Ovens, Cooktops, Hoods, & Kashrut

Free-Standing Ovens

North American immigrants can bring American or European ovens from any country. It is no longer worthwhile importing European ovens, except for very high-end ones. Otherwise the prices in Israel are competitive, even paying full taxes. The reasons Americans import ovens: large stove and oven area, real (pyrolitic) self-cleaning, cooking features, all-gas ovens (the Israeli and European models are gas stovetop with electric oven), appliance life span, appearance, and good service.

If you are content with a 24” wide oven with about ½ the cooking space of a standard 30” US oven, there is no reason to import one. If you want a big Italian oven without self clean, consider a La Cucina, known out of Israel as Ilve.

Electric versus Gas

Consumer Reports says that electric ovens are more reliable than gas, better broiling and better self-cleaning. The English consumer magazine Which reports that it takes less time to preheat a gas oven and that the stovetop heats up and cools instantly with gas. With an electric model, you may not know that the stovetop is on. Gas ovens all have a safety feature now that turns off the flow of gas when the flame goes out. Some vegetarians will only cook with gas.

For American ovens, tourists and Israelis can save significantly by personal import with full taxes, instead of buying through a local store—all the more so Olim and returning residents with tax exemptions. American freestanding ovens come in gas and electric, in 20, 24, 30, 36, and 48-inch width. Built-in American ovens come in widths of 22, 24, 27, 30, 36 inches. Special features include self-cleaning, convection, continuous clean, timed-cooking, clock, timer, window, lights, and automatic pilotless (electric) ignition. Built-in ovens by Thermador and Dacor can also be built under stovetops.

Features

Self-Clean is an expensive and useful cleaning feature. It turns the oven on at its highest setting for several hours, leaving only ashes to wipe up. Though the oven is constructed to resist extreme temperatures, the self-clean process should be used only a few times each year. It can be used at Passover to kasher the oven. The heavier insulation reduces the internal space and makes the oven safer to touch and less apt to heat up the room.

Continuous Clean is a coating that cleans the oven while it is cooking. Some people call it ‘continuously dirty’ and hold that it cannot be used to kasher for Pesach; others are more lenient. Heat brings out a film, which keeps food from sticking. This works well enough on the top and sides, less so on the bottom. Some cover the oven bottom with aluminum foil. No steel wool or corrosives—and certainly no blowtorches—can be used to clean the inside surface of the oven. In Europe and Israel, continuous clean is sometimes referred to as Catalytic self-clean and true self-clean is called Pyrolitic. In Israel, we have recently seen ovens using a word similar to this which are continuous, not self clean.

A timed oven can be programmed to turn on and off automatically. Unless the oven is European, Israeli, or made for export, the timer will be off by 18%. A pilot light is a small flame that stays on all the time to ignite the oven when you turn it on. It will not register on a gas meter if you have no other gas appliance.

Pilotless ignition is an electrical system in gas ovens and stovetops that lights a flame with an electric spark or glow coil. You cannot turn on this type of oven if there is an electrical power failure though you can still ignite the stovetop from an existing flame or spark. Pilotless ignition saves gas but is delicate—and expensive to replace. Pilotless ignition on a stovetop is a built-in electric spark maker that lights the gas when you rotate the knob completely, or in European ovens when you push an igniter button. When there is no electricity, the cooking flame on the stovetop can be ignited with a match.

Convection (or turbo) is a fan in the back wall of the oven that helps cook more quickly and evenly—and allows different foods to be cooked at the same time without mixing odors. This feature is a way of compensating for small oven size and also makes for very fast cooking. Thermador and Viking, near the top of the line of the American ovens, as well as GE and Dacor also offer this feature in its built-in ovens.

Multi-function means that the fan, broiler, and standard oven can be used in any of six possible combinations. You can choose to concentrate the heat in one part of the oven or combine the various functions for maximum efficacy. Sealed burners, a highly recommended feature, are burner wells built so that food cannot drop into them. Sealed burners are also easier to adjust to a clean, strong, blue flame. Sealed burners are the standard for high-end US stovetops and all European stovetops.

12 hour override means that the oven does not turn off automatically after 12 hours. This is one of the features that win the label “Sabbath Compliant” for many of the US ovens.

More About Free-Standing Ovens

Most who bring American freestanding ovens bring gas, since most Israeli homes do not have the power to run the 35 amps required for a free-standing American electric oven. The gas ovens have electrical ignition and the option of self-clean, both of which require a transformer. GE, Dacor, Wolf and Viking all have models adapted for export and supported in Israel.  If you are buying an all electric model, to install any of these double built-in self-clean American ovens, except the Viking which is gas, you will need a substantial electrical system or you will have to pay a few hundred dollars to split the ovens into 3 phase.

The GE is the only moderately priced one, and it comes in 30” gas oven with a sealed burner gas stovetop, in white or stainless. Maytag Gemini is an all-electric oven with two ovens, one above the other. Dacor, Wolf, and Viking are the high end and come in a variety of colors and sizes ranging from 30-60” with various combinations of gas or electric stovetop and gas or electric ovens. All have sealed burners, so dirt cannot fall into them, and all have Kashrus certification from Star-K. All are available in self-clean and have an override option for the 12-hour turnoff feature. The 48” models have two ovens, side by side. 

