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Beko BDC5422AS
by annie47
My old cooker was about 13 years old! and i had really had enough of it; it was good for quite a while, an electric cooker but one with those older style electric round rings that get stained very quickly and are almost impossible to clean! I looked through quite alot of cookers but knew i wanted one with a ceramic hob this time; i came ... across this Beko one at Currys and thought it was great value for money. It was only around £259 and is in a lovely silver colour.
Width wise, some people may think its a little small; its fits fairly well into the space i had my old cooker in, and because of its narrower width, it is very easy for me to pull it out and clean under, behind and around the cooker. The cooker size is fine, fairly large and thankfully the cooker came with 3 oven racks; my old one only had 2 which could be very annoying, especially when cooking something like a roast dinner where you might have lots of things in the oven at the same time.
The 4 ceramic hobs heat up very quickly indeed, although takes a while for them to cool down. I soon realised that it is essential to buy something like Hob Brite and special scrapers for such hobs as this; Do pay attention as to how to clean the Hobs, as they cannot be cleaned like other cookers without ceramic hobs; You will need to ensure the hobs cool right down first, then pour some Hob brite or similar cleaner for ceramic hobs onto the hobs; rub this into each hob with some kitchen roll and you will see the grease coming off off the hob and onto the kitchen roll; its actually amazing how such cleaners work; Now you may get some stubborn stains, stuck on stains; and for this you need a special scraper (you can get it in Robert Dyas or similar hardwear stores); You gently scrape stubborn marks off with this; afterwards rinse the hobs with a moistened cold water paper towel/kitchen roll and then dry with a dry cloth, like a J cloth.
The results are amazing! It can be fairly easy to scratch the surface however and through my own fault, i do have one tiny scratch on the hobs, so be careful not to be too forceful if you need to use the scraper; i understand that if you happen to spill something sugary which is hot onto the hob when cooking, this should be cleaned as soon as possible, obviously being careful not to burn yourself!
There is a double glazed door on the oven and as the oven is see through, you can see your food cooking and check on it without having to keep opening the door! The one slight set back with the oven is that it is very low down, which may irritate some people.
The grill is fine, and you can easily attach the handle to the grill pan; this grill part is also great for keeping plates warm.
Specifications
Energy Efficiency Rating; A
4 element ceramic hob
Width; 50cm
Single oven cooker with separate grill
Conventional oven/easy clean enamel oven
58 litre capacity oven
I wanted my old cooker taken away and at a reasonable cost (£65) this was done for me by Currys; my cooker was fully connected to the electric cooker socket already in place by the people who delivered it.
For the price, this cooker is great! It works well, cleans up well and is nice looking and a lovely colour; a real bargain for a ceramic hob cooker! Worthy of 4 Dooyoo stars in my view.
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Bush AE56SS
by FrostBite
Well this is only my second cooker (that I have actually owned) and I did not actually pick this, it was gifted to me via another source. Ususally I opt for the cheaper models having been a nursing student for the past three years, practicality is more important than aestetics. I do not have a large kitchen and this cooker is slightly ... smaller than the Beko models etc. so fits into the pre-made kitchen unit gaps nicely. The only downside to the smaller size is now the cat manages to get herself down the sides and hides within the gap at the back of the cooker (somewhat worrying).
Bush is a British company which is owned by Home Retail Group, now their products are exclusively sold within Argos. Originally they were created in 1932 as Bush Radio in Shepheard's Bush hence the ever popular and well known name. In the 1980's this brand seemed to disappear from our stores and after being bought by Alba began productions again and now are producing a whole range of electricals.
The cooker itself looks fab being a matt chrome finish with black buttons and black hob top, this fits fantastically with most colours such as white, black and red. The two shelf internal system allows for the roasting and baking of more items at once making meal times much more efficient.
The wiring up of the cooker is actually quite reasonable being easier than the last cooker that I owned. The only trouble comes where the house wiring is in the old style so I had to research which colours matched just so I did not electricute myself or set fire to the house!
The negatives are the down opening door which means having to lean further over the cooker to get food in an out; not only this but I constantly risk second degree burns on a daily basis. Another down point are the hobs, they are so difficult to clean and any slight spill or moisture on the bottom of the pans result in stains which do not budge regardless of cleaner or equipment. My Tefal pans are less than impressed with their ritual sanding upon each use and this has resulted in their redness suddenly becoming more of a sanded silver.
Cook times are a little unpredicatable. I daren't leave anything in the cooker and nip out of the house even for five minutes as the uneven cooking results in some burnt edges and some raw parts - regular turning is a must. Furthermore, cookers with a light can cause a little bit of a logistical nightmare ezpecially when the cat bed is directly in the spotlight. I have had to invest in a tea towel curtain just to save my poor cat from the suffering.
All in all the cooker is very nice and stylish for anyone on a budget; allowing for the efficient cooking of a christmas dinner (just keep watching) and a fast baking of cookies or muffins. Bush products are only available from the Home Retail Group which is Argos and Homebase unless the item can be picked up second hand from other areas such as Ebay. Currently retailing for £189.99 at Argos minus the P&P costs which are usually around £9.
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