2nd Wall Oven - Gas vs Electric (Main oven is Steam)

[mlondon]

Remodeling our kitchen and  love to cook. We use our ovens mostly for cooking fish & meats, roasting vegetables, a tiny bit of bread and other baking. Main stove is rangetop rather than a range, so ovens need to be on the wall (which is better for my back so I don't have to bend over for the oven). Primary 24" wall oven will be a Miele Steam Oven (have been hearing nothing but good things about this oven and excited to have something that can steam a fish, then make the skin crispy at the end!) Would like to have a 2nd 24" wall oven for overflow, either when we need more space, or want to cook at different temperatures. The easiest thing would be to put in a Miele electric wall oven. But I've read/heard that gas is superior for everything with the exception of baking (bread, etc) as it keeps more moisture in the food. The only high quality 24" gas wall oven I could find is BlueStart. It has a 1850° Infrared Broiler which would be great for broiling. I know the Miele has a broiler, but as it is just an electric coil, I'm thinking that the BlueStar would be MUCH better for broiling.

 

Is a gas oven (especially if it is our 2nd oven) that much better than a really good modern electric oven?

If yes, any suggestions for which 24" gas wall oven?

Any other 24" electric wall ovens that might have a better broiler than the Meile?

Totally open to any suggestions. Thank you.

[MSRadell]

I personally think that electric ovens are far superior.  They seem to have better temperature control and the humidity is defective like it is in a gas oven.  Gas cooktop or stoves are great but not the same for ovens at least in my opinion.  The steam oven you have is what we would really like but...

[gfweb]

I have a blue star gas range. The broiler is powerful. Like nuclear powerful. I like it, though I rarely broil

[heidih]

Wow really? I hate the electric oven my brother in law put in.  Takes forever to heat and the fan runs it seems foreverevr after you turn it off. Maybe I am the control freak who prefers immediate gas.

[Sid Post]

Most residential electric ovens are  glacial in their heat up unless you are buying something expensive and powerful.  Gas do seem to heat up faster in general though cheap ones are generally not as even heating as a similarly priced electric.

 

In 24" formats, your options are pretty limited and get really expensive fast when you get into the European brands that work so well.

[mlondon]

OP here.

Thank you all for your comments. The only good quality 24" gas wall oven is BlueStar, but that needs to be mounted 7" away from the nearest wall, so not an option for me.

Instead I'll use the wall space for pot/pan storage, and buy a 36" Hestan Range with gas oven instead of the planned 36" Hestan Rangetop.

I probably wont use the Range's oven as much, and dont really want to give up the pot/pan storage under the stove, but I figure I can keep our woks in the oven and the rest of the pots/pans elsewhere without too much trouble.

 

[Sid Post]

The only real negative with a stove like that is having to bend over to check or get something out of the oven.  I really do like wall ovens for that reason and is part of the reason for a stove with oven and a separate oven in the wall.  A bit of the best of both I guess with a gas and an electric oven.

[mlondon]

1 hour ago, Sid Post said:

he only real negative with a stove like that is having to bend over to check or get something out of the oven.

 

Agree completely - especially as I'm 6'4"

The alternative is a Rangetop with drawers underneath (that I still have to bend over to get too), and an Electric Wall Oven. If I do go with a 2nd Wall Oven, then at least I'd choose a Miele to go with the Miele Steam oven. I'm assuming the Miele would be more efficient in terms of heat up time than an older electric stove. But at 24" it will still be limiting for when I want/need to use larger sheets, etc.

Hence the compromise of the 36" Hestan Range as opposed to Rangetop

 

[Sid Post]

Yes on the 24" being limiting.  I had a 24" electric oven and while it heated up faster due to its smaller volume, a lot of my sheet pans simply would not fit in it along with a few roasters and other pans with various handles.

 

The Miele steam oven even at 24" would be really useful for many households, mine included.  However, you would loose your planned storage space.  The 36" Hestan oven would certainly be a good complement though to go with a steam oven.  Breads, fish, vegetables, etc. would work out well in a steam oven and you would have that nice 36" oven for Thanksgiving Turkey's and Christmas hams as well.  It might be worth checking out adjacent kitchen space or possibly adding an island to hold your overflow cookware and go with a double oven.  I suspect you might find yourself using a 24" Miele steam oven a lot more than you suspect; assuming you cook regularly in your kitchen and it isn't mainly just a showpiece. 

[dtremit]

I wish someone made a high-end, American-size rangetop similar to a typical Japanese cooktop:

 

 

Burners and a broiler (for fish), no oven. 

[gfweb]

48 minutes ago, dtremit said:

I wish someone made a high-end, American-size rangetop similar to a typical Japanese cooktop:

 

 

Burners and a broiler (for fish), no oven. 

Two burners? Not enough for me.

Its cute though.

[Sid Post]

I'm glad I don't live in a 300 square foot apartment.