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Cannon CH60GCIK
by rosaliecullen
==Overview==
When looking for a new cooker for our kitchen, I found it to be a minefield so long story short, I ended up buying the same one my Mum had in black rather than white as I knew how to use it. We paid around £300-£350 from memory about two and a half years ago, but they are now closer to £500. We found ours cheapest ... in Boots Kitchen Appliances of all places! The cooker is made by Cannon and as I say, I had had previous good experiences with Cannon so decided to buy my own. This cooker is gas only.
==The style==
The cooker is a standard 60cm in width so will fit into most kitchen plans nicely. The colour is black and as you can see from the photo on DooYoo, there are two silver bars which open the two ovens and the knobs to ignite the gas rings are also silver. The top of the cooker including the rings and grills are black and there is a lid which is a smokey black glass. In my opinion,this cooker looks really nice in our kitchen which is black and cream and provides a nice focal point against the cream cupboards and matches the black work surfaces really nicely. The kitchen has a country feel to it and short of splurging on an Aga, this doesn't look too modern against the cream and black but equally could look really modern if put in a high gloss or stainless steel kitchen so looks wise it is really flexible. I'm not sure if the white or a light colour is the same but the black is a pain and constantly needs cleaning (same for the worktops if you are thinking of being mad and getting black worktops!). I have found that Flash with Shine spray works well and doesn't leave streaks like other cleaners!
==Functions==
There are two front burners and two back burners, both the front and back have a small ring and a large ring so you can have the option of where to put your pans. All of the bits and bobs on the gas burners come off and can be washed which is really handy as food can get underneath them so it is a bonus to be able to take them off and wash them properly in the sink. Equally, the silver knobs to switch the gas rings on and off come off so that you can wash them.
There are two ovens. The top one is just a small oven and works just as well at cooking food as the large oven but I find it isn't as good for baking cakes (found out the hard way!). The top oven also doubles as a grill, there is a knob on the right hand side to control the top oven and grill, you turn it one way for oven, one way for grill. Make sure you get it right and don't end up closing the oven door when the grill is on. My Dad did this and ended up grilling a pizza with the door shut (thinking it was the oven) and informing my Mum that the pizza had burnt to a crisp in less than three minutes and he didn't know why! :)
The bottom oven is brilliant, it has two shelves and bakes my cakes much more evenly than the top oven. In both the top and bottom oven you can move the shelves to accommodate your needs and move the shelves higher or lower as necessary, they come out easily and also can be washed easily.
This little cooker managed Christmas dinner for 15 last year and having the two ovens really helped to keep the food hot before it was dished out. I don't often use the two ovens except for parties and Christmas but it is nice to have the option and the fact that the top oven doubles as a grill (with a grill pan that comes with it) is a nice touch and doesn't take up any more room in the kitchen.
==Performance==
As I've mentioned, the top oven isn't as good for baking as the bottom oven. The bottom oven has been fine for baking as long as you get the shelves in the right place and keep an eye on your cakes regularly. I much prefer gas than electric or fan assisted, I just can't get used to them and know and understand how to cook with gas so I can't imagine me ever switching to electric or dual fuel.
So far I haven't had a problem *touch wood* with the cooker. I do think that occasionally it can seem as though the bottom over takes a wee while for the gas to ignite but I've found if I open the door and let the oxygen get to the flame it ignites immediately, it isn't a problem but it is a bit of a quirk.
The cooker is still looking brand new, I do wipe it and clean it regularly but all the bits and bobs still look new and feel sturdy, nothing feels like it is going to break off and all the added bits are not flimsy.
=Overall==
For the price we paid, I feel like we have got a decent cooker than works well and cooks the food evenly and to a good standard. I would definitely buy another Cannon. My Mum's cooker is 8 years old and mine is 2 and a half and we have both been pleased with the quality of the product.
If you have any specific questions, please ask and I'll update the review to reflect the answers. Thanks for reading :)
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Indesit IS50E1X
by thehonesttruth
When my cooker decided to start misbehaving after 9 years of faithful service by not allowing me to have more than one hob on at a time without blowing the fuse box, I decided it was time to get a new one . I had a basic idea of what I wanted - I still wanted it to be an electric cooker, I wanted solid rings as ceramic hobs always look ... too fragile to me, a clear door I could see through, and I wanted a silver or stainless steel finish rather than the white I'd previously had.
After some browsing, I found this cooker, H90 D60 W50cm, which seemed to tick off all my boxes, was the right size for the space I had available, and was well within my budget, at £219, plus an additional £49.99 for installation and £9.99 for recycling of my old appliance from Comet. I can't comment on ease of installation - since electric cookers have to be hardwired in, I left that to the delivery guy, but he didn't seem to have any problems. And, after sticking it on for an hour to burn off any residues inside, I was ready to rock and roll.