Of the European free-standing ovens, La Cucina, known out of Israel as Ilve is the best supported of the large ovens, ranging from 24”-60” They come in a few attractive styles and color and combinations of gas and electric, though they do not offer self clean. They are not cheap, but still much less expensive than the high-end US brands. The 48” and 60” models have two ovens, side by side. Of the standard European size—that is 24” wide—Dedietrich is the one recommended for free standing self-clean. LG and Fisher Paykel are also high quality and well supported in Israel. The stovetops are always gas and the oven electric. These are ovens which Kef supplies locally—there is no advantage to importing them tax-free.

Built-in Ovens

Built-ins give you the flexibility of multiple areas, with burners and ovens where you want them. They also offer two physically—and halachically—separate cooking spaces, take up less floor space and more cabinet space. You don’t have to clean under and around them and you don’t have to bend over to look inside. In general built-in ovens are more stylish, more flexible as to location, easier to cook with kashrut-wise, and easier to clean than free standing ovens. They tend to be more expensive, and come more often in stainless steel.

As in ranges, built-in ovens come in electric and gas versions, though electric is much more common. You can also mix and match. For example, you can buy a medium sized built-in electric oven and an extra large gas stovetop. 

Imported Brands

Thermador, Viking, Dacor, Wolf and GE all make built in self clean single double ovens with turbo convection, where the second oven is the same size as the first. The widths range from 27” to 30” for the doubles and from 27” to 36” for the singles. Viking makes the only built in gas oven—it is 36” wide. We avoid Thermador because of the poor availability of parts in Israel. Dacor, Viking, and Wolf ---in order of pricing—are all excellent and well supported here. GE is less expensive, though it has a much greater rate of problems than the other brands. Unless you buy an export model, you cannot be certain the controls and timing will work properly. The heating elements are already direct 220 volt. All the export models have an over-ride of the 12 hour safety shutoff.

A 30” built-in oven is as large internally as a freestanding American oven, providing nearly double the usable cooking volume of a self-clean European built-in. Nearly all the US brands make a 30” built unit specially designed to allow building in under a stovetop. They are usually available in black, white, or stainless. To install any of these double built-in self-clean American ovens, except the Viking which is gas, you will need a substantial electrical system or you will have to pay a few hundred dollars to split the ovens into 3 phase. The recommended amperage is for a single oven is 40 and 50 for the double. This is more than is actually necessary, since each oven compartment uses only 11 amps during baking, 15 during broil, and 22 during self-clean.

European Built-ins

Dedietrich, Scholtes, AEG, Delonghi, Brother, La Cucina, and Sauter make built-in single electric ovens with multi-function and timed-oven options, and some with self-clean. They come in single ovens only. Sauter is worth avoiding in built-in electric ovens. Ovens with built-in microwave should be avoided: they are very expensive and too difficult to repair. These days, unless you are buying very high end, there is little or no savings in bringing European built-ins from out of the country—even with rights-- over buying them without rights in Israel. There is no point shipping to Israel items that are widely sold and reasonably priced here.

Built-in Ovens on Shabbat According to Star-K

This is a general discussion; brands and models differ. The oven temperature may not be initiated, adjusted or turned off on the Sabbath OR the Holidays. On the Sabbath, in lieu of a "blech", the oven controls should be covered. (Be careful not to cover vent openings.) All food should be placed in the oven before the Sabbath begins, since none may be placed in the oven during the Sabbath. On the Sabbath, the oven door may only be opened once, all the food removed and then closed. On the Holidays, the oven door may be opened/closed at any time as often as desired.

These ovens have a timed bake feature. Timed bake will hold the requested temperature for the requested time. At the end of the requested time, the oven beeps three times, holds 150 degrees for another two hours and then shuts off completely. While the oven is operating, the oven door may be opened once, all the food taken out and then closed. At the end of the two hour hold period, the oven may be opened/closed at will. This applies only to the Sabbath, whereas on the Holidays, the oven door may be opened/closed at any time as often as desired. After recovery from a power failure, ovens will stay off.

Cooktops

Unless you want a big US model or a fancy European one, best to buy in Israel even with tax. Cook tops are available in gas and electric models. The choice within electric cook tops includes radiant, halogen, hot plate and vitro-ceramic styles. The radiant are the most basic and they heat and cool fairly quickly. The hot plate style takes a bit longer to heat and cool. They pose a special danger because even when they are very hot, you can’t easily tell if they are on. Fancier versions allow you to turn on the center rings only.

Ceramic Glass Tops

Ceramic hobs have heating elements beneath a special kind of glass. At medium to high settings, they do glow red. You can light only the inner portion for a smaller pan. You must use flat pots, which are not reflective. Halogen cook tops use halogen lamps covered in ceramic glass as the heat source. They have a warning light to indicate if they are too hot to touch. The latest feature in stovetops is the induction system using a magnet. The only thing that gets hot is the pot and its contents, not the stovetop. You must use pots made from ferrous (magnetic) metal on these stoves. All of the glass surface stovetops must be kept clean with a damp cloth, or the dirt will get baked on.

Dedietrich makes a four-burner cook top with vitro-ceramic heating elements and control panel that mounts on the front of the counter, separate from the elements. These are fancy and expensive. Thermador makes vitro-ceramic cook tops with a stovetop-level venting system. It is expensive to buy and even more expensive to arrange the venting through the lower cabinet.

Gas Cooktops

Heavy duty and high quality cooktops are available from Dacor, Viking, and Wolf. They range in size from 27-48”. The larger sizes have modular options; you can add a wok burner, skillet, grill, etc. In general these are much sturdier and with larger flames than the European models.

GE 30” or 24” 4-burner gas cook tops come in all colors. Sauter 24” four burner gas cook tops come in stainless steel, white or brown. Miele, Dedietrich, and Scholtes make two-burner stovetops.

Warming Drawers

Oven Kashrut per Star-K

Ovens

The oven temperature may not be initiated, adjusted or turned off on the Shabbat OR the Holidays. On the Shabbat, in lieu of a "blech", the oven controls should be covered. (Be careful not to cover vent openings.) All food should be placed in the oven before the Shabbat begins, since none may be placed in the oven during the Shabbat. On the Shabbat, the oven door may only be opened once, all the food removed and then closed. On the Holidays, the oven door may be opened or closed at any time as often as desired. These ovens have a timed bake feature. Timed bake will hold the requested

Cooktops

On the Shabbat, a gas flame or electric heat may not be initiated, adjusted or turned off. On the Shabbat, a "blech" should be used to cover the flame in addition to covering the controls. For the gas burners use a standard "blech". The manufacturer does not recommend putting a "blech" on the glass surface for the electric burners. Instead, just the controls should be covered. On Yom Tov, an existing gas flame may be raised or lowered for cooking requirements. However, a gas flame may not be initiated or turned completely off. The electric part of the cooktop may not be turned on. However, for cooking requirements, once on, the temperature for the electric part of the cooktop may be raised when the ribbon heating element cycles to full glow. Lowering the temperature is permitted at any time if required for food preparation. (Practice adjustments on the electric cooktop before Yom Tov.) During a power failure, gas cooktops will remain on, whereas electric cooktops will recover to the set temperature when the power returns. The glass electric cooktops cannot be kashered for Passover. For the rest of the year, be sure to wipe the cooking surface clean between meat and dairy use.

Hoods

Cooking hoods are often as important for their design statement as for their function. The main reasons to consider a hood are: inadequate ventilation—steam, heat, and smoke removal, island cooking, stovetop under a cabinet, a lot of frying or a high sensitivity to cooking odors, and a high level stovetop which generates a lot of heat.

There are plenty of relatively low volume European hoods available in Israel. The brands that are imported from the US include Dacor, Viking, Wolf, and Broan(top-rated by Consumer Reports.) Locally available brands include Dedietrich, Miele, Viking, Scholtes, Bosch, LG, GE and Sauter.

Types of hoods:

Island - mount and vent directly through the ceiling. All vent to the outside. Since these do not have a wall or cabinets to help direct the steam and heat, better to get one that is stronger than usual and wider than the cooktop.

Wall-Chimney - where there are no cabinets. They have an exposed vent, and can either recirculate through filters or to an outside space.

Under-Cabinet - mounts on or in the bottom of a wall cabinet. The ductwork goes through the cabinet either routing to a filter or to an outside space. They use up a lot of cabinet space and, since the go against the natural direction of the heat, they are not as effective.

Though the most common rating of hoods is the airflow — the cubic feet per minute — Consumer Reports has found that there is no simple correlation between the airflow and their effectiveness in gathering the smoke and steam. Placement is, therefore, of the utmost importance. Many hoods come with built-in light and multi-speed fans. They can be vented outside or non-vented to recirculate the air after filtering it. The American brands also manufacture under-the-counter pop-up venting systems, but they are very expensive and complicated to install — Not recommended. Though microwaves with hoods built into/under them are common in the US, none are made for export and none are available from Europe. Just as well, because they are less effective than the lowest level of hoods.

Maximizing the effectiveness of your hood (from Consumer Reports)

• Install according to directions—typically 18 to 30 inches above burners or elements. That gives you working room while helping prevent steam from escaping to the sides.
• Vent it to the outside. Doing so helps a range hood or oven vent as much smoke, cooking odor, and heat as possible.
• Be sure to use solid, smooth-walled metal ducting. Choose the largest size that fits your range hood or over-the-range microwave oven and inside the wall.
• Keep duct runs short and minimize curves. Both steps help maximize airflow.
• Prevent back drafts. Use a wall or roof cap outside the house.
• Wash or replace the filters every one to three months, more if you cook often.

See also:  Appliance Sales, Appliance Info