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COPYRIGHT 2004 Australian Consumers' Association
IN A NUTSHELL
* All the ovens on test performed well overall, with a couple achieving almost perfect scores for baking or grilling.
* Think about what you cook most, and whether you use the oven or grill more often, then check the table and profiles to help choose the model that suits you best.
A good oven can mean the difference between sou-flop and souffle, and a bad one can turn a straightforward roast into a dog's dinner. Regardless of whether you use your oven daily to cook food for a growing family, for producing dishes to serve at fancy dinner parties, or for heating up a frozen meal once in a while, you want it to do the job well.
Our experienced home economist put 10 electric multifunction ovens to the test. 'Multifunction' means the oven can use a combination of top, bottom, grill and sometimes rear elements plus a fan to optimise different cooking, baking and grilling needs--see Oven and grill functions, page 42, for details.
To rate their performance, she cooked up a storm, using each oven to bake scones, sponge cakes, meringues and custard tarts and to roast chooks according to the manufacturers' recommended oven settings. She also grilled sausages, and made toast under the grill (see notes 2 and 3, page 44 for more information on the cooking tests). While some ovens stood out (see What to buy), our home economist was impressed by the group as a whole.
The ovens and grills were also rated on how easy they are to operate and clean, and technical tests, including heat loss and door temperature, were conducted.
THERMOSTATS: THE HEAT IS ON
Our tests found that two of the models were running too hot and needed their thermostats replacing. If your oven frequently overcooks or burns food and you suspect the oven temperatures aren't correct, try baking a cake using a reputable cake mix brand, as its suggested temperatures should produce a good result. If you get a poor result you may have a faulty thermostat--contact the oven manufacturer's customer service department to request a visit from a service technician.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
CONTROL PANEL
* Rotary knobs, buttons or switches that are easy to grip or operate, and labels that are easy to read and understand.
* A light that indicates the oven is in use, and another that shows it's warming up.
* A timer is useful to let you know when food's cooked or needs attention (see the table, page 44, for model details).
INSIDE
* An interior light--check when buying that it's easy to replace the bulb.
* A good range of shelf positions. Three or more shelves may be handy, especially if you often cook several items at the same time.
* Shelves that don't slope down when pulled out with the weight of a casserole or baking dish on them.
* Shelves with an effective safety stop mechanism to prevent the whole shelf being pulled straight out of the oven or grill.
OVEN DOOR
* An oven door that's light and easy to open, and stays open in any position (without falling fully open or slamming shut).
The WHIRLPOOL door was particularly stiff and hard to open.
* Enough space between the door handle and door to...
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