Back in the Kitchen

"What's that mysterious smell coming from the oven?" my family may have asked... but really didn't...

Motivated by how well the yard was looking, I thought I'd keep working at it through this week.  God had other plans... Apparently all of His creation in this area needed plenty of water!

So I was forced in, and probably better off for the break from yardwork.

This was Tuesday's first baking project...

I came downstairs to see that the previous night's dish doer had left one cast iron pan unwashed, and, worse, one of them soaking.  Aaargh.  Since another I have was getting pretty dry, and one lid looked rusty, I decided to do a group seasoning.  I started warming them, wiped down with Crisco, on the stove, but then moved them to a 250 oven to finish over a few hours.

Meanwhile, I hoped to improve the smell of the house, and fulfill a food need, by covering up the hot oil smell with that of baking bread.  Mostly, the smell just changed to that of oily bread, but at least the loaves don't taste like that.  

After the bread, it was on to pies.  Monday night we'd watched the TV show, Master Chef, on which they baked delicious looking apple pies.  I said, "Oh, now I want pie!"  

Prince CuddleBunny told me I could just 'make some tomorrow.'  I decided he was right, especially since last weekend, while organizing the freezer, I'd discovered some pie fillings we'd made last fall... After all, they need to be used!

Speaking of my oven... See that little silver spot in the lower left, front corner?                                                                                                          

It's supposed to be bluuuue.  But true to Wolf form, they were ready and willing to back up their product.  After I sent photos of the bare spots (1 in each cavity), the customer service rep called, and  Oven #6 (Wolf oven #3) is on the way...  He insists it's nothing I'm doing wrong, but also that this problem is unusual, especially to run into twice!  Sometimes it's not fun to be unique...  If you missed my sad oven saga, you can start at the beginning here.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Oven #5 has arrived!  Wolfie #2.  (Wolf 30" Double Ovens - E Series)
She looks, of course, mostly, like Oven #4... (See TKO Tuesday: Oven Saga and Wordy Wednesday: 4th Oven -also the Final?)






Except for the flawless interior finish!  I hope she performs as valiantly as her predecessor.                                                                                                                       

The new broiler pan is quite a beauty compared to the one that came with the previous oven.

The store threw in 2 full-extension racks with the first oven, as it was a model that preceded their inclusion. and they'd been added later.  The distributor allowed me to keep those, so I now have 2 for each oven cavity!  That will be GREAT.

The installers highly recommended washing all the racks, and washing out the interior of the oven before burn-off, so I have some work to do.  This is when I'll miss that nice, big Super Single Drop-In Silgranite sink that I've envied since realizing I didn't really need a 2-basin sink any more...




Anyway, looking forward to, hopefully, years and years of baking in oven #5.


Update on 12/31/11:  I am very glad and relieved to say that #5 seems to work as amazingly as #4.  These ovens are GREAT.

Wordy Wednesday: 4th Oven -also the Final?

Continuing from yesterday's post...
I was completely frustrated and worn out after the challenges and stresses of dealing with the Monogram oven and getting a resolution to my problem.  I was thankful, though, that I wasn't stuck with that oven and was free to try again.  That's a chance most appliance owners do not get.


I was torn, trying to decide between 3 approaches:  


I really didn't want to spend any more money, so my initial, and favorite, idea was to find a good, basic oven for an affordable price.  I could be happy with no more than a "Bake" mode, as long as I also had good quality and accurate temperatures.  Apparently this doesn't exist.  From what I learned in research and conversations with appliance repair techs, the less expensive ovens only seem to be cheaper...not just in price, but definitely in construction quality and performance.  I checked Craigslist.org, and other used avenues.  I was too uncertain about dealing with people who might be less than honest about their right to sell the appliance and/or its working condition. This option quickly faded away.                                                                                             
The 2nd option was to try to stay 'middle of the road,' spending no more, and hopefully, less, than the price of the Monogram.  But that $3000 - $4000 is still a LOT of money, and I wasn't interested in any more problems like I'd been through, especially in performance...So I'd have to be really sure the chances of difficulties were low.                                                                                                                              
The 3rd option was to move up a notch and consider the best of the best.  I thought this was my least likely option, as I'm terminally practical and frugal.  I also wasn't sure more money would ensure me better performance, so it was going to take a lot to convince me to spend more.