Appearance wise, this is quite nice. Four black red dot solid hobs, two large and two small, a rather nice brushed steel finish, with some black accents on the knobs and handles. The knobs themselves are quite solid and easy to turn, and on most of them the functions are clear and need no explanation. The timer is self explanatory, you just twist it to the number of minutes you need. Similarly, the knobs for setting the oven temp or the temperature of the rings also are very simple to use, requiring no real explanation. However, one of the knobs, the one for setting the oven/grill function was slightly more baffling initially.
A look in the book explained the various functions all performed by this one dial - I could set the oven to just have the light on, but not actually get hot. I could set the oven to just be hot at the bottom (used for keeping food warm without drying it out), to be hot all over (for cooking), set the grill on a low heat, or a high heat, all from one knob.
The light is a nice feature - always on when the oven is in use, it enables you, through the clear glass of the oven door, to keep an eye on your food as it cooks and see how it is doing without having to keep opening the oven door and letting the heat out. Very useful if you cook a lot of Soufflé and want to make sure it isn't falling flat, but just as useful if you just want to check that the cheesy topping on your lasagne is melting and browning nicely.
The handle on the door is nicely sized and easy to use, enabling my to open the oven door whilst already wearing oven gloves, and the door opens by folding down at a 90 degree angle. The hinges all seem nice and tight and secure, and I have no fear that the door is going to bang down if I open it and then let go. I also like that although the glass is see through when the light is on, when the oven is not in use it has a rather attractive mirror finish, which has provided great amusement for my cats who seem rather startled to see new animals in their home! It's a very sleek and polished look.
Beneath the oven door is another compartment for storing trays and shelves. The oven comes with one adjustable shelf, with six shelf positions, and one large black enamelled tray, which is the full width of the oven cavity and can be slotted into any of the shelf positions . I was a little disappointed that it didn't come with any kind of wire rack I could use within the tray when using the grill, for example, although this problem was soon overcome by simply using the wire shelf, and placing the tray underneath. This does however mean that, if I want to make cheese and toast, I have to wash both the tray and the shelf afterwards.
The fan assisted oven heats up quickly, and I have to say I have had excellent results cooking with this oven, many of those as a result of simply having a timer, a feature which my last oven lacked. The timer is easy to set with time increments clearly marked, and ticks down, making a brief buzz at the end of the time . It has to be said that while the buzz is loud enough for me to hear if I am in the kitchen or in the living room with the kitchen door open, it is not loud enough for me to hear if, for example, I want to pop some food in and go and have a bath upstairs while it is cooking. It does mean that if I do wish to use the timer I do have to remain downstairs to have any chance of hearing it . I have also found that with this oven being fan-assisted, it takes less time to preheat and that food tends to cook a little better if I reduce the heat by 20°C. This took a little getting used to, as my older appliance did take a while to heat up, and initially I slightly overcooked a few items.
The oven is very easy to clean - the oven itself (as well as the cooking tray) have an enamel lining, making it easy to wipe off fresh spills as they happen, and cooled on spills simply require laying a damp warm cloth on top for a few minutes before wiping. The hob is also easy to clean, using the same methods. I do find that if I use a little too much soap on my cloth the steel finish can look a little dull, but a quick buff with a dry cloth removes any soap or watermarks, and a wipe round with just the tiniest dab of baby oil provides a wonderful shine. The double glazed oven door glass can be easily kept clean with a little newspaper and brown vinegar.
One more additional feature I really like with this oven is the two small warning lights - a reddy orange one that shows the oven or grill is on, and a green one that indicates a hob is on. Not only does this make it much less likely that I'll forget to turn it off after use, making it significantly safer, but it also helps me with keeping my daughter safe - when either of those lights are on, she knows to stay well away from the cooker.
I don't really have any moans about this cooker. I did initially have some confusion with the hobs. On my old appliance, when using the hobs, the dials turned clockwise from 1-6 (1 being the lowest heat). On this one, the dials turn anti-clockwise from 1-6. This did initially result in me burning my baked beans, as I simply didn't notice the change, but didn't take me too long to get to grips with.
Overall, I great little cooker - it has all the basic features you need, such as hob,oven,and grill, but also those nice additional touches (safety lights, oven light, timer, and viewing window) at a reasonable price. The manual included was simple and in plain English, it's simple to use, easy to clean, and has a B energy efficiency. I pre-pay for my electricity each week, so it's hard to keep track of exactly how much I'm saving each week, but It seems to be at least a couple of pounds - and that's with me cooking MORE.
Overall, I'm very happy. I do wish they'd included a wire rack that could fit inside the oven tray though, and an extra shelf would have been nice - so I'll be taking off one star for that!
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