A New Stove is a Thrill Every Few Decades

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Our new Jenn Aire range.
Our new Jenn Aire range.

I wish I could remember when I bought the stove that I just had removed from the house here in Deerfield. It must be the 1990s…could it be?

At any rate, I shed no tears when I said goodbye to my reliable and scary-noise making old white Hotpoint, and welcomed the latest and greatest from Manny’s into the kitchen.

The new stove is–well, let’s just say that it’s not a Viking or a Wolf, but sure ain’t no Hotpoint either.  After months of kitchen appliance research and the requisite temporary sign up for Consumer Reports, we found a model we wanted.

But of course, when you actually drive to the store to buy such a model, they have other models that quickly find favor in your heart and you forget your due diligence.  This new

This Jenn-Air features five burners with a griddle and two ovens!
This Jenn-Air features five burners with a griddle and two ovens!

stainless steel stove has some unique features that made me want it.  First, I like to use the broiler quite a lot when I cook. I put veggies, fish, and chicken underneath the flame in the oven often. But what I didn’t like was that the broiling area was pretty narrow.  This new stove features a typical gas strip broiler plus another electric coil that goes around the strip, creating a much larger boiling area.

Another aspect of the stove that sold us is the small oven in the bottom. This is an electric oven that can be used to cook small items or as a warming tray.  Finally, although we did look longingly at a more ‘professional’ looking chef style range, it was so basic that it lacked the timer and the other electronics. Which although pro cooks might not use them, I rely heavily on the oven timer just about every time I cook.

I also realized that when you search for a stove, there are three categories of price.  For $900 or below you’ll get the basic Hotpoint, with dinky stove rings and regular oven.  For $6000 you can buy a Viking, which is really cool looking and blows out 15,000 BTUs on the top, but has no electronics and gets bad reliability reviews. Or you can spend just a little more than $3000 for this Jenn-Air, which Manny’s shows off in their high-end area but is not as expensive as a Wolf or a Viking. We hope we made the right choice!