About Ranges

Why a Range is Your Best Bet

There are many problems in attempting to cook for eight or more people in the average residential kitchen. A pet peeve of mine is that in that kind of kitchen, I have to work two or three days in advance in order to make a meal that has several components to the menu. One reason I have to cook in advance is because the stoves available to me as a consumer do not provide enough space or BTUs.

Webster's dictionary defines a stove as "an apparatus using fuel or electricity for heating, cooking, etc." Another word for stove is range which is also defined as "a cooking unit, typically with an oven and surface heating units." Generally, the word stove is applied to the home while the word range is applied to commercial kitchens. Manufacturers who make ranges like to call them "The professional range".

I take exception to the word professional because "The professional range" is not really made for the professional. It is made for the home with electronic ignition, instead of a pilot flame that stays lit all the time within the burner. And the range is wonderfully insulated which allows it to butt directly against the cabinets. The basic difference between a stove and a range is the size, number of burners, burner positions and BTUs (heat emitted from the burner).

All of these factors play an important role while you are cooking. Heat is one of the most critical elements in cooking. When you put any kind of product like fish or chicken in a hot fat or oil, the oil will drop in temperature and you need enough BTUs to get the oil back to the same temperature it was. This is called the recovery ratio. Burner placement is also very important. To cook effectively, there needs to be enough room to have several large pots and pans on the stove at once, and, since we do our sautéing up front and our simmering in the back, our really hot burners should be up front.

The average new stove is 30 inches wide and 24 inches deep. It has four burners with one small and one large burner in the front and likewise in the back. The distance between the front and back burners is generally nine inches. Depending on the make and model, the large burners are between eight to ten thousand BTUs and the small burners are between four to six thousand BTUs. With this kind of stove, the BTUs are too low and the burner placement doesn't provide enough room for several large pots and pans.

The range on the other hand has a variety of sizes including the 30 inch wide, 24 inch deep stove size. Even a range the size of a stove is better then a stove. On a range, all of the burners are 12 inches center to center front and back which allows a 13 inch pan to fit on a single burner while leaving a back burner free to use. The number of BTUs for each burner is the same and is usually much higher - between 14,000 to 17,500 depending on the unit you buy. Most ranges are between 36 inches and 60 inches wide. The 36 inch range has six burners and one large oven, the 48 inch range has 8 burners and two small ovens, and the 60 inch range has ten burners and two large ovens. Grills and griddles can be substituted for burners. Ranges usually include all kinds of options such as griddles, wok rings, infra red broilers, convection ovens, heavy duty grates, casters, removable drip trays, stainless steel backs as well as stainless high shelves and matching hoods.

There are a few caveats you should know about ranges. Simmering can be problematic on most ranges because the heat on a range cannot be lowered sufficiently, especially when using smaller pots and pans. There is a way around this though - buy a heat diffuser. The heat diffuser sits on top of the burner and the pot or pan sits on top of the heat diffuser. When the heat reaches the pot or pan it has been dissipated by the heat diffuser, effectively lowering the heat and allowing you to simmer. Also, if you buy a range with a continuous grate (the grate is elongated to cover the front and back burner) be aware that the continuous grate does not dissipate heat very fast. To not over cook the food you will either have to remove the pan three or four minutes early or move the pan to a cold grate.

There are many brands and many differences between them so be sure to examine all of them carefully.