Buying a Double Oven
Viking is made in the United States and has been around since 1987. Known for their professional, heavy duty appliances the company has gone from super clunky to ultra chic designs still offering some of the industries best oven features.
I have a Thermador Double oven which has been a work horse with a very sleek look, an all glass front and digital readout. Unfortunately the digital display started to fade away, until I had to call in the technician. Well that was almost two months ago and I still don't have my oven fixed.
My oven is about 10 years old and now I am told they are not making the parts we need to get it fixed - what a bummer! So in the recent days, we have spent some time browsing through appliance stores trying to find a suitable substitute.
I have fallen in love with the Viking Designer series and have been picking the sales people's brains as to what makes a top of the line appliance.
My all time fav is the infrared broiler, which sears meat in no time. I always wondered how come you get your steaks prepared in no time, when it takes me double the amount to serve it up. Now I know - it's the professional searing!
Since I bought my Thermador, some major improvements have come to light. For one Viking offers True Glide full extension racks for easy access. The racks slide easily all the way out, whci means - no more burning you hands while you clumsily reach in!
I felt like a total idiot when the sales person explained the difference between convection and true convection. Convection ovens have a fan in the back. This fan distributes heat in the oven and is turned on when one is using one rack. Since Viking ovens come with three racks, more power is needed to circulate the air evenly between each rack. That's when True Convection is turned on. Now not only the fan kicks in, but an extra element around the fan (hidden from the cooks view)is turned on as well that makes sure that the item on rack one, two and three get equal amounts of heat. I had this feature all along on my Thermador and had absolutely no clue about the differences. Hmmm, I suppose I need to read the instruction booklet this time around.
And then there are the meat probe, halogen lighting, heavy duty broiler pans and trays and a variety of style designs. Oh and that ugly heating element on the bottom is now hidden away under the body - yeah I hated that thing.
I sure would love to hear your comments about Viking ovens, if you happen to have one. I am still deciding and looking....
