Home
Welcome to the Frontpage
Kitchen Appliances: Microwave Ovens Print E-mail
Wednesday, 17 December 2008 08:08

Microwave ovens are an essential part of most any kitchen these days. There's a huge range of choices on the market now, from simple set-ups to fast-cooking models that combine halogen lights with traditional heating methods. This article sets out the basic factors you should consider when choosing a microwave oven for your kitchen.

Where to Place Your Microwave

You'll generally choose between having a counter-top model or a built-in model, with over-the-range models being particularly popular.

An over-the-range model will give you more bench space and also eliminates the need for extra ventilation and lighting. They are fixed to a cabinet mounted above your kitchen range.

You can also buy microwaves mounted in a separate cabinet - this is generally the most expensive option but if you've got plenty of room and money to spend, it could be your best configuration.

Of course, counter-top models are versatile and remain very popular.

Types of Microwaves

The most basic microwaves are inexpensive and if you're merely looking to reheat food and cook vegetables, they're all you need. But if you frequently use your microwave to cook meals, it's a good idea to upgrade to a microwave that has extra features, such as sensors and multi-stage cooking.

A slightly more expensive option is a microwave with a built-in grilling and broiling features. Obviously this expands the range of cooking that you can do in the one unit.

Top-of-the-line these days are your speedcook / halogen microwave models. These combine heat produced by halogen globes with the normal microwave function, allowing food to be cooked much more quickly. Some foods can be cooked incredibly quickly in these types of ovens, making them ideal for people who want to get some serious cooking done.

Microwave-convection oven combinations are also popular these days. These combine a convection heating cycle with a microwave heating cycle, again cooking food very quickly, and are the ideal choice for microwave baking. A heating element within the microwave handles the convection heating cycle and there's also a fan circulating hot air around the oven.

Microwave Wattage

Wattage is the amount of power a microwave uses to produce heat. Generally, more juice a microwave uses, the more powerful it will be. But keep in mind that smaller ovens need less wattage to produce the same amount of heat as larger ovens. While wattage used to be the primary driver behind choosing a microwave, these  days factors such as sensors are just as important, if not more so.
 
Kitchen Appliances: Dishwasher Guide E-mail
Friday, 28 November 2008 09:53

The invention of the dishwasher saved humanity millions of hours of labour. But dishwashers have also wasted millions of litres of water and pumped pollutants into the environment. These days many of these problems have been solved by advances in technology and there is a huge variety of dishwashers on the market today. In this guide we deal with the basic considerations involved in buying a dishwasher.

Dishwasher Size

These days dishwashers come in a variety of sizes, but there is a standard size that kitchen cabinets are usually built for: 60cm wide, 86cm high and 60cm deep. If you're renovating in a regular room, this will probably be the size you'll opt for. But if you need to squeeze your dishwasher into a smaller space, there are now compact models on the market. And for big families there are much larger and deeper dishwashers available.

Water Efficiency in Dishwashers

These days environmental factors play a large role in the decisions people make about their kitchen appliances, and with dishwashers water efficiency is the most important choice. Depending on your country, there may be a rating system which tells you what kind of dishwasher is the most water efficient. The same goes for energy efficiency. The problem with some water-efficient dishwashers is that they don't do an effective job on dirty dishes, but advances in technology have gone a long way towards solving this problem.

Hot or Cold Water?

Cold water connections only use hot water in necessary parts of the washing cycle. Because the dishwasher heats its own water, the hot water from your household system doesn't get used up. This makes cold water connections great for families with small hot water systems. But these types of dishwashers are a bit slow, as they take time to heat the necessary water.

Hot water valves are connected to the household's hot water tank, and use hot water through the entire cycle. This is quicker, as the dishwasher does not need to take time heating the water. But hot-water connection dishwashers can be less efficient and use up water needed by the rest of the house.

Dishwasher Programs

Dishwashers these days come with a variety of programs and settings. These allow to make the wash more powerful or more economical, depending on what your needs are at the time. The most advanced dishwashers will even sense the volume and state of the dishes inside them and automatically select the appropriate program.

 
Kitchen Appliances: Draught Beer E-mail
Sunday, 09 November 2008 04:59

It's every red-blooded bloke's dream - a fully charged keg in the fridge ready for surprise visits, footy barbeques or just a couple of quiet ones on the sly after a tough day at the office. But how do you go about fitting your kitchen out with a beer tap that's worthy of your local hotel. In this article we'll give you some hints and tips on putting a keg into your kitchen.

How do I Keep My Beer Cold?

One popular method of keeping beer cold is to convert a chest freezer. You should be able to set the thermostat to about 2C - which is about the perfect temperature for keeping your beer cold. Then you can drill a tap in the front and away you go. You can take a similar approach with an old bar fridge or full-sized refrigerator.

Keeping your beer at a low temperature is advantageous in several ways. Firstly, it will make the brewed beer last longer in the keg. Secondly, it will put less pressure on the cooling mechanism you use in your tap system, which means it is more likely to hit the glass at the right temperature - bloody cold.

How Big Should My Keg Be?

