Talk to me about ovens... what does yours do that you couldn't live without??

[FusionChefGeoff]

Never replaced an oven before so don't know what I don't know! Found a good Miele one that's a which Best Buy and would match the other units without being insanely expensive.

https://www.johnlewis.com/miele-h2265-1b-built-in-single-electric-oven-a-energy-rating-clean-steel/p4822275?sku=238352776&irclickid=2HI2-QxfKxyLWguwUx0Mo3EFUkBV0cW82VOvx80&irgwc=1&tmcampid=99&safcid=aff_2099860

But I don't really know what I should be looking for?!

Should I be ruling it out as it's manual clean only? Are self cleaning ovens really worth it?

I've heard the pyrolitic ovens are a bit of a faff to clean as you need to remove lots of parts before turning it on. You might also need to factor in additional electrical work as they require (I think) 16A or 20A

Definitely go with pyrolitic! It’s fantastic. We have a Siemens oven (which needs replacing) and that will be my top feature for the new one. There aren’t any bits that need removing prior! Only the wire trays

Yes to pyrolytic, it is incredible. I only have to remove the wire racks..

We have 2 ovens (installed at different times). One is a posh brand with only 2 dials - temperature and mode (fan or no fan or grill). It is great. The other has about 15 buttons for different fancy settings we never use and timers etc and is much less good.

Ok so the pyrolytic version is an extra £270 is it worth that?!??

Cook? Heat up?
I had lovely Miele and now have a basic Bosch. I thought I would miss the Miele but really don't.

@FusionChefGeoff

Ok so the pyrolytic version is an extra £270 is it worth that?!??

Yes. It cleans itself. Just wipe (literally) with a damp cloth.

Also have a steam oven with a roast chicken programme and a boiled egg programme. Plus veg. So easy to make lovely dinners with no fuss.

Op I'm in the process of buying an oven and have which.

My non negotiable is telescopic runners. I don't understand why all ovens don't just have them!
We will go for the which best buy 85% John Lewis (aeg) oven.
I'm not too bothered about the self clean function.. It's more even heat, accurate heat, telescopic runners.

@Autumngoldleaf sorry I can't picture what telescopic runners would do??

@Sunshine1066 the other unit (also inherited with house) is a steam oven which is like to keep which is why I'm looking at Miele so they match

[quote FusionChefGeoff]@Autumngoldleaf sorry I can't picture what telescopic runners would do??[/quote]
They run out so you can pull the shelf entirely out of the oven for easy access. If you're a shorty (like me) they're invaluable from a safety perspective, but they're also good for easy lifting, not getting burnt by the oven and stirring stuff.

Miele also have an outlet shop, which I think has changed so you can buy online (used to be in person only). Might be worth a check- my pyroletic oven is ex display so I think we got 40% off or something like that.

Next time I get a new oven I am going to go to a shop and look at all of them in person before I order online. My current oven is an AEG Competence and I bought it online after doing all my research and making sure it had all the features I wanted. Now I've got it I absolutely hate it as the door has three layers of glass that all need to be removed separately to clean, and food from the oven gets blown behind each layer. Definitely get something where the door is a sealed unit. The pyrolitic function is definitely worth having. I think I might get a Neff Hide and Slide or similar next time.

Just got a Neff hide and slide - it's not got the electricity connected yet but I hide and slide it every time I go past - it looks lovely. But I've no idea how practical it's going to be.

Also went for self cleaning - even though I loved our oven cleaning man quite a lot.

The button that brings the oven up to heat super fast is brilliant, I find despite having the oven cleaned twice a year the telescopic runners to do not so much run and lurch, so whilst they are handy, I would hand them back to hold on to my super fast heat programme.

run as lurch even. >

@FinallyFluid do you oil them after each pyroletic clean? I use cooking oil and mine seem okay.

Neff slide and hide every time, particularly if you're short like me as so much easier to reach into. And absolute must have is pyrolitic - don't know how we ever managed without it!

Self cleans - I think that might be the pyrolitic thing - it's amazing.

And heats up quickly.

Also has other features but I've never used them 🤷‍♀️

[quote Sunshine1066]@FinallyFluid do you oil them after each pyroletic clean? I use cooking oil and mine seem okay.[/quote]
No, but to quote the teens not a bad shout, thank you.

Don't you need to remove all the trays for pyrolytic ovens ? And is glass removeable? I was talked out of it at a kitchen showroom as they said it was not as simple as turning on a button and that additional electrical work would be required , sometimes requiring a new fuse board. Happy to be corrected though!

Another fan of neff slide and hide, also another shortie

@TiddleTaddleTat assuming my self cleaning is pyrolitic, yes you have to remove the racks and side rails which I then pop into one of those Ovenpride bags, but that takes seconds and then switch the oven on to clean.

I currently of a pyrolitoc oven being installed. Havnt tried it yet but you judt have to pop off the side rails which look fairly easy to do.

We have two Siemens ovens from a recent kitchen refurb. Fancy features / usefulness as follows…

Pyrolitic cleaning - really useful and only need to remove the shelves, not the side mounts (unlike on a previous AEG one)

Steam - marginally useful when roasting a chicken or making bread, but could easily live without

Automatic food programmes - not at all useful and don’t really trust them

Internal temperature probe - haven’t got the hang of this yet and I can see it being a bit of a faff.

Fast heat up function - totally brilliant. Oven goes from 0 - 200c in under 5 mins.

Wi-Fi connectivity - slightly useful, if you don’t mind lots of notifications from your oven. Can set it going remotely from phone, which so far I’ve done once.

Zanussi Pyrolitic here - brilliant unless you're happy to pay someone to clean your oven. Slide out shelves and pop brackets off walls and just turn it on. No extra wiring (your bloke didn't know what he was talking about). I clean it more often than my old one as it seems to want me to - perhaps I was a bit slobby before? I wouldn't be without it (nor my frost-free fridge freezer).