fairly new product. Reported problems have not been many, but they have not been zero. Reports on Trevor's interventions have been very, very favorable, but not everybody has been instantly pleased by the company itself. I really don't mean to suggest that there are any major problems with the product or the company -- not at all. And for any particular person, for all I know, this may be an excellent choice -- maybe the best one possible. But surely folks know that the record is limited?...See MoreInduction vs. smooth top electric range
Comments (46)If the OP is asking regular electric vs. induction I vote for induction. Since getting my induction cooktop I have gotten rid of my slow cooker, egg steamer, rice cooker, plug in teapot, and many other no-longer-needed compensatory items that I was using because my electric cooktop was so pitifully slow. I put any non-magnetic pots into the "first apartment boxes" for my kids, and I only needed to buy 3 pieces of cookware. I don't even use my microwave anymore bc my induction cooktop is faster. As far as the paper towel discussion goes. I have cooked greasy stuff on top of paper towels, but not left them lingering. The clean up is easy. If I've got something on the stove that the little kids have to serve themselves when I'm not home yet, I leave it on low with a dishtowel underneath. That way if they spill, clean up will be easier later. The other day I made a small portion of mini bowtie pasta for my little niece. Granted, it was a small amount of water, but it was at a full boil in 23 seconds. I think that's amazing....See MoreNeed help deciding between Induction single vs. Electric/Gas Double
Comments (13)Trent, if budget permits, you would be much better served by a Bosch induction range and a medium or large Breville on the side. The large Breville has convection, and will easily serve a small family. (We save so much energy not firing up the big oven.) Yes, the Bosch is technically a slide-in but it has a back plate you can purchase a la carte to fill the whole space. My next-door neighbor has it, and is ecstatically happy. That said, it will run you about $1K more than the Whirlpool. I emailed my BIL to find out how the Whirlpool is working out these days, and he says that they love, love, love the stovetop, but the ovens will often burn things they ought not. (My sis and my BIL are world class chefs, no lie.) Also, he says the whole thing will on rare occasion shut down if they run both ovens and the stovetop. This happened within the first month of ownership. Other folks on the AF have remarked this issue as well, IIRC. Bear in mind my sis has had this range almost two years now. Bosch didn't have one on the market when she bought. Possibly Whirlpool has fixed the shutdown issue. But Bosch has been making induction for probably a quarter century, and make an excellent mid price range; high-end guts without the $$$ label. The Whirlpool, it seems to me, will be a compromise at best. Good luck!...See MoreTrying to decide between the 36" GE Monogram rangetop or the Wolf
Comments (6)It is very common to market a burner as simmering @ 140°F but this is a meaningless number. The simmer temperature will depend on cookware, what you are cooking and the configuration of the burner. To compare simmers, look at the low side of the BTU rating. Wolf now claims that their burners are all about 300 BTUs at the lowest end of the simmer burner, the bottom part of the stacked burner. I would call GE and try to get the BTU rating on their burners to compare. You might notice in going to a prostyle range the flame is much wider, especially looking at capped burners. Some brands have a really wide flare on high heat. Wolf and maybe Monogram are a little better because of the stacked burners but if you have a way to compare, there might be a difference there. I have a Wolf range and would not want to be without a small pot burner. I have a couple of 5” or so pans but hardly use anything with less than a 7” diameter and then it needs to be a pan that conducts heat well. “It’s the low temps that matter most to people who cook a lot” It really depends on the type of cooking you do.YesWolfwill melt chocolate chips on a paper plate and I have not used a double boiler since I have had mine. There are work arounds though if the simmer is not low enough but you can’t get more BTUs if you need a lot of heat fast. There are people that do a lot of high heat cooking like stir frying who want higher heat. There are other aspects to the burner in getting heat to the food. Both of these burners are capped ring burners, so pretty similar. To really compare with something different, there are burners designed without a cap, so that the flame goes in a more straight up direction. This brings the heat closer to the center on high heat so more heat gets to the pan on smaller pans. I always use 12”-14” skillets, that conduct heat well on high heat so the flare with a capped burner works out for me. A very popular burner on this forum us the BlueStar star burner. The burner is star shaped so you get a more even dispersal of the burner ports. It has higher BTUs. This is a good option if you cook with cookware that is not a good conductor of heat like cast iron, steel and some clad cookware. It is also marketed with the simmer rated by temperature and I have never seen what the simmer BTU rating is. Anecdotally people say the simmer is adequate. This is a comparison of the two burners, the BS on the bottom. Another difference is that the burner tray in the BS breaks down for cleaning. The Wolf and Monogram have sealed trays....See MoreUser
4 years ago
3katz4me
4 years agobeckington
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4 years ago
PROJoseph Corlett, LLC
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