Double oven? Yes or no?

[Mrs. Chipotle]

My dream kitchen has a double oven. I grew up in a house with a double oven in the kitchen and it's amazing the difference it makes when you are entertaining.

However, I know this is an expensive option, either to build or to add on (since LOTS of kitchens don't already have them).

Would you do it?

[GregGraves]

I like a wall oven, and in our house we have a single 30" wide electric Maytag wall oven. Most wall ovens are thin, and if you do any serious cooking, you have to watch to make sure the pans you buy fit. At our prior place we had a gas range with a wide oven, so when we looked for a wall oven, we wanted something that would accept our current supply of pans, and the selection of wide wall ovens is limited. To be honest, we didn't consider double ovens so there may be a wide selection of wide double wall ovens.

Having homes now with a gas range with a gas oven under, and an electric wall oven with a gas cooktop in a counter, the gas cooktop, and electric wall oven are superior. I grew up and learned to cook on gas stoves, so I just know how to cook with them. That's something I never get right when I vacation somewhere with an electric range. The instant change of temperature that can be done on gas can't be done on electric. I know people that have the opposite feel with gas than I have, so I think that's a learned skill.

Back to the ovens, the electric and gas ovens are similar in function and I don't believe there is any real difference in cooking with gas or electric ovens. I prefer electric now, since I can broil in it with less risk of the foods catching fire. The wall oven is so much more convienent since it's at eye level. Ours has a light inside, but it's really not needed except when making cookies and cakes when opening the door ought to be avoided.

You might want to consider a convection oven. They really cook foods fast, and I often wish we had looked at a few of them before we choose ours. But we've been happy with our Maytag oven, and it's never had a problem in the 12 years we've had it.

Our cooktop is a Jenn-Air gas. We wanted the ability to grill indoors. The gas doesn't compare with the electric Jenn-Air grill. The vent sucks all of the heat from the gas burner outside, and it doesn't cook right. So we only use the regular burners, and rarely use the downdraft vent. With the electric Jenn-Air, the burner is in direct contact with the pot, but with the gas the flame is what heats the pot. So with the gas Jenn-Air, the downdraft in the center of the cooktop sucks the flame toward it and steals the heat. Perhaps if I tried it more, I'd understand it better, but my feeling is if you want a Jenn-Air cooktop, go for the original electric and skip the gas.

[aeiou]

For me it does not pay to have double ovens for the few times a year that it would come in handy. I prefer a wall oven over an oven below the cook top because it is at the proper height to see what is cooking without having to crawl on the floor to take a peak. A wall oven also makes it easier to put food in and take food out since you do not have to bend over. I just feel bending over is taking a risk of dropping the food.

[Mama Mangia]

Dream kitchens! I'm hoping to move within the next few months and the kitchen is going to be the most important room. I have been looking at different designs and appliances and I have it down to - 36" gas range with single oven, double gas wall ovens and 5 burner gas cook-top.

I am not interested in having a hood because of the trouble they can be. Several years ago I had a convection oven - and I really liked it for certain things. I was a good-sized counter-top model and I would like to get another one like it.

Wall ovens are something that are not for everyone. My neighbor is barely 4'8" and had to remove hers and her cooktop and install a regular stove. She was too short to use the oven without burning herself. I'm glad I don't have that problem.

But like you said - it would also depend on how much you would use the ovens - and in my house it would be almost daily - so I can use the extra.

[Mrs. Chipotle]

I think I absolutely would make good use of it. I love to cook and we love to entertain. And so often I have to plan all my cooking just right because there's only one oven and too much food to put in it.

Thanks for all the insights.

[r8rpwr]

I'm in the process of planning some updates to our kitchen (which is about 20 years old), and high on the list is a double oven. I really think it will be worth the money in our case. I bake a lot, and temperature is so critical in baking.

[TexasRose]

I would go for the double oven. If you entertain a lot and/or cook many things at once, it's a great sanity saver. Not to mention time saver.

It seems many new houses don't have double ovens or if they do, it costs a lot to add them. I bet that's because so many people just don't cook anymore. I know someone who keeps plants in her oven. She never uses it for its intended purpose so it became just a glorified storage box.

[Twinmama]

I would do it, too. You won't need it every day, or maybe even every month, but it'll come in handy often enough that you'll be glad you did it.

[PoorGirl]

My kitchen is too small for that, however my grandfather has one like that and it does come in handy for family gatherings. But not really any other time. So if you plan on cooking alot I would stick to one.

[DevilsCharm]

A single oven has always been good enough for me, and I've never even seen a house with a double oven. Is it just that I have a lot of low-brow friends?