Appliance Reviews

Wolf Cooktop Review – 30″ Induction CT30

Anthony Rocco — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:57:33 +0000

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Anthony Rocco at Appliance Buyer’s Guide

On the showroom floor, few cooktop match the innate class and quality that Wolf Electric Cooktops show off. There’s just something different about that textured glass, the elegantly simple touch controls, and the thick stainless trim around the edges. It’s hard to explain, but it just looks and feels expensive (and of course, it is).

The Wolf Induction Cooktop comes in three different sizes: a 15” module for those with a lack of space or those who wish to extend the cooking space further, a 30” cooktop with four burners, and a 36” with five burners. Now while some manufacturers try to fit an extra burner at the different size levels, it ends up limiting your cooking ability rather than expanding. I mean, really – when was the last time you had six pots cooking at the same time?

So instead of going into the physics of how induction works, let us just state that it works. It is faster than gas and a miracle of modern living. While the technology for induction is relatively straightforward, there is still room for improving cooking performance – and Wolf is, so far, the only brand that has made changes to the typical single coil design.

Under each burner, in virtually every induction cooktop on the market today, is a single Litz wire coil, generating heat from the center of the pan out. In the Wolf induction cooktop, there are four smaller coils in a square configuration on each burner. This allows the Wolf induction burners to heat the pan evenly and allows for Wolf to achieve its signature even “melt” setting for melting and holding chocolate, butter, and delicate sauces.

The Wolf Induction Cooktop is also one of the most quiet induction cooktops out there. It’s High Power mode diverts power from the other burners to generate a whopping 3000W of power – perfect for boiling water in record time. While its purchase price isn’t advertised, I can tell you it is indeed one of the most expensive induction cooktops on the market.

And maybe the best.

Pros: Most intuitive touch controls yet, reeks of quality, four coils on each burner.

Cons: None, other than the price.

A big thank you to our guest blogger! Anthony Rocco is a father, a blogger and an appliance enthusiast. He is also a Senior Appliance Specialist at the Kitchenworks Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

It’s Getting Steamy in Here

Kieffers Guy — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:38:17 +0000

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by The Kieffer’s Guy at Kieffer’s Appliances

George for the ladies, Catherine for the guys.

Because I’m all about customer service, I painstakingly sifted through hundreds of pictures of Catherine Zeta-Jones to find the right one. I know I know, it was a selfless act. But I want you to know, the Kieffer’s Guy is here for you. Special thanks to our saleswoman Agata for helping me to choose the right Clooney picture. I know that all of the ladies love Mr. Clooney, but as a dude, finding the right shot was a bit difficult.

Obviously, looking at those two pictures can make things a little steamy, but I’m not talking about that kind of steam. I’m talking about steam (the vapor form of water) and to be more specific, steam ovens.

Steam ovens cook exactly how they sound and most people think that only vegetables can be used, but pretty much anything can go into a steam oven like meats, pies, pasta, rice, etc. You can even use a steam oven to sanitize baby bottles or jars for canning. Re-heating food is a dream in a steam oven. You know that pork fried rice that never quite bounces back in the microwave? Pop that in a steam oven and it’ll taste like it just came out of the wok. I’m not here to tell you that a steam oven will replace your current oven, but steam ovens can absolutely complement your current kitchen.

There’s A Message in the Moisture

A happy owner of steam oven, and their reaction to baking a chicken in 20 minutes.

And that message is FASTER cooking times. Let’s say you baked a chicken in a traditional oven. That could take anywhere from one and a half to two hours. Put the same chicken in a steam oven set at 212 degrees and you’re looking at a cook time of about 20 minutes. That’s crazier than a drunken rant by Mel Gibson.

Cooking with steam is healthier too because the steam helps to retain the nutritional value of the food. And because the steam is keeping things moist (duh!), there’s no need to use extra oils or fats to keep food from sticking to the roasting pan. Not having to use extra oils means not adding extra calories to your food which means not adding inches to your waist. And considering how we all stuffed our faces this holiday season, I’m thinking that’s a good thing.

A Miele Steam Oven. Don’t let the size fool you, that’s an ENTIRE meal in one oven.

Probably the number one thing that a customer says to me when looking at a steam oven is that the oven cavity is too small. I won’t lie. The cavity IS small, but don’t let that fool you. Trays can be stacked on top of each other to greatly expand the amount of food that can be cooked. You can easily cook a meal for four (at the same time) in one oven. Of course, the trays can be removed to easily fit larger items like roasts and cakes.

Probably the biggest drawback to a steam oven is that they don’t brown foods. Baked goods and meats will appear pale in color. Typically this can be remedied by putting your baked goods into a traditional oven to brown up and meats should be browned prior to cooking in the steam oven. Keep in mind that this is purely for visual effect. Baked goods and meats will cook thoroughly in a steam oven, but if you want that browned look, you will need to make some adjustments.

Steam Oven Manufacturers To Consider

As always, don’t forget to visit the Kieffer’s website for all of your appliance needs in Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington DC!

-The Kieffer’s Guy

A big thank you to our guest blogger The Kieffer’s Guy! For more great appliance information, follow his blog and visit Kieffer’s Appliances online.

How to Rate Your High-End Appliances

Lynn Huffman — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:43:45 +0000

Just to prove how quick and easy it is to share your opinion with others!

3,905 Christmas Cookies!

