Another appliance question: Convection Ovens

[rec head]

This week both my toaster oven and electric tea kettle have shown their age and I don't think they will last much longer. This has me looking at replacing my old gas range with an induction range. I want to do this if I can consolidate three appliances into one. I know an induction top plus a compatible tea kettle will heat water faster than my standalone kettle and way faster than our gas stove. We bought the toaster oven for its convection feature and how quickly it cooks compared to our range's oven. The big question is will a new convection oven heat up and cook as fast as the little toaster oven? I'm considering a range with a double oven if that will mean faster cook times compared to a full size oven. I have used induction cooktops but I haven't used an electric oven in 30+ years and definitely not one with the convection feature.

Thanks for any insight.

[j44ke]

I don't think there are many things faster than an electric tea kettle when it comes to boiling water. I think that's probably because of the physics of the device. And toaster ovens are pretty amazingly useful & efficient even next to state of the art ranges, especially in terms of how much less heat they put out into your house.

If you do a lot of cooking and are looking at ranges, I'd be more likely to get an over-under set up with an induction top and a full-sized oven below on the range and then a microwave/convection oven in the cabinet above.

But we're vegetarians, so that kind of cooking power is overkill for what we do. We have a gas cookstop in the island and a Bosch wall-oven that has a convection option we don't use. Any speed advantage in the wall-oven versus our Bosch range in our city apartment is because the Bosch range is nearly 20 years old.

I do know from foodie friends with space age kitchens that the best induction cookers are found on the upper level models. That's where you get the smooth-gradient temperature control. You also may or may not have to figure in the cost of new pots & pans.

[rec head]

Granted I think all my experience on induction tops is in Europe. Even my friend's "cheap Ikea bullshit" induction top heated water faster than my electric kettle. Maybe my old ass kettle has gotten slow but it is still faster than my gas cooktop. It would be nice if separates were an option but for some reason in the US they seem to only be expensive ones and in a little reading over the years that cost isn't always quality.

The heat into the house issue was one of the reasons for getting the toaster oven and something I am keeping in mind. Part of the reason for my curiosity in the double oven.

I'm a vegetarian too but I don't see what that has to do with cooking pizza. It needs power!

The microwave/convection oven is something I should look into, good idea. The idea of metal in the microwave still is weird to me even though our microwave came with a metal rack. We use the convection option in the toaster oven almost exclusively. The one thing I'm not getting rid of is a regular 2 slice toaster. Nothing beats them for toast.

I only have a couple pans that won't work with induction and they are 20+ y/o non-sticks that get very little use so the cost there isn't an issue.

Both the toaster oven needing repair and the kettle breaking both came while I am working on the kitchen. The idea of getting a new appliance now kinda feels like the right time.

[htwoopup]

All that vegetarian stuff said (you guys are), the convection oven makes for a great large sized air fryer (which is really just a counter sized convection oven)…which is kick-ass on brussel sprouts, cauliflower, potatoes. Just get one of those racks on the fifth or so up slot that has pull out space for a big mesh basket that fills the hole with a big pan on the lowest regular rack. My new stove which came with a convection oven came with the rack/basket but I have seen them sold separately. I had no idea about this possiblity but now I am hooked.

[Chik]

Yep, an induction hob boils water faster than an electric kettle.