With the holidays on our doorstep, meal planning and prep is on our minds! Whether you’re a turkey and stuffing family, or you enjoy tossing tradition to the wind and creating a unique Thanksgiving meal, all the action happens in the kitchen and success depends on your appliances.
We spoke with Marie Leuchte at Yale Appliance to get some advice on what kitchen appliances people are finding most helpful and what’s new in the world of appliances.
Steam ovens seem to have gained popularity. What makes them so special?
Steam isn’t new but it has become increasingly popular as people understand what it’s capable of. Of course steam ovens are great for cooking, but what’s really remarkable is what they can do with leftovers. Most of us have been using microwaves to reheat, but you risk the food drying out and turning rubbery. If you have a steam oven the Refresh/Reheat mode is a game changer because the food retains moisture. In fact, food reheated in a steam oven has the exact same consistency, moisture and flavor as it did when it first came out of the oven. And no worries if you want to retrofit a steam oven but don’t have easy access to a water hookup: they come in plumbed and non-plumbed versions which have a refillable reservoir.
How has technology changed appliances?
Meile and the new Wolf products have “Guided Cooking” technology that walks you through recipes step-by-step. They include a touchscreen which offers choices of what you’re cooking and what temperature you’d like the meat (medium? medium rare?). It’s like cooking for dummies, even telling you when to flip your food. Many brands now offer “menu technology” which almost feels like it’s on your smartphone. Again, the goal is to make cooking easier and to help you prepare meals with minimal stress but maximum health and flavor. Some even allow you to store your own recipes.
What’s popular in the world of refrigeration?
We are seeing a lot of under the counter wine and beverage refrigerators. These are actually two different things. Beer, soda and water are usually kept very cool, but wine requires less refrigeration. Some wine fridges even have multiple zones – cooler for whites and warmer for reds.
With gas falling out of favor are more people switching to induction stoves?
We’re seeing a lot more induction cooking. Induction is a particularly good option for people who either don’t want, or the town restricts, gas. Some brands, including Fisher & Paykel, Blue Star and AGA, are coming out with much bigger, professional-style stoves that are induction and weren’t previously available. Until recently homeowners were only able to choose from 30” or 36” stoves and had to install wall ovens. Today, the stovetop and oven are now available as a combined range and are as large as 48” – that’s a nice big cooking area, especially for the holidays!
Speaking of which, do you have any tips for the holidays?
Not everyone loves turkey because it can become too dry. The best way to keep that from happening is not to overcook it. I’m a big fan of meat probes – and they’ve come a long way in recent years. Rather than opening the oven to check the temperature with an instant read thermometer and allowing the heat to escape, many ovens now include a built-in probe which plugs into the inside of the oven and then into the meat. The stove can then tell you when the meat is at the correct temperature so that there’s no guesswork. Some also connect to your phone so you can entertain and not have to worry because you can remotely check your dinner.
I have one more important holiday tip! We always tell people not to try “self-cleaning” your oven right before the holidays. Why? Because we find that a lot of service issues happen around self-cleaning. The temperature in the stove gets so hot that there can be a greater likelihood of something going wrong from the intensely high heat. The last thing you want to stress about when 25+ friends and family are expected for dinner is an emergency service call.
Are there appliances that are a bit of a splurge but you think are worth considering?
I think a real splurge is a warming drawer. If you’re remodeling and planning on a separate cooktop and wall oven then I sometimes suggest a double wall oven with a warming drawer underneath. If you’ve got kids coming home from school sports at different times it’s a great way to keep things warm so they can eat when they get home. Of course, it’s a huge help for the holidays when you have more than the typical number of dishes to prepare. This way nothing gets cold and timing your meal is a whole lot easier.
One of the things that homeowners may not give enough thought to when they’re planning a remodel is the stove hood. What do people need to consider?
First, you’re right, the hood isn’t usually top of mind when customers come in and there are a few things to consider that are really important. If a homeowner wants to install a Wolf professional 48” range they need to be prepared that they’ll need a very powerful hood in order to pass inspection. They also may not realize that they need a make-up air system integrated into the hood to replace the air that’s being sucked out. On the other hand, if you choose an induction stove, they don’t throw a lot of heat so the requirements for the hood are a lot lower and no make-up air is needed.
Anything else you’d like people to know?
We’d love it if you stop into Yale and talk to one of our sales people to answer your specific questions, but in the meantime, we have a really impressive Learning Center on our website where you’ll find the expected blog articles but also podcasts, videos and webinars on a wide range of appliance-related topics and buying guides.