I went in to various appliance stores, and told them of my prior problems, my needs, and described my baking habits.  One of the salesmen to whom I spoke used to work in R&D at Wolf and called someone he knew there in engineering, to tell him my story and see if there was any oven that would keep up with the ins and outs of pizza baking.  (I already knew the Fisher & Paykel oven had done fine with that, so I knew it wasn't impossible.)  

Wolf - E Series

The Wolf engineer said that the Wolf oven would keep up, as long as the oven door was open for less than a minute (otherwise it would need recovery time of 5 minutes to regain the heat), and, based on the testing he'd witnessed in their labs, the Electrolux would the more affordable 2nd choice. 

Electrolux

Since Wolf and Electrolux (in that order) seemed to be the top recommendations most places I visited, I carefully considered each.  (Bosch was in the same price range as the Elux, but had just come out with a new model for which there was no real performance or repair data yet.)  The Wolf seemed to be the one that would seem surest to meet my needs, but its retail price at about twice that of the Electrolux was definitely stopping me from jumping at it.

The big problem for me with the Electrolux was the fact that in the previous year's model, there were widespread problems with the electronic boards.  Electrolux said they'd been fixed, but it was too soon to tell, and I was leery of accepting their claims after they'd just sold a year's worth of problematic ovens.

When I discussed all the pluses of the Wolf with Hubby, and then was offered a floor model Wolf E Series double oven for approximately $1500 off retail, he said "Go for the best."

Oven #4:

Wolf E Series Double Oven

Findings that impressed me, pre-purchase:

• Wolf has strict quality control and tests and retests each unit throughout the build process.  The  appliances are made in the USA, which is a plus for me.  

• Wolf ovens' special and well-regarded Dual Convection is a technology they've used successfully for years. 

• Lots of positive reviews from users. 

• It has touch pad controls, but white and matte, not the smeary black glass. 

• Because of the nicely thorough user's manual, I found that the preheat mode does NOT come on for temperature recovery or temperature increases, unless the oven is turned off and back on... YAY. (Advice: Be SURE to read the manual for any oven, or appliance, you're considering.  Some are more helpful than others.)

• The temperature adjustments can be made in 1 degree increments. 

• The full-extension glide racks, although a little difficult to move around, and only 2 per double oven, do not take up so much room that they decrease oven rack positions. 

• I had very positive interactions with Wolf customer service regarding needs for my rangetop.

More positives after installing and using it:

• It looks wonderful!  :-)  The touch pad is easy to use and stays nice looking.  The windows and lighting are good. 

Oodles of evenly brown cookies

• The convection system is different than any I've used before, and better.  I use convection modes much more in this oven than any previously.  Multi-rack baking and roasting works great. 

• The glide racks pull out so easily and I love the full-extension to reach to the back of the rack without fear of burning. 

• I was able to find what percentages of what heating elements are used for each cooking mode so that I can fine tune my baking method, as desired, by choosing certain modes.  (This was especially helpful in determining how to bake pizzas with nicely browned crusts and tops, both.  For example, if I put the pizza stone on the bottom rack in the lowest position, I use "Roast," which uses 70% bottom heat and 30% from the top.  If I go up one rack position in order to use the glide rack, I switch to "Bake," which heats 90% from the bottom and 10% from the top.)

Negatives:

• We had to adjust the size of the oven cabinet again.  Not this oven's fault, but it amazes me how much ovens can vary.  It makes replacing an oven for the non-DIYer much more difficult, and may limit options.

• In regard to performance...NONE.  We really are happy with this oven.

• In regard to porcelain interior, though....  :-(   I noticed some pits, apparently under spill areas, a few weeks ago.  Last week I found that near the front corners inside the oven, the porcelain is splintering.  I discovered this when I made a swipe at what I thought was crumbs inside the oven, and I got a blue piece of the glass shards in my finger.  Ouch.

Resolution:

• ??   I will let you know.  I have contacted Wolf and they asked me to go ahead and send the photos I offered.  I haven't heard back from them yet...

We do not abuse our ovens.  We only use them... a lot.  I use high temperatures at least once weekly for the 3 hour pizza-making process.  I have been open about that with Wolf, and have asked that since this isn't the first time I've encountered a similar problem, is there something I can do differently, or are residential ovens not made for this kind of use?

