Kitchen appliances chat

Brilliant thanks. The non word instructions are a pain in the arse.

(Edit: This one's a Siemens)

Looks a lot like our new machine, but not the exact model (because I have something else on step 7... SN85TX00CE )

I agree that the instructions suck. I didn't attempt fully integrating it yet, as I was just able to source a matching front panel/door for it yesterday. We've been using it dangerously for the past month...

I think ours is an SN95. Thankfully our panel will be fitted by my ever accomodating kitchen builder/fitter.

The door has some serious spring on it. I assume to take the additional panel weight

Ours is similar. V frustrating when water gets underneath the machine as the door needs to come off, the kick plate all along one side of the kitchen has to come off, then the panel at the front before I can sop up the tiny amount of water that is triggering the flood float.

It’s amazing how much force is needed to open the door once the fascia has been removed.

The door has some serious spring on it. I assume to take the additional panel weight

Yes, that tension without the panel has so far lead to a few small accidents and a broken coffee mug.

Today I upgraded the cooker hood lights from 20W halogens to 1.3W LEDs (110cm hood so 4 bulbs). Which involved replacing the light transformer with a LED driver, running down a new cable harness and replacing the light modules. Going down from 80 watts (one of the bulbs was out, so it was 60W in my case) to 5.2W feels good. The manufacturer offers an upgrade kit so it was simple (and a bit costly at 60 quid...). Used a gear cable to feed the new harness.

Right I need to finalise kitchen stuff.

1 oven (black)
1 hob 75-90cm (black)
1 integrated under counter fridge
1 integrated dishwasher
1 integrated fridge freezer

I had wanted to get the money gun out and have domino induction/gas hob but as all of the work we’re having done has come in higher I’m going to have to be slightly restrained.

Do I need induction?
Do I need a steam oven?
How many times will I make it to the golf club?

Yes to induction.
Steam oven I'll defer to those with one but I've not felt the need.

I had induction hob for 10 years and just moved to a house with regular electric ceramic hob, ugh - upgrading back to induction is a high priority

Would agree yes to induction, probably not to steam oven?

An unnamed member of the house was quite sure we needed a steam oven, but after 3 months we've not once used the functionality. Don't do a lot of baking, and I reckon if we really did need the extra moisture in there, could either just put a tray with water at the bottom whilst it's warming up, or spritz whatever's in there with a spray bottle.

Though saying that, probs depends on what you're cooking and how into it you get (strikes me that you're a little more foodie than my beige-things-only self!)

We got this hob (hooray for monthly payment plans!):
https://ao.com/product/ike64450fb-aeg-induction-hob-black-58134-39.aspx

Dito. But I assumed the choice was induction or gas. There isn't another real option.

OK

Induction means all new pans? And a FiL who is furious at me for not having gas. Will have to get him a high powered gas camping stove!

If you want to keep your new kitchen nice and sparkly, induction hobs are incredibly easy to clean. I also don't miss any part of cooking with a gas hob after I bought a blowtorch for occasionally burning things.

Pans need to be iron or stainless steel - no to copper or aluminium. Check your existing ones with a magnet. When your FiL tries it out he may be surprised, just as responsive as gas. and much easier to clean (though that's probably not a concern if he is like my FiL).

Unless you spill a little water then it shits itself and shuts down and or locks it all.

Unless that's just cheap ones.

Mine needs to have a lot of water on the buttons (or more commonly something metal) for it to turn off. You get about 10 seconds of beeping first so you know you need to give it a wipe/move something.

The cheap ceramic one I had was shit at a hint of dampness.

Extractor fans under 200 quid seem to be noisy af. Is it a terrible idea to buy something second hand?

Having gone mostly induction, I now have some redundant anodised aluminium pans and copper pans.
I did get that 90cm combi gas/induction stove from Smeg, so still have a powerful enough wok burner (6kw / 20k BTU) for the wok and carbon steel steak pan.

Are you happy with the mix? A 75cm hob gives us more room on the worktop but can’t find a good mixed hob in that size.

Yes to Induction and to a Steam Oven. We’ve done 2 kitchens (2 different houses) in the past 10years and a steam oven has been near top of the list in both.

What does steam help with specifically?

If i was doing it again i'd definitely get a steam assist oven at least

I may be biased though, as i design primarily steam ovens specifically at work

Ultimately it comes down to Humidity control at a given temperature - which in turn leads to more even cooking, browning and improved moisture retention. In some situations also reduced cook times.

There are two types of steam cooking - Steam (Sous Vide) which is under 100°C and Steam Assist which is over 100°C

So with steam assist if you want to Roast a Chicken, you ultimately get perfectly cooked juicy white meat but with perfectly browned skin.

Tray of cup cakes? Fluffy and moist inside, perfectly browned tops.

Bread? Doughy artisanal sourdough with a great crispy crust

Sous vide / full steam will let you steam meats and veggies at controlled low temperatures.

Veggies generally retain more colour and vitamins and are tender throughout.

Sousvide a steak you''ll get perfect internal temps giving uniform pink colouring, that only needs quickly searing on either side to taste.

Ok
I already have a sous vide and don’t bake much. I’d still generally prefer a steam oven as it does seem better from what I’ve read. But there’s a fair price difference

Current thinking is:

Bosch Serie 8 HSG636BB1 and a Neff or Miele induction hob. Next step fridges and freezers!

For containment of smoke under the extractor, I would have preferred the wok burner to be in the middle, but otherwise very happy.

I think I could do without the gas, as have a gas bbq just out the bifold doors, and have a portable gas burner for tabletop Korean BBQ stuff.

I actually put an extra large chopping board on the induction part when using the wok for more work surface.

If it breaks, I’ll probably go for a 90cm induction.
Particularly as I’ve discovered that they do flame thrower attachments for camping butane canisters…