Credit:
Reviewed / Timothy Renzi
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Credit:
Reviewed / Timothy Renzi
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Learn more about our product testing
The Frigidaire FGIH3047VF is a feature-loaded range that includes an Air Fry mode, true convection, and steam cleaning. Read More
This double oven electric range is the best we've tested because of its effective burners, spacious ovens that evenly bake food, and sleek look. Read More
If you need fine control for your burners and mostly even baking in the oven, look no further than the KitchenAid KSDB900ESS dual-fuel range. Read More
If you prefer to cook with gas, the Samsung NX58K9500WG gas range is a dream come true. Read More
This range offers some of the best cooking performance we have seen, and has useful features and smart tech to make cooking easier. Read More
What is a range, you may ask? A range is a generic term for a kitchen appliance with a cooktop and an oven integrated into one unit. "Oh," you're probably thinking, "you mean a stove." Or maybe you prefer the word "oven."
We all agree on one thing, though: Whether you're warming up canned soup or cooking a roast for a big party, your range is one of the heavy hitters in your kitchen.
There are four different types of ranges: gas, electric, induction, and dual-fuel.
While these different fuel types appeal to very different types of chefs, we've tested many ranges and judged them on the same criteria: ease of use, speediness, and cooking/baking abilities. After countless hours in the lab, we can say with certainty that we've found some of the best ranges out there.
The Frigidaire FGIH3047VF (available at Best Buy for $1,889.99) is our top pick for an induction range because it's user friendly (even for induction newbies!), and it excels at heating quickly and evenly, even in air fry mode. We also love the Whirlpool WGE745C0FS (available at Appliances Connection) electric range, and the Samsung NX58K9500WG (available at Best Buy for $1,889.99) gas range.
While an air fry setting isn't a must-have, it's an added bonus for a lot of users.
The Whirlpool WGE745C0FS is the best electric range we've tested.
The KitchenAid KSDB900ESS dual-fuel range.
The Samsung NX58K9500WS gas range.
The GE Profile PHS93XYPFS is the best induction range we've tested.
The Bosch HIS8655U is the best 36-inch induction range we've tested.
Even baking
Short boil times
Has True Convection
Useful smart features like Air Fry and InstaView
Slow preheat
Air Fry tray sold separately
Built-in probe thermometer
Bakes evenly
Slow to heat up
Air fry feature could use improvements
Smooth and responsive button control
Can monitor remotely
Rapid induction cooking
Touchscreen is too sensitive
Expensive
Lacks baking presets
Even baking
Fast preheat
Useful smart features
Can’t use many features without app
No oven clock
Visible rubber bumpers on cooktop
Quick boil times
Adjustable warming drawer
Wi-Fi connectivity
Poor convection performance
Missing common features
For products with burners, we measure the maximum and minimum temperature of each burner. This is to help consumers identify which are ideal for simmering soup, and which can get hot enough to sear a steak. We conduct these tests by using a thermocouple to measure the temperatures of empty stainless steel bases.
A range or cooktop with multiple burners that can reach very high and/or very low temperatures will score well. If burners cannot reach very high or low temperatures—or if only one burner can do each task—scores will be lower.
One of the most common tasks for a range or cooktop is to boil a pot of water. For each burner, we take an appropriately sized pot, and fill it up halfway with distilled water. Then, we position a thermometer horizontally in the middle of the pot, and vertically in the middle of the water column. We monitor the thermocouple and record the time it takes for the temperature of the water to reach 212°F.
If the water hasn’t reached 212°F after 35 minutes, then we stop the test. Because the water volume is different for varying burner sizes, we score the water boil test on the rate of water boiling. Faster water boiling will result in higher scores, while slower water boiling will result in lower scores.
A tell-tale sign of a range with solid construction is maintaining heat insulation. We use thermal image testing to monitor how well a range is able to hold heat without letting it escape.
Thermal imaging can also help us determine whether a range is dangerously heating control elements—like rear burner dials—so that we can account for that when writing a review.
Using a stopwatch, we measure how long it takes for the oven to achieve a preheating temperature of 350°F. We stop the clock when the oven’s preheat indicator beeps.
Because no one wants to wait around forever, shorter preheating times result in higher scores, while longer preheating times result in lower scores.
We bake cookies in both standard bake and convection mode (if available) to see how evenly the oven can bake the cookies.
One happy side effect of testing ovens is that there are always extra cookies lying around. In addition to being delicious, cookies double as a cooking/baking proxy for other thin food items, such as brownies or vegetables.
We place 12 Pillsbury ready-to-bake sugar cookie chunks on an ungreased cookie sheet in a grid formation. After preheating the oven to 350°F for 15 minutes, we place the cookie sheet in the oven to bake for 15 minutes.
After looking the cookies over, we determine how evenly baked they are, both within a single baking sheet (regular baking mode and second oven baking mode) and between multiple baking sheets (convection bake mode).
For all of our cookie tests, the more evenly baked the cookies are, the higher the score will be. If the product has a second oven and/or convection capabilities, then the cookie scores for those tests and the main oven test are weighted and combined to arrive at a final cookie score.
While we go to great lengths to test the cooking/baking abilities of these cooking appliances, we also incorporate more subjective information into our overall assessment.
For example, how easily can the cooktop surface accommodate multiple pots and pans? How easy is it to understand the control panel? How loud is the preheat notification noise? We answer all of these questions and more to determine if there are any major drawbacks to the product that might not make it a good fit for most households.
One of the main ways to differentiate ranges is by their fuel type: gas, electric, dual-fuel, and induction.
Gas — Lower cooktop temperatures, faster water boiling, potential for uneven cooking/baking because of central flame location
Electric — Higher cooktop temperatures, slower water boiling, more even cooking/baking because of heat distribution over coil
Dual-fuel — Faster water boiling, more even cooking/baking because of heat distribution over coil
Induction — Super faster water boiling, very high and low cooktop temperatures, requires specific cookware, may require recipe modification.
Depending on your cooking and baking priorities, as well as the way you learned to cook, one of these fuel types might be more appealing than the rest. One more thing to consider: dual-fuel and induction ranges are typically more expensive than gas and electric ranges.
True Convection is an oven setting that includes installing an extra heating element and a fan in the oven. By adding an additional heating unit and fan that circulates the hot air, True Convection is great for ensuring that cookies or cakes baked on different racks will bake through at the same rate, rather than the cookies closest to the bottom heat source cooking faster than those on the rack higher up.
If you don't see mention of "True Convection" or "European Convection," but do see the word "convection" in a range's specs, it means that the unit lacks an additional heating element, but does have a fan to circulate the hot air. While you don't get the full baking and cooking effect that you would with True Convection, the added heat circulation can cook or bake food more evenly than it would without a fan.
There are also ranges out there that do not offer convection options at all; these ovens aren't bad, it will just take more time to cook and bake food all the way through. If you're a frequent baker or cook, convection can be a great time saver, but your dinners won't suffer unduly without it.
In a nutshell, slide-in ranges are meant to sit flush with your countertops, while freestanding ranges are meant to sit on top of any surface. While slotting in and sitting on top of your countertop may seem similar, the main differences between the two involve finish and ease of cleaning.
Because freestanding ranges are visible from all slides, they have a more finished look; slide-in ranges are meant to have their sides hidden by the cabinetry, so the finish typically isn't as pretty on the sides.
Additionally, because slide-in ranges sit flush with your countertop, they're a bit easier to clean because they do not have a large lip around the edge. Freestanding ranges often have larger lips around the edge of the cooktop to corral any crumbs that would otherwise decorate your floor. Freestanding ranges also typically have a back-mounted control panel for the same reason.
While slide-in ranges will do fine in a freestanding arrangement, the reverse is less true. If your current cooking setup has the range sitting in a cabinet or countertop cutout, we recommend replacing that range with another slide-in range. Conversely, if your range stands alone in your kitchen, we'd recommend replacing it with another freestanding range to cut down on food debris spilling everywhere.
As we mentioned earlier, most freestanding ranges have back-mounted controls, but some slide-in ranges do as well. Both arrangements have pros and cons; on the one hand, having back-mounted controls means you may have to reach over hot food to adjust the oven temperature, the controls are also far enough away that you would have difficulty hitting something on the control panel by accident.
On the other hand, front-mounted controls are easier to reach, but that convenience can turn against you if you brush up against a knob accidentally. Consider the ergonomics of using the range when it comes to picking a front- or back-mounted control panel.
Depending on how much time you spend in the kitchen, it might be worth it to invest in some extra options for your range. When it comes to the cooktop, anything above the standard four-burner setup is a bonus. Some ranges can have five or even six burners.
However, the more burners a range has, the more difficult it becomes to fit large pieces of cookware, such as a Dutch oven and a frying pan, on their respective burners at the same time.
Sometimes, those extra burners are specialty burners are designed to accommodate special cookware such as a griddle or a wok; other burners are bridge burners that are meant to keep food warm without continuing to cook it.
Another possibility is to have a dual-ring burner, or a burner that includes a stronger heat source wrapped around a weaker heat source. That way, on a single burner, you can choose to use just the smaller heat source for lower temperatures, but you can add the stronger heat source if you need higher temperatures.
As for extra oven features, they can include everything from accessories like special oven racks or a temperature probe to special cooking features like the aforementioned convection settings, fast preheat, bread proofing (where the oven settings are customized to activate yeast and make bread rise), steam cooking (where you pour water into a reservoir and gently cook something with the resulting steam), air fry mode, and many, many more options.
Valerie Li Stack is a senior staff writer for Kitchen & Cooking. She is an experienced home cook with a passion for experimenting with the cuisines of countries she's visited. Driven by an interest in food science, Valerie approaches the culinary scene with a firm grasp of cooking processes and extensive knowledge of ingredients. She believes food speaks to all people regardless of language and cultural background.
Madison Trapkin
Contributor
Madison covered all things cooking as the kitchen editor for Reviewed in 2021. Formerly the editor-in-chief of Culture Magazine, Madison is the founder of GRLSQUASH, a women's food, art, and culture journal. Her work has also appeared in The Boston Globe, Cherrybombe, Gather Journal, and more. She is passionate about pizza, aesthetic countertop appliances, and regularly watering her houseplants.
She holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and a Master's of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy from Boston University.
Monica is Reviewed's Kitchen & Cooking editor and an avid home cook; she's been testing a wide range of kitchen products at Reviewed for over a year. Previously the Digital Editor at Culture Cheese Magazine (and a former barista), she's also had her work published in The Boston Globe, Modern Luxury, Boston Magazine, and more.
Managing Editor, Kitchen & Appliances. Danielle has a B.S. from Syracuse University and a AAS in Culinary Arts from Newbury College. Previously, Danielle was a Test Cook and Associate Editor at America's Test Kitchen, as well as a freelance recipe developer and food writer. She’s the mom of two boys and loves making pizza on Friday nights.
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