Overall Impression:
I love this oven.  Definitely a step up from prior ovens.  The only other choice I'd rather make is to get 2 single E-Series ovens, so I could orient them both at the higher, more reachable and viewable height, and so I could have convection and the great probe in each.  (The L-Series has convection and probe in both ovens, but I like how this one looks!)   I am looking forward to a resolution on the porcelain, but the problem isn't enough to turn me off the oven.


See updates here:  (Almost) Wordless Wednesday.  The question mark on the photo above was not necessary.  I give Wolf and their ovens ++ !

TKO Tuesday: Oven Saga

I am interrupting my posts on kitchen zones to discuss a vital part of the cooking and baking zones, the oven.  I had 4 new ovens within the first 2 1/2 years in my new kitchen, which is ridiculous.


Forgive the long story, but I want to include information that might be important or helpful to anyone...  And hopefully, it'll be the last time I have to write anything about it.

Oven #1:
Fisher & Paykel OD302SS
This was the oven I had my eye on during the entire time we were building our house.


Things that appealed to me in choosing it:

• Retro-ish styling that 'spoke to me' 

• Large windows 

• Nice, halogen interior lighting that came on whenever the oven was on 

• Knob controls instead of touch screen on black glass 

• 10 cooking modes 

• $3899 retail, but found one with full warranty on Ebay for $2100 + $400 shipping  (The store in Alabama who sold it couldn't have given me better help and customer service if they were down the block and knew me personally.)

Things I liked after using it:

• Appreciation of the large windows and nice lighting 

• Detailed user's manual  

• It came with 4 cookie sheets and the nicest broiler pan set and rack. 

• The useful variety of cooking modes for different purposes, like AeroPastry for pizza baking, AeroBake for one-rack convection, and TrueAero for multi-rack convection 

• Excellent baking results because of accurate, consistent, and even temperatures

Problem:

• After owning it for about a year, I noticed the porcelain coating on the interior was pitting and chipping.  I don't know if it was caused by self-cleaning, but I noticed as I was wiping the oven after a self-clean.

Resolution:

• Fisher & Paykel was quite friendly and willing to help.  After a report from a repair tech who looked at in person, they immediately offered me a new oven.  There was quite a problem finding a repair business who wanted to accept the new oven and do the switch.  The guys they found, though, were great, and it finally was accomplished.

Oven #2:

Built In Oven - Fisher & Paykel

Fisher & Paykel OB30DDEPX1 -- Fisher & Paykel had just changed their model style...Drastically.  Instead of the mostly stainless, retro-look, they now produced a contemporary style appliance with glowing red lights around the knobs and black glass doors with somewhat of a mirror finish.  Not my style at all.  But improvements included glide racks and a different color of porcelain in the interior, which I hoped would make a positive difference in its durability.


Positives:

• The glide racks, although not full-extension, operated very smoothly. 

• It gave me the same excellent baking results...If anything, it was better than the prior oven. 

• This one didn't have the cookie sheets, but I gained a 2nd broiler pan and rack set.  I still use them all the time.

Negatives:

• It arrived without a particular knob that was essential in setting and operating the oven, and being such a new model, they had no spare parts.  They finally sent parts from a display model. 

• They not only sent the knob, but the whole electronic mechanism.  This is when the repair tech found out it just floated behind the front panel. The bit of play in all the knobs, because of that, interfered with operation of the oven, and was a small, but fairly constant aggravation. 

• I never became fond of the black, mirrored glass, which in our house, seemed always covered with smears and fingerprints.  Prince Inventive liked using it, however, to admire the development of his upper body muscles.  ;-)  

• The darkened glass was harder to see through to keep track of baking progress. 

• It eventually developed a similar problem with pitting/chipping porcelain. 

Resolution:  The company was in turmoil over financial issues and the ovens weren't in production at the moment, and they had no stock in reserve.  They might have worked to find me one if it weren't for the problem of finding service people in my area...So they did a 'buy back,' refunding my original $2100, but not the shipping cost.  It wasn't much with which to look for a new oven of the same baking quality...


