Monday, September 10, 2007

KitchenAid Facts and Opinions


KitchenAid Facts and Opinions It took five years on on-again off-again finances to save up money for my gas stove but I finally did it and with Linda's help, we really went all out (at least all-out for us). We got a freestanding gas cooktoop/oven and a microwave/vent hood/convection oven. Both are KitchenAid Architect II series. We suffered a little bit of anxiety and consternation to find the cooktop/oven ranked at the bottom of the Consumer Reports list, but the good news is that the things CR ranked low seem to be non-issues, as long as the reliability is as good as it should be for spending that much money.The touchscreen menus are great. The automated cooking time and sensor cooking seem to be reliable and accurate. Both cooktop/oven and microwave/vent hood/convection oven appear to be smart (not just offering a bunch of options, but options that seem to work). This is somewhat surprising because we live at just about 5000 ft. elevation which is the cutoff point for high altitude cooking. I have not yet made any high altitude adjustments for cooking time but the stuff we have made so far came out perfect. The microwave oven adjusts itself to really cook at settings other than 100% -- i.e. 40% power is really 40% not just high power 40% of the time. This will make a difference cooking some things like oatmeal and eggs, but once you get used to it, it's a good advancement in overall cooking controllability. You know those rotisserie chickens they sell at the grocery store? The gas/convection oven on the freestanding cooktop/oven can cook them as good or better, without injecting them with anything with just the touch of a couple menu buttons. The microwave -- say you want to cook two baked potatoes -- just select the menu item, select two, and hit start. Perfect baked potatoes without even guessing at or entering a time.Our initial impressions of the units are very favorable. If you are purchasing kitchen appliances, definitely take a look at KitchenAid Architect II

3 comments:

nettymus said...

I've had both now, electric and gas. I just can't decide which I like best. I'll have to get a non 20 year old mini sized gas stove and then make the comparison.
-Jenette

alex24x7 said...

i'm looking at an Architect II slide-in gas range and i'm really concerned with the reliability of the machine. so i'm wondering, how is your range holding up? i've heard bad things about the controls going out.

The Gare Bear said...

Note to Alex -- Sorry about not answering sooner. The Kitchen Aid Architect II slide-in gas range should be good based on our experience. We have had nothing but good to great results with our free standing Architect II. We had one cracked cast iron grate and Kitchen Aid acttually had someone who was a real American speaking from an answer service in America and they had a new part out to us within a couple of days. Great product and great service so far. Great cooking results, and fairly easy to use. I all works like it is supposed to. I'd advise you to make the purchase if you haven't already.