This very much depends on your drinking and partying habits. If you're just looking for a couple of cold drinks in the evening, you'll most likely only want a small set-up. There are a number of products on the market that suit the regular small-quantity consumer, which combine the keg and gassing unit in one. These can easily be kept inside a spare fridge, or even an empty part of a large kitchen fridge.

If, on the other hand, you're planning to irritate your neighbours with huge keg parties that stretch into the wee small hours, you're going to need something with a bit more grunt. Many professional outfits that supply pubs will also sell systems suited to home enthusiasts.

Should I Home Brew or Buy Commercially?

If you've got the time, home brew is a great option and a beaut way to save money. It's a fun hobby but can be difficult to get the taste just right - you'll need to experiment with different mixes and keep the temperature of the beer consistently just right. On the other hand, many local brewers will be happy to sell you a keg of beer at a decent price.  Then you can just hook up your keg and go for gold.
Last Updated ( Sunday, 09 November 2008 05:03 )
 
Home Appliances: Buying an Espresso Machine E-mail
Sunday, 02 November 2008 04:33

If you're a coffee lover, a great espresso machine is no doubt near the top of your wish list. With a good machine and some skills as a barista, you'll never have to go out for your latte or espresso again. But what should you look for when choosing an espresso coffee machine? In this article we look at some important considerations.

Steam or Pump?

Steam-powered, super-automatic espresso machines are the cheaper option and make coffee quicker. For people who enjoy milky coffees and who aren't particularly interested in bringing out the nuance of every single bean, this is probably the best choice.  They are certainly the most common type of machine available.

But coffee purists may prefer a semi-automatic pump machine, which brings more pressure on to the coffee than a steam-driven machine. Applying water at the right temperature with the perfect amount of pressure will produce the best-quality espresso. However, if you use a pump machine it will take longer to brew your coffee.

Features You May Want

A frothing wand is an important espresso machine feature for anyone who loves milky coffee. This allows you to warm up and froth your milk using pressurised steam from inside the canister.

A cup warmer is a flat metal surface on top of the coffee machine. As the water inside your espresso maker heats up, so does the metal, meaning that you can warm your cups on top. This is important, as using a cold cup for espresso coffee is not ideal.

Pre-moistening cycles moisten ground coffee before the pressurised hot water is applied. This can improve the taste of the brew.

If dealing with coffee grounds is an issue (in an office kitchen espresso maker, for instance) and integrated bean grinder is a good solution. This grinds the beans for each brew and automatically packs the espresso shot, before dumping it in an internal bin. Alternatively, you could buy an espresso machine that is compatible with pre-packed espresso pods.

Other Considerations

Wattage and water capacity are also important to consider. Generally speaking, espresso machines with more wattage are considered to be higher quality, as they can heat the water more quickly and thus brew the espresso at a rapid pace. Machines with an integrated grinder will require a higher wattage.

Brewing components are another consideration. Brass is the most prized type of component among coffee aficionados as it conducts and holds heat well, but stainless steel is also a good option. Aluminium components are used in cheaper machines.

There's a huge range of coffee machines out there, so make sure you shop around for a good buy. But if you really do love your espresso and you're going to be making coffees every day, do consider going for a model that will do your coffee obsession justice.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 02 November 2008 04:38 )
 
Home Appliances: A Guide to Refrigerators E-mail
Sunday, 26 October 2008 05:08

A great fridge makes a great kitchen. It's where masterpieces are stored for later consumption, where treats can be raided in the afternoon and where beer is readily available in the evening. In this guide we run through the basics of choosing a refrigerator for your kitchen.

Basic Design Tips

When you're considering buying a fridge, there are a few things you should check out straight away. First of all, does the door open in the right direction for the space it's meant to fit in? This is an easy mistake to make. Also, you should check the internal shelving - does it look easy to clean? Can it be removed without a problem? Rollers on the bottom of a fridge are very useful - we've all had the unedifying experience of lugging a fridge around a house before.

Environmental Considerations

These days just about everyone's worried about their impact on the environment. Fridges chew up a lot of electricity - they run all the time and they're generally power hungry. In most countries, your fridge will be rated according to its energy efficiency, so pay attention to the sticker on the outside. If you're buying a second-hand fridge, make absolutely sure the seals are in tip-top condition.

Cyclic Defrost or Frost Free?

Both types have their advantages and disadvantages. Frost-free fridges use a fan that blows cold, dry air throughout both the fridge and freezer, resulting in constant temperatures and no ice build-up. But they do make a fair amount of noise when they're defrosting themselves.

Cyclic-defrost fridges don't make a lot of noise and tend to be a bit more energy efficient. But that advantage goes out the window if ice is allowed to build up. The freezers in cyclic-defrost fridges occasionally require defrosting.

Where Should Your Freezer Go?

There are three types of fridge configurations on the market - freezer on top, freezer on the bottom and side-by-side models. Naturally, each has advantages and disadvantages. If you freeze a lot of food, having a roll-out freezer on the bottom is useful for ease of access. It also puts the most-accessed part of the refrigerator - the fresh food section - in an easy-to-access position. But it can make your crisper too cold. Side-by-side models also allow for ease of access, though they can have some tricky corners. Then there's your classic option - freezer mounted on the top. This is a fine configuration, although it can make vegetables in the crisper difficult to get at.
 
« StartPrev12NextEnd »

Page 1 of 2