Choosing helpers for the kitchen

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

The variety of household appliances for the kitchen is great today. It's just that my eyes run up. And kettles, and deep fryers, and the miracle of combines … But today I want to talk about something that is simply impossible to do without in the kitchen.

If you do not intend to make a fire in the middle of the kitchen and cook food on a spit over it, then you simply need a stove . Modern stoves allow you to get real pleasure from the cooking process. Stylish, comfortable, equipped with many accessories and auxiliary functions, they are able to make any housewife happy.

Simply heavenly manna, in my opinion, was the invention of electric ignition at gas stoves. Down with matchboxes that run out at the most inopportune moment, burnt fingers and always sticking lighters! They were replaced by a new achievement of modern technology. Electric ignition can be mechanical, when in order to light the burner you need to press a special button, and automatic - the gas ignites itself when you simply turn the gas supply knob on the stove.

Another useful feature is gas control. If the flame is accidentally extinguished, the gas flow will stop automatically after a few seconds. But this function significantly increases the cost of the stove.

Another nice improvement is the separate grid-stands. Not only are they more convenient to wash than one solid one, over the entire area of the stove (separate grates can easily fit both in the sink and in the dishwasher), they also make it easier to clean the stove, especially when you need to clean around just one hotplate. < / p>

When choosing a gas stove, I advise you to pay attention to the material of the upper covers of the burners. They can be metal, stainless steel, glass, glass-ceramic and enameled. Lids made of glass and ceramics are preferable - they will not burn, they will keep for a long time"

With the choice of an electric stove, things are even easier. Such plates are of two types - classic and glass-ceramic. Classic stoves have a regular enamelled surface and cast iron burners. In glass-ceramic hobs, the burners, as you already understood, are made of glass-ceramic. Such plates are more expensive than classical ones, but they have a number of very tangible advantages. Firstly, glass-ceramic stoves have a higher thermal conductivity (a very important indicator for an electric stove), it has easier and more accurate control of the burner temperature. Secondly, the mirror-smooth surface of the burners is not only elegant and stylish, such burners are much more convenient to clean. And in some glass-ceramic stoves there are double-circuit burners, which allows you to choose the heating area.

Are very important and hoods … They clean the air from grease, soot, eliminate unpleasant odors and make work in the kitchen even more pleasant.

The hoods can operate in two modes - air extraction into the ventilation shaft and recirculation. In the first case, an air outlet is required, which connects the hood and the ventilation hole. In this case, it is advisable to use a so-called anti-return valve, which will prevent the return of dirty air. If the hood cannot be connected to ventilation, then it will operate in recirculation mode, performing its main function - air purification. In this case, the air will pass through special charcoal filters, which must be changed every six months. But, unfortunately, in the air recirculation mode, the hood may not completely eliminate unpleasant odors in the kitchen.

By themselves, there are three types of hoods - suspended, built-in and domed.

Suspended hoods look very much like the old Soviet air cleaners that our mothers and grandmothers were so proud of. In such hoods, as a rule, disposable acrylic filters, which must be changed every 1, 5 - 2 months. It is rare that hoods of this class have good reusable filters that can be washed in soapy water. Suspended hoods have, as a rule, low power and operate mainly in recirculation mode - their power is not enough to remove air into the ventilation shaft. Hanging hoods are the cheapest.

Built-in hoods look like hanging ones. They are mounted in a wall cabinet above the stove and, as a rule, have a pull-out panel that increases the air intake area and makes it easier to control the hood. This is the more "advanced" type.

Domes with a "chimney" shape are the most popular today. Their appearance is very diverse - they are sheathed with wood or glass, they have many shapes and colors, they will fit into any design. These hoods have aluminum filters that can be washed. But they are also the most expensive.

The most important parameter that must be considered when choosing a hood is performance. Productivity indicates how many cubic meters of air the hood can "process" per hour. You can easily calculate the required extraction performance yourself. It depends mainly on the size of your kitchen. According to sanitary standards, the air in the kitchen must change at least 10 -12 times per hour. Therefore, to determine the performance, it is necessary to multiply the kitchen area by the height of the ceilings in it, by 12 (the number of required air changes) and by a factor of 1, 3 (this will provide 30% of the supply of "clean air"). Choose an extractor hood with a performance not less than the number received.

I would like to say a few words about sinks … Which sink is best for the household is not just a matter of individual taste. This, first of all, depends on the size of the family, the size of the kitchen, on the eating habits: what, for example, products are used for cooking - fresh or semi-finished products, etc. When choosing a sink, you need to think about many things: the size of the bowl and their number, the location of the sink (for example, in the corner), the bowl (right or left), the material and its features, the required additional functions of the mixer and the choice of accessories.

Today, the choice of materials for them is just as varied. You, of course, are well aware of stainless steel sinks. Lightweight, practical and inexpensive, they look great in any kitchen. In addition, stainless steel is 100% recyclable and therefore environmentally friendly. For a reason, stainless steel is the preferred material for professional chefs and the main material for sinks around the world. Recently, sinks made of granite and marble have become popular. These materials allow you to choose a sink exactly in the color of the countertop, and look very impressive, but much more expensive than stainless steel sinks.