Wednesday, July 13, 2011

SOS


The time has come to make one of the most important decisions for the new house.  I need to choose an oven.  The trouble is I have no idea what I want.  I have been cooking with a seriously old (1970s?) freestanding oven for as long as I can remember.  You have to light it with a match and it only appears to have two temperatures - burning hot and inferno.  The grill doesn't work, there is no timer or temperature gauge.  But over the years I have become so used to all it's quirks and eccentricities that I'm not sure I'm going to know how to cook on anything else. 

Sure, if I had an endless budget I could probably bring myself to endure a fancy Lanache stove, in my choice of 20 colours or perhaps if I really tried I could tolerate an Aga!  But since neither of these are a realistic option on my budget I'm a bit stumped.  Does anyone have any advice?  Do you love your oven or hate it?  Help!  I'm lost in a wilderness of fan-forced, fan-assisted, triple-glazed, induction cooktops, wok burners and rotisseries!

6 comments:

  1. I love the reliability and retro looks of my old St George oven - double door, green and $300 on ebay. My sister in law, who had previously always used new ovens (one of which was a Kleenmaid and gave her many problems), brought her old St George with her when they moved from their last house. But I would absolutely love one a Lanache or Aga if budget allowed!

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  2. Ooh, an Aga would be so cool! :-)
    Beware when buying these shiny new modern ones- my mum did, and it turned out if you wanted more than one rack in it you had to buy them separately... o_O
    Some whitegoods repair stores have older models, perhaps that might be an option?

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  3. ...as far as brands go, I've heard good things about Smeg, or European brands like Miele...
    Choice appears to have reviews? http://www.choice.com.au/

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  4. For 20 years I have lusted after a St George oven. I've heard nothing but good about them from their owners. New ones are outside my budget but I never thought of looking for one on ebay. I would love to have fan forced because of the even baking results. Having said all that, I had a Chef upright - new & shiny in its day (1979?) but the only high tech feature was the self ignition. It baked beautifully & I loved it. As to the Aga - if you could find a good old one - imagine the cosy warmth on a cold July day!

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  5. From my experience (interior design for about 15years) - Miele and Gaggenau are very good (but pricey), Bosch is also good. St George was also very popular a long time ago - not sure what they are like now. But I would advise you to avoid Smeg. I have one and I have had lots of trouble with it. Alot of my clients also agree and are now buying Miele.

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  6. I've got an electric fan forced miele wall oven - it rocks.

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