Kosher Appliances Annual Review
We’re a couple months shy of living in our new home for a whole year, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to give a critical review of our appliance choices.
Oven: Frigidaire GLEB27T9DB Double Oven
We’re really happy with it. The controls are easy, food cooks evenly, it’s easy to clean, and convection makes baking several trays of cookies a snap. There are a few annoyances that we’ve encountered, but they’re all minor: At times, one oven seems to take a while to get up to temperature; one of the convection fans occasionally makes noise; and hot condensation sometimes builds up around the door and sprays onto entering hands. The only pan I’ve ever had trouble fitting in the oven was an extra-large disposable aluminum tray, but pizzas, turkeys, lasagnas, etc., all fit fine.
As for the Sabbath/Yom-Tov features, they work as advertised; it’s really nice to be able to adjust the temperature on holidays. (I recommend keeping an oven thermometer inside to monitor the temperature, since the display doesn’t change.)
In any case, for $1,300, I think it’s a great value. If I had the space, the 30″ model would have been ideal.
Cooktop: Dacor SGM464GG
The big draw of this cooktop was its integrated gas grill, something I especially wanted to due to our lack of outdoor grilling space. While I enjoy having the option to grill, I’ve learned that excellent ventillation and a dishwasher should be required accessories. We’ve had trouble keeping smoke from the grill under control with our existing hood (which doesn’t exhaust to the outside) and the greasy parts (thankfully all removeable) would be a terrible hassle to clean without a dishwasher. On top of it, the grill definitely has hot spots and cool spots, and cooking takes longer than an outdoor gas grill since there’s no cover to trap in the heat.
As for normal cooking, it’s been a struggle getting used to gas burners, knowing how high or low to set the heat. Simmering is a challenge, but the included simmer platter helps once you get the hang of it.
We don’t use the cooktop at all on Shabbat or holidays. It’s spark-ignited, so it can’t be turned on during yom tov, but I’ve never felt comfortable leaving on gas appliances unattended anyhow.
Overall, the convenience of a grill is nice, if imperfect, and instant gas heat is also a welcome improvement over electric.
Dishwasher: GE Triton XL Built-In Dishwasher (GSD6200JWW)
This choice was a bit less critical than the previous, made mostly in terms of price and place of manufacture (I prefer buying American). Since we weren’t concerned about kashering it (or about hard water), we went with a cheaper, vinyl interior, but everything else has been top notch. The “pots and pans” cycle gets our pots and pans clean; the “china and crystal” setting gently scrubs away a Sabbath’s-worth of china and crystal, so far with no damage to stemware or our plates’ gold trim. I had to bend back one spoke on the top rack to fit the largest piece, but the dishwasher accomodates all our Dacor grill’s parts. Only the grate requires some after-wash scouring to get tough char off.
It’s not particularly noisy, but I don’t really care about noise, since we can set the dishwasher on a multiple-hour delay for overnight operation, or just close our kitchen doors.
We made the switch to a gas cooktop as well, and for yomtov we simply unplug it, so as to avoid the electronic ignition.
We have done so on Yom Tov yet, but we’ve found that on our gas stove if you push the knob in as you turn it the spark ignition is suppressed.
Unplugging is a good idea — maybe I’ll give that a shot on Shavuot.
Recommendations:
The Maytag Gemini double oven and the Fisher Paykel double dishwasher
I addressed briefly the Fisher Paykel double dishwasher in my initial post’s comments — if you have the space, it’s far cheaper to buy two GE or Maytag dishwashers than to buy a Fisher Paykel divided dishwasher. Double the capacity, too.
It’s not just the space, though. You need additional water/electric hookups, as most kitchens are only equipped to handle one dishwasher, except in Kosher Xanadu developments…and those already have new stuff anyhow!
Good point, DeisCane– due to limited plumbing, only one of our dishwashers is hooked up to the Insinkerator disposal unit, and the other we just wing it in terms of solid waste.
Regarding use of your grill without a lid, I often use a large pot lid over my grill to increase heat/decrease cooking time. For larger items, I have thought about using my wok, but its a pain to clean up from that…. The pot lid is not ideal, but it works.