Unique cooking devices transform kitchens

“Our lives are not in the lap of the gods, but in the lap of our cooks.” — Lin Yutang (1895-1976), Chinese writer and inventor, on food and medicine, “The Importance of Living” (1937).

When I get my dream kitchen, one tough decision will be which magic device to get. My choices change every time I see new products. But let’s talk stoves.

There are so many stovetops/ovens on the market that I’m not sure how other people choose. Some are loyal to a particular brand; some prefer standard cooktops or wall ovens; some prefer the professional models. How and what you cook play a big role in the decision.

So, if you’re considering new kitchen appliances, let me share some information about several cooking devices that may be on my option list. These are not your everyday kitchen appliances.

The first and favorite on my list is the Aga range. It’s more than a range; it’s a little cooking city. And it comes in awesome colors.

Most people associate the name Aga with good food and fine living. Although most people think of it as being totally British, the Aga brand began life in Sweden.

The Aga website (www.aga-ranges.com) tells us: “The celebrated cooker found in 750,000 households worldwide was invented by Dr. Gustav Dalén, a blind Nobel Prize-winning physicist. He set out to design a modern stove that would look after itself. It’s unlikely Dalén could have predicted that his invention would go on to be widely acclaimed as a design icon, but it has. In 2000, the BBC published a retrospective of the 20th century highlighting what it considered to be the top three design icons: first was the Coca-Cola contour bottle, second was the VW Bug and third was the Aga cooker.”

How hot is that?

Aga’s cooker is made of cast iron and is an outstandingly efficient energy store, steadily transferring the heat from its core into its ovens and hotplates. An Aga is always ready to cook instantly; thermostatic control maintains consistent temperatures while high levels of insulation within the outer casing and beneath the hotplate covers ensure that every Aga uses fuel economically.

I have a friend who has a similar model here in Las Vegas and I asked the $64,000 question: When it’s 115 degrees here in the summer, can you still use your kitchen? The answer, “absolutely yes.”

The heat produced is so subtle you won’t feel it any more than you would the heat produced by your computer. And you may choose whatever heat source you wish, natural or propane gas, oil or electricity.

Now for the cooking city part. If you choose the two-oven Aga, one oven will share baking and roasting duties. In a three- or four-oven model there is a separate oven for each of these activities so you can do both at the same time. The fourth oven is a warming oven designed to keep food piping hot without drying it out, and also to warm plates and serving dishes. And that’s just the oven part.

Moving to the top of the cooker, every Aga has boiling and simmering plates beneath those two distinctive hinged covers. A four-oven Aga also comes standard with a large warming plate ideal for keeping courses warm before they go to the table, or simply to keep the coffee pot warm during the day.

Tempted yet?

Another option is Diva. This is the newest induction cooking, which allows the cookware to heat the food without conventional heating elements.

Their press explains, “Electromagnetic energy created by the cooktop excites the ferrous molecules in the cookware thereby creating heat while the cooktop always remains cool to the touch.” (What? How many times have you been burned on the stove?)

Diva boasts large, easy-to-clean cooking surfaces and smart burners that adapt to pan size and heat food in seconds, not minutes, thereby reducing cook time. Its technology slashes energy use by 30 percent compared with standard cooking technologies and focuses energy on heating the cookware where it counts, not the cooktop or the kitchen. Some models feature multiple ovens, sinks and counters. Another city.

Next is BlueStar, “the only genuine restaurant range for the home,” according to the company’s press materials.

The company’s open burner system produces 22,000 BTU of cooking power, resulting in shorter cooking times and an even simmer. Each BlueStar range is hand-crafted in Reading, Pa., and features burners that can be custom configured at the time of order.

Most BlueStar models are available in 190 colors. For more information, visit www.bluestarcooking.com.

Blue Star professes to have the most powerful open-burner gas ranges on the market — to 22,000 (British thermal units), 190 colors (love that), the largest oven capacity available, hand-constructed and custom-made, open burners, and many other hits.

So, you see, you needn’t settle for the mundane. If you’re in the market, check out these options. Having one of these amazing appliances may change the way you cook forever. And, it will be great fun to show them off.

Carolyn Muse Grant is a founder and past president of the Architectural &Decorative Arts Society, as well as an interior design consultant/stylist specializing in home staging. Send questions to creativemuse@cox.net.