Lynn Huffman — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:27:14 +0000

Post written by Lynn Huffman

Once a year, about a week before Christmas, three girlfriends and I spend a whole day making and baking Christmas cookies. Last Thursday was that day, and at the end of the day we had made multiple batches of ten different types of cookies. We’ve been holding “Cookie Day” at my house for at least ten years, and our friends and families are the grateful recipients of our butter, sugar and flour concoctions!

“Cookie Day”, among those who know us, is as sacred and planned as any other holiday during the year, but it really takes more than just one day. We are each assigned a bar cookie recipe to be made and baked in great quantities the day before “Cookie Day”. We bring those ready to be cut and divided. In addition we each make huge quantities of dough for other cookies, and bring the dough ready to be sliced, rolled, or pressed and baked in my Thermador convection ovens. Last Thursday, after nine hours of laughing, chatting, sharing and baking, we had made three thousand, nine hundred five cookies!

I think we would all agree that this was our most successful “Cookie Day” ever, and I believe it’s because of this:

We understand and love each other dearly.
We recognize our unique talents and laugh at our weaknesses.
One of us is the organizer, sets the date and assigns the recipes and quantities (aka “The Cookie Nazi”).
Three of us love to cook and bake (one even does it professionally, full-time).
The fourth one loves getting all of her Christmas cookies baked in one day (that would be me)!
One of us has an enormous amount of linear countertop space and double Thermador convection ovens.
We’ve made the same cookies for years and have a system for baking and decorating the varieties that are the most labor intensive.
We each cherish spending this one day a year together and sharing our love and cookies with so many others!

Open or Sealed: The Quest for the Perfect Burner

Kieffers Guy — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:55:29 +0000

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by The Kieffer’s Guy at Kieffer’s Appliances

Hey Appliance Fans,

“They may take our lives, but they will never take….our open burners!”

Just so you know, this will be a completely bias post. Why? Because I am infatuated with open burners, not sealed burners. However, I am a professional so let’s explore our options. So sit back, relax, mix up a glass of Tang and let’s talk burners, baby!

What’s the difference, Kieffer’s Guy?

Open Burners:

Open burner designs are used in pretty much all professional kitchens. I would estimate that

Open Burner design from BlueStar. 22,000 BTUs. Now THAT’S power!

sealed burners are used 95-98 percent of the time in residences. Open burners look exactly how they are described, there is open space around the flame output area. What this means is that more air can circulate around the flame giving an open burner much more power. Additionally, open burners can drop down to a very low simmer. The combination of power and delicateness is why professionals only use open burners.

The drip tray on this BlueStar 36″ range slides out for cleaning.

With great power comes great responsibility. Well, not really, but there is a catch. Cleaning. Because of the space around open burners, if there is a spill, liquid can seep below the burner. That’s why all open burner models have removable drip trays that catch liquids. Incidentally, these drip trays are dishwasher safe. For some customers, the notion of cleaning open burners is a deal breaker and they opt for sealed burner designs. But ask yourself this: how many times per year do you have boil overs? If you’re like me, not too many. My vote is for the more powerful open burner.

Manufacturers to consider with open burner designs:

Sealed Burners:

The benefit of a sealed burner means liquids that spill are trapped on top of the cooking surface.

Sealed burners were specifically designed for the home owner because they are easier to clean than open burners. As mentioned before, this is the most common design in residential kitchens and I guarantee that you have sealed burners in your home. In terms of what manufacturers to consider when looking at sealed burners, every company makes sealed burners (with the exception of BlueStar).

While cleaning sealed burners is relatively easy (assuming you don’t spill concrete or super glue on your cooktop), there are two drawbacks to this design. One, you don’t get as much BTU output. The most powerful sealed burners will put out about 18,500 BTUs (open burners can pump out 22,000 or more). Two, some BTUs can be lost if the flame shoots out around the side of the pot. The ideal condition for cooking food is when the entire flame is focused on the bottom of the pot or pan. If the flame encompasses the side of the cooking vessel, that heat is not focused on what you need to cook. Compare the sealed burner picture with the open burner picture. Notice how the sealed burner sits above the cooktop whereas the open burner rests below the cooktop? The open burner wins every single time for focusing the heat energy onto your pan. Compare both pictures again. Notice how the BlueStar has orifices peppered around the entire burner? The sealed burner doesn’t. It’s orifices circle the burner. This is what also causes flames to encompass the pan rather than direct it onto the bottom of the pot.

Thermador’s Star Burners

Thermador’s Star Burners distribute heat more evenly than circle burner designs.

Remember the saying ” I before E except after C”? The reason I mention this is that there is always an exception to the rule. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t set aside a special section about Thermador’s Star Burners. Technically, they are sealed burners making cleanup a snap, but their unique design focuses more flames on your pan. Although other manufacturers will have the same BTU output in their sealed burners compared with the Star Burner, the star shape helps to eliminate flames spilling out of the sides of the pot. If you compare the Thermador burner to the BlueStar burner, you will notice that the orifices in both burners look like, well, a star.

When deciding what type of burner you want in your home, just remember the two main

I want all of the BTU power in the World! Give me open burners, muh ha ha ha!

differences between open versus sealed burners: open burners provide much more power than sealed burners, but take a little more work to clean should you have a boil over. Since I’m a closet Iron Chef, I want all the power I can get.

For more information about open vs. sealed, stop in our showroom. We have both on display!