Good website for rating/reviewing cooking appliances?

P

Paul O

New member
I haven't found one that reviews a broad range of brands. I'd like to know
whether it is actually worth it to pay more for some of the "professional"
equipment.
 
"Janet" wrote:

Epinions.com is pretty good with customer reviews over a broad range.
But you're not really looking for a review, by needing to know if "if
it's worth it" you're wanting someone do make the decision for you
because you have no spine where spending mony is concerned. Btw,
there's a huge difference between "professional" and "professional
style". Hardly anyone puts true professional [commercial] equipment
in their home... 99% choose professional style (looks like).
Professional style performs no better than ordinary models, just makes
folks with more dollars than brain cells feel like they know.
 
Brooklyn1 wrote:

Partly true. The key difference between true professional equipment and
professional style equipment is that the true professional equipment
isn't generally insulated and won't meet residential fire codes with
flammable cabinetry in close proximity. Professional style equipment
will be insulated to allow flammable cabinetry to surround it.

True professional equipment typically has higher gas or electric
requirements than what is available in most homes and as a result can't
operate in a typical residential environment without electric or gas
service upgrades. Professional style equipment will be designed to fit
within residential limitations and as a result usually won't have the
BTU capacity of true professional units, even if they look cosmetically
similar.

The bottom line is that the professional style appliances are generally
comparable performance wise to the upper end normal residential
appliances and the difference is mostly cosmetic and of course the
expensive foofy brand nameplate. Where the real differences are is
between the low end appliances and the upper end appliances. Don't
expect much from a $500 range, but also don't expect to find much
functional difference between a $2k range and a $4k range.
 
In article ,
"Pete C." wrote:


Consumer Reports generally rates those "professional style" stoves, as
you call them, fairly poorly, even though they cost much more. Some
people don't like Consumer Reports, but I like the fact that they don't
just tell you what they recommend, but also detail about why.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
[email protected]
 
Brooklyn1 wrote:

Go fuck yourself. I've had it with kneejerk hostility from big egos with
little brains and less manners

You know nothing about me, you ass.
 
Janet wrote:

I don't know of such a website but I too would enjoy that sort of reference.
But I have some experience with commercial equipment since we've bought a
number of commercial appliances and fixtures for the barbecue team and we've
built the beginnings of a comercially licensable kitchen in my team
partner's basement (and no, I am not a professional cook Some folks here can
certainly expand greatly on my comments below).

I'm not sure whether you just mean permanent appliances like ovens and
refrigerators or also smaller appliances and tools but I'm happy to share
what I've learned.

Size matters. Your conventional domestic oven for example, won't accept
certain sizes of sheet pans etc. I like the uniformity of commercial
equipment.

Durability matters. Commercial equipment is designed to function under heavy
loads on a constant basis. And commercial equipment is generally simpler to
operate and repair. Even used, commercial equipment is generally tough as
nails.

Power matters too. Commercial equipment has the extra power to make quick
work of chores that task home equipment and deal with larger volume recipes.
Do you need to get in and out of the fridge constantly and want fast
temperature recovery and quick chilldown of ingredients? Commercially most
health departments require foods to meet minimum handling standards
regarding how fast they are cooled down out of the temperature danger zone
(40-140F). The vast majority of home refrigeration equipment can't even come
close if you're in and out of it a lot.

And speed matters. (Partly a function of power.) Professional convection
ovens are costly but highly efficient. I saw a nice countertop oven the
other day, as small as you will see a glass-door commercial oven. It was on
sale for about 700 bucks. Compare that to the price of a good quality home
countertop oven, which won't hold much (size matters again).

Space matters. This stuff is bigger, and you need greater clearances around
such equipment and other standards may apply regarding materials. It's all
about the stainless steel.

Air quality matters. Plan on investing in a high volume hood with external
exhaust.

And cleanup matters. Professional equipment at all levels is designed to be
cleaned and avoid nooks and crannies where bacteria can hide and multiply.
The more people you cook for, the greater the risk that a little bit of
contamination somewhere can severely harm somemone. Equipment that bears the
mark NSF has been certified for cleanability consistent with most local
health department regs. And your two bowl sink at home wouldn't pass
muster... you need three; wash, rinse, and sanitize.

Looks matter. Maybe. That's up to you. You can buy commercial-style
equipment for home use, and it's very expensive but looks nice. Or you can
buy real commercial equipment, often for similar prices, esepcially used,
and it won't look like much.

Don't be taken by the words pro or professional on equipment designed for
home use. That doesn't mean it's rated acceptable for commercial use and so
you can't necessarily expect professional results. The use of the terms are
not regulated and don't mean much. For example, I have a deep fryer called a
Waring Pro. That fryer basket is terribly difficult to clean thoroughly,
especially after a couple days of heavy use, and would not be acceptable to
a health inspector. OTOH you can sometimes find NSF rated stuff at retail
outlets.