Overall impression:
I could definitely recommend a Fisher & Paykel oven to others.  (Also, the DCS ovens, which are made my the same company.)  It's true that I had issues twice with the porcelain, but I haven't read of anyone else have the same problem with this brand of oven.  The oven performance was very good. The company seemed to stand behind their product well.  Not sure they dealt well with the repair companies, since the ones who did the first swap did not want to do the 2nd.  I would definitely warn any potential owner to check for ample authorized service in their area before buying.  The lack of it in our area is why I can never buy F&P again, and that's disappointing.


Oven #3:
Monogram ZET2PMSS

This oven was 'runner-up' to the F&P oven while we were building our house.  I actually preferred its styling, but it was lacking in other areas.  But after the F&P problems, I felt this was my next best choice. I was happy to find a display model on clearance, although it cost approximately $1200 more than my refund from Fisher and Paykel.


Attractive features:

• Beefy, professional styling, and nice construction quality with good lighting and windows. 

• Full-extension glide racks coated in porcelain so they could remain in the oven during self-clean. 

• Ultra-quiet fans. 

• A timer for each oven and a separate clock. (On the F&P there was only one timer, and while it was in operation, it took the place of the digital clock readout)

Negatives of which I was aware at purchase:

• Fewer baking modes than in the F&P. 

• Temperature adjustments in 25 degree increments. 

• This oven was a few inches taller, overall, than the Fisher & Paykel ovens, so Hubby had to restructure the cabinet and reduce the depth of my nice drawer below.  

• Not the most helpful user's manual.  Compared to the F&P manual, which had helpful charts and suggestions for preparing all sorts of meats and baked goods, this one fell very short.  The only discussion of pizza is about preparing frozen pizzas. 

Major performance problems:

• The glide racks were so bulky, only 2 fit in the oven at a time even though it came with 3...and there were only 5 possible rack positions, as opposed to 13 in the original F&P and 8 in the 2nd.   Since I felt that positions 1 and 5 were too close to the elements, this left only 3, and that made it difficult to use even 2 racks at a time.

• The special "GE reverse-air convection technology" did not achieve even browning and even temperatures. 

• The oven did not recover to set temperature quickly after the door was open, so that when doing things like pizzas, where high heat is necessary and the door is open often, it lost temperature and severely affected baking times and results. 

• To recover the set temperature it would switch into preheat mode, then overbrown the tops of the baked goods. 

• The oven temperatures weren't accurate or consistent, so that I could cook something in the same way and in the same amount of time every time.  I couldn't leave the kids with the instruction, "Cook this for __ minutes," because I never knew how long it would take." 

• The oven temperatures weren't even from one side of the oven to another.  One time I was making pizzas and all 4 or 5 of them looked as if they'd been covered with foil over one side while the other side browned.  The thermometers I bought to check it told me the oven temps varied by up to 100 degrees from one side to the other.

Resolution:  Another avid baker I know, Cotehele from The Old Kitchen, was having the same problems with uneven baking and inconsistent temperatures in her Monogram oven.  With the help of Jane from AtticMag, who initially contacted GE about the problem after seeing my pizza photos, Cotehele and I both sent them email and photos over a period of weeks, documenting problems as they occurred.  We would wait for days for answers or hear what progress there might be.                                                                                                                              
I finally involved a rep from the customer service department at the store where I purchased my oven (Albert Lee Appliance), and he sent emails to the GE contact also.  For whatever reason, they finally agreed to buy back my oven so that I could find another that met my needs better. (The guys contracted by GE to come get my oven and give me a check said I was 'lucky,' as 'that never happens.')  Cotehele was not so fortunate and they just told her that her oven was working as engineered.  I do think that both hers and my ovens were 'working as designed,' but that wasn't in a way that suited our needs.


Overall impression:
I could not recommend this oven to anyone.  For someone who roasts meat, heats up frozen foods, and bakes cookies once every month or two, it might be fine, and they might never notice problems.  But I think that even the occasional baker should be able to set the oven temperature and expect the oven to reach that temp and maintain it... and evenly across the oven.  For people who bake a few times a week, based on my experience, the inconsistencies and problems would be too frustrating to endure... And the chance of getting the problem resolved would be small.




I will quit for today and cover my 4th oven tomorrow...
in Wordy Wednesday: 4th Oven -also the Final?