Crap cookers

Man of Honour
Man of Honour
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3 May 2004
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Kapitalist Republik of Surrey
We've just had our oven replaced. We're tenants so the letting agent sent one of their goons round, presumably with the cheapest fan oven they could find.

I have to say it seems to be completely crap. So far I've managed to burn nearly everything I've put in it, especially pizza. No matter how low you turn the temperature down (within reason) it just seems to burn the outside of the food leaving the middle bit uncooked. It's really noticeable with pizza because it'll annihilate the crust round the edge and leave the centre of the pizza uncooked. Do it at a lower temperature and it just dries it out. Disgusting. What I did notice is it seems to be airtight inside. When you open the door you get hit by a blast of steam, not dry heat like on the old oven.

I like my food. My lunch is ruined. J69 is not happy. Moan.

Anyone else got a crap oven, or a good one they feel like they want to comment on?
 
Yeah I had a crap hob 2 years ago- it was one of those hot electric coils.

The outside would get crazy hot, and the inside would be cold, so nothing seemed to cook very well.

My current house was rented with no cooker, so picked up a broken Smeg for £50 off ebay, quick bit of rewiring, and she was ready to go, bloody marvellous cooker.

Perhaps worth you doing the same thing Jonny69?
 
wierd surely the fan should mean the temprature should remain even all over the oven with no heat spots and the edges shouldnt be cooking first
 
Steams good surely. Means it will cook like a superior gas oven then?

All these dry heat electric fan jobs are crapola.
Uh, ok T16.

My current house was rented with no cooker, so picked up a broken Smeg for £50 off ebay, quick bit of rewiring, and she was ready to go, bloody marvellous cooker.

Perhaps worth you doing the same thing Jonny69?
If I wasn't planning to buy my own place soon I might consider that. Hopefully not too long to go now...

On the other flipside it seems to bake a decent loaf of bread. Win some, lose some.
 
I hate the electric hobs I have in my flat. It's impossible to take it from a high heat to a simmer. I miss the gas hobs at home.
 
I feel your pain. In a previous flat my cooker broke and it got replaced with an absolutely terrible oven.

Thankfully in my current place I have a pretty decent Neff fan oven.
Looking to buy a place at some point in the next 6-9 months and a decent kitchen is definitely high on the list of requirements.
 
Steams good surely. Means it will cook like a superior gas oven then?

All these dry heat electric fan jobs are crapola.

I work as a chef and I would say that electric ovens are actually better than gas.

Gas hobs/electric oven is always the best setup.


Anywho, I'd get onto your landlord again, could be the thermostat is not working.
 
I'm in a similar boat. The electric hob (instant-on ceramic type dealie) provided as part of the F&F by the landlord is horrendous. As you said, it either dries stuff out or cooks it outside but not in. Stir-fry is almost impossible as even on the highest setting the heat just melts the veggies instead of, well, stir-frying them.

You just can't beat a good gas cooker, tbh. BTW, did anyone else read the title as "Crap hookers", or is it just me? :o :D
 
We have a dreadful oven in the flat we rent.

The main oven takes about 20mins to get hot (about 180 degrees C). The heating element is in the bottom of the oven and there's no fan. So, food gets blasted from beneath and it's difficult to crisp things off on top without switching to grill, waiting for it to get hot and doing it that way.

If you want to have things on 2 shelves, the one on the bottom shelf will get scorched, whilst the one on top barely gets hot as the lower one blocks the heat with no air circulation. Bit of a nightmare.

Nothing helpful here for you, just more rant.

I also like cooking and it gets a bit tiresome having to develop a 'knack' for every single dish I cook using the oven!
 
You just can't beat a good gas cooker, tbh. BTW, did anyone else read the title as "Crap hookers", or is it just me? :o :D
So far today my posts have been misread as crap hookers and giant dildos. Maybe I need to work on the wording :D

Nothing helpful here for you, just more rant.
That's ok, mine was a rant too.
 
Got the cheapest gas oven. Only cooks on top shelf at the back. Can't remember the last decent roast I had. Just can't cook multiple things. Hate it and wish I could move house. But the rest of the house is ok for the money and getting bored of moving so often.
 
I love our cooker. We picked up a Rangemaster Kitchener 90 which has got hob and electric ovens. Everything cooks evenly, there is loads of space and there is plenty of control to get everything right. Its not a high end cooker by any means but it does the job well. It cost us a grand which is probaly a little more than some are paying judging from comments thus far.
 
my landlord is so tight, i had to convince him to buy a new washing machine when i moved in, there was mold all over the door seal and the thing was at least five years old. It took two weeks to convince him to buy a new one. The fridge has such a loud ringing noise that i might phone the council and see if it breaches safe sound levels on decibels and see if i can use that. The cooker is a no name brand, i didn't know which option was the oven so i looked for a brand name and i couldn't find one, then you know it is ****, the metal bar that heats up inside is all bent and the top plates grow mold, the thing is at least five years old. Also you can't cook on it because 3 on the top plates is too cold and 4 is too hot, so you have to keep turning it too 4 then it back to 3. I just know if i tell the landlord this he is going to come back with some bs.
 
I have an ancient cheap oven. It's a non fan electric oven, the light hasn't worked on it for years, it's looking decidedly tatty and the handle is discoloured from the heat. But I refuse to replace it until it actually breaks as it cooks food evenly and consistently. If you follow recipe cooking temperatures and timings the food always comes out just right.

If only it didn't look so grotty!
 
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