What really matters the most is whether you want to be able to cook larger
quantities of foods in shorter times at higher energy costs with more
consistent and predictable results, and if you're willing to pay more for
both equipment and fixtures that won't necessarily be very attractive. If
so, look around for used equipment, auctions, and so forth. You can save a
bundle. And if you don't know what you're doing, have it professionally
installed to make sure it's safe and functional.

Regarding Dan's post, I can understand why Consumer Reports downrates some
of the pseudo-professional stuff. The reliability I have witnessed where
friends have purchased high end premium brand stuff has been shameful. In my
experience, Kitchen-Aid and Cusinart are major offenders. My Q partner, for
example, had to replace the oven heating element in a high end KA range
three times in four years, and only one was done under warranty. So if CR
has ratings on this stuff for reliability I think you'd be wise to pay
attention.

MartyB
 
Pete C. wrote:



Which is one reason why one could buy an actual used professional 6-burner
gas range for a hell of a lot less than the same thing fitted for
residential use.


Exactly, and since I am limited to LP--no gas lines out here--one of the
things I need to tease out is what the true performance of various units is
when limited to that fuel. One can read burner specs all day without finding
some real life comparative information about how they actually perform, in
the manner of Consumer Reports. Unfortunately, CR only tests a few models,
and half the time the model in question is out of date by the time one is
looking to buy.


That is the impression I have, but it is not backed up by any experience. My
neice has a DCS range, and it's great. But so is my mother's dual fuel
Bosch, which I *think* is probably significantly cheaper. But I haven't
tried cooking in a wok on either one, just as an example.
 
On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:48:41 -0600, "Pete C."
wrote:


All gibberish. You're just babbling off on tangents. You completely
ignored the entire point I made that "Professional Style" is a
meaningless term... anything labeled "Professional Style" may as well
be labeled "Bull Shit"... all that means is that it's an ordinary
residential model stylized with trim to make it look like a commercial
product... however a true commercial appliance is typically not very
attractive, they're designed for utility. The correct nomenclature is
*Commercial*. Btw, it's not difficult to make a Commercial stove
conform to residential code, however very very few actually have a use
for a Commercial stove at home, not many are making soup in 80 quart
pots that need the BTUs to maintain temperature of all that mass and
stove chassis strength so they don't collapse under that weight. When
someone buys an appliance, even if it says "Professional", and uses it
commercially they void the warranty. True commercial appliances are
built to much higher standards than those meant for residential use...
but they're typically not sold with a very long warranty (usually 90
days), to maintain the warranty longer the manufacturer expects the
business to purchase a yearly service contract. There's plenty of
appliances and cookware out there sold with the "Professional" tag but
they don't come close to Commercial standards. The first clues that
it's not Commercial is that it's pretty and the manufacturer stresses
a wattage rating. Watts is a measure of power consumed, NOT power
produced. Motorized electrical appliances to conform to commercial
grade must prominently display Horsepower ratings. Folks who buy
kitchen appliances based on Wattage are idiots, most of the Watts
consumed go to producing heat... your 600 Watt Kitchen Aid stand mixer
is the most expensive hair drier you'll ever own.
 
Janet wrote:

I don't know what you're looking for but I'll toss out there that we
recently took a cooking class in Charleston, using professional
equipment. I was shocked at how HOT! those big stoves got, the handles
and knobs all heated when the oven and rangetop were both on. I had
never used one before and wondered about how practical/safe they were in
a home kitchen?
 
In article ,
"Janet" wrote:


Oh, where is Kay Hartman when we need her? :-(

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
 
On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:41:39 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
wrote:



She wound up with a high-end home range - A Garland, IIRC, although
she investigated them all.

Boron
 
In article ,
Boron Elgar wrote:


That sounds right. I know she did a lot of research and talked to
dealers; some of those suckers required better gas connections that the
average house has, IIRC. I miss her.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
Pepparkakor particulars posted 11-29-2010;
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
 
Janet wrote:

Yep, cheaper to buy just the range, but comparable cost by the time you
account for the cost to refit your kitchen to support an actual
professional range.


LP gas has a bit higher BTU content than nat. gas. You will find that as
long as your supply is sized properly your range will perform as good or
better on LP than on Nat. gas. My 5 burner cooktop on my dual fuel range
runs on LP and performs nicely.


No residential range will compare to a real commercial wok burner.
Standard residential gas supply lines just won't support a real wok
burner. The high output burner on my range does a decent job, but it's
still far cry from what you see in a Chinese restaurant.
 
Nunya Bidnits wrote:

The opposite is true, LP has higher BTU content than nat. gas. When you
change the orifices and regulator on the appliance for the gas
conversion you will generally have the same BTU spec'd for either fuel.
 
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