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Zanussi ZOB150W
by Sallerina84
I have this oven in my current rented accomodation.
It is a single electric oven and can also be used as a grill.
The oven is very easy to use, there is just one knob for setting the temperature, and one knob for selecting the oven or the grill.
The oven heats up quickly and efficiently and cooking can ... begin just a few minutes after switching it on, due to it being a fan oven.
The grill operates in a similar way, but I find it takes quite a few minutes to heat up and begin cooking a product, however, once it it up to heat, it cooks just fine.
There are three digital buttons that control the digital display and timer. These are also very simple to use.
The main problem I have with this oven, as I do with all single oven/grills, is lack of space and not being able to grill and use the oven at the same time. It makes cooking for more than 2 - 3 people quite tricky, as it involves cramming as much onto one shell as possible, and using the oven floor as another shelf, but having to rotate things round as things do not cook as efficiently on the oven floor.
If space is an issue, this oven is quite sufficient, but when I own my own home I will defintely purchase an oven with an oven and separate grill.
In terms of reliability though, we have never had a single problem with this oven.
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Zanussi Gas Oven ZCG7551
by LadyAudley
I've owned this cooker for a number of months after my boyfriend bought it on a bit of a whim, and I've used it to cook all manner of dishes. I'm pretty keen and adventurous in the kitchen, and enjoy spending hours messing around with a whole variety of recipes, so I think I've put