Luxuries then, essentials now

As with consumer electronics, kitchen appliances benefit from early adopters who willingly pay top-dollar for new features which eventually become commonplace on the most basic models.

If you're old enough to remember when the big appliance powerhouses sold their wares through factory showrooms, you'll certainly recall the buzz General Electric generated back in 1963 with the introduction of the P*7 self-cleaning electric oven. It was the centerpiece of the all-electric kitchen GE showed off at the 1964 New York World's Fair. The wealthiest snapped them up while the rest of us looked on and sighed wistfully. Something so amazing would NEVER appear on a range we could afford.

Time, thank God, proved us all wrong. Even before the original patents on the P*7 expired, the corporate tinkerers at GE's competitors were hard at work, reverse engineering the self-cleaning oven into a feature they, too, could offer in both electric and gas ovens. Of course, once you've retooled a factory to crank 'em out, you have to recoup your costs, which means putting self-cleaning ovens into as many models as you can.

The same thing happened with other features once considered fancy frills so replacing a 15-year-old gas range makes perfect sense, even if it hasn't given you a moment of grief.

Beginning at the backsplash, consider an electronic control panel for the oven. Most are so intuitive, you can operate the oven after a quick glance at the owner's manual. Clearly marked touchpads and color-coding guide you each step of the way. You press the BAKE pad and see the default baking temperature of 350 degrees F. You can then crank the temperature up or down, usually in increments as fine as a mere 5 degrees F with far more precision and consistency than with a wobbly knob. You can either press the START pad and the oven will signal you when it has finished preheating, or you can enter a cooking time and have the oven shut off for you. This is a perfect feature for dishes that don't require a preheated oven and are improved by a few minutes of standing time, like macaroni and cheese or a self-rising frozen pizza. Electronic controls often include other special features like an automatic 12-hour shutoff if you forget to press the OFF pad as well as the ability to override the feature for religious reasons.

On the cooktop, look for sealed burners and, even better, removable dishwasher-safe drip pans, grates and burner caps. Sealed burners aren't surrounded by a gap where food debris and boiled-over liquids find their way below the cooktop. Such cooktops usually include burners in a variety of sizes and capabilities. In the least expensive configuration, 2 general purpose burners are paired with a high-output burner and a low-powered simmer burner. If you just can't dial your current burners low enough to cook rice without scorching, a simmer burner is a gift from culinary Heaven. Similarly, the high-output burner will please those who regularly cook for an impatient family. Look for big knobs that have a nice wide swing, giving you even more control. Numerical markings make it easy to remember specific settings for different sized pans ("The 4 quart Farberware saucepan needs about a 7 to avoid overshooting the bottom").

A self-cleaning oven offers benefits beyond the obvious. Since it uses intense heat to do the job, a separate broiler burner is located at the top of the main oven cavity. Where one usually finds a broiler drawer is now storage space or, for a few dollars more, a warming drawer. The self-cleaning process requires much beefier insulation so the oven will use less fuel to maintain normal baking temperatures. The oven door stays much cooler to the touch, indicating how little heat is lost even with a window in the door.

So how much will you pay for all these dandy features? About half a grand ($500) or less, and even less when models go on sale or are discontinued. Rebates and other special offers make the deal even sweeter.