Kitchen Appliances and Accessories

A good oven should last you a decade or more, so you’ll want to pick one that works for your cooking needs and won’t date easily. Modern ovens can include a host of hi-tech features to make cooking easier. But if you don’t get the basics right, you could end up with an oven that is slow to heat up, cooks unevenly or has a small capacity – making fitting the family meal in a real chore.

If your cooker backs onto a wall, a powerful, chimney-style hood is an option. These consist of a canopy plus a chimney and come in either stainless steel or glass – their large size can make them quite a feature in your kitchen, so choose one you like the look of. You’ll want to get one that has a canopy that spreads all the way across the width of your cooker – so whether you’ve got four-rings on your hob or you’ve a cooker with eight burners, make sure you choose an appropriate size.

Whether you want a traditional gas hob or a state-of-the-art, touch-control induction hob, our hob reviews will help you. Some models can be slow to heat your food, or burn it onto the pan even on a gentle simmer. But the best hobs will be quick, gentle and responsive, as well as easy to control.