There are so many different types of cooking appliances available on today's market. There are the more traditional range cookers, hobs, built in ovens, double ovens, cooker hoods and the most recent advance in cooking technology- the microwave. All have their advantages and disadvantages and the one that you choose will depend on your preference of style, the size of your kitchen, the space you have available in it and the amount of money that you have to spare on your new cooking appliances.
Microwaves have definitely shaped the way in which we cook over the last couple of decades. Meals that used to take hours to prepare, now can take a matter of minutes with a simple touch of a button and a stir half-way through. Not only do microwaves help you to save on cooking time, but they can also help you to save on your cleaning time too- no more scraping scrambled egg off of your 'non- stick' saucepan after a full English breakfast. Of course, many people like to be able to put a labour of love into cooking family meals and for that, you really need to be using more traditional cooking appliances.
Range cookers look great in a traditional or a contemporary kitchen and have everything that you need combined into one cooking appliance- that is your oven, your grill and your hob all in one. Of course, the colours and styles that are available to you differ between manufacturers. If you do not mind paying a little extra, Britannia has one of the largest selections of colours for cooking appliances and even patterns so that you can fully customise your home to just the way you want it. But there are plenty of more basic options available from dozens of manufacturers in black, white and stainless steel that are still practical, but come with a bit of a smaller price tag.
Range cookers are freestanding cooking appliances, but more and more, people are having their cooking appliances integrated into their design and built in ovens and hobs that are built in to the existing counter look sleek and match easily with the rest of your cooking space, helping you to keep everything coordinated. The main problem that comes with built in ovens is that they are lower down than most freestanding ovens- not great for if you have a bad back- but if you can handle the height then they can really give your kitchen that modern look.
Whether you do decide upon a freestanding range cooker or on a built in oven and hob, there are still more options available to you and they rely almost entirely on your preference when it comes to cooking. The three main choices that you have when choosing a new hob are gas, ceramic and induction, but Domino hobs have been introduced to the cooking appliances market recently as well. Domino hobs allow you to combine different types of hobs into one. For example, you can choose to have two gas burners and two ceramic zones, some manufacturers offer a Chef Top, which is a new and healthy way to cook on the hob and makes your food taste great too. Gas is still a household favourite because of its controllability, but induction hobs are becoming more and more popular because they are safe and cook food far more efficiently than other types of hob.
Another addition to the contemporary style is the very practical (and often stylish) cooker hood. The cooker (or extractor) hood, like many other modern cooking appliances, comes in a range of different styles, the main ones being canopy hoods, chimney hoods, island chimney hoods and integrated hoods. The job of a cooker hood is basically to ventilate your kitchen for you and to get rid of 'used' air and grease particles. The cooker hood does this by replacing them with fresh air particles. You could do this by leaving a door or window open because of natural air movement, but this is dependant on the air temperatures, which in turn is dependent on the time of the year. For example, in the warmer summer months this process is unlikely to be very effective because there is, in theory, less likely to be a breeze and the air does not feel fresh. But in the winter the natural process is effective, but you are likely to either get very cold or spend a lot of money on heating that is being lost through open doors and windows. This is why a cooker hood is the best option for effectively ventilating and keeping the air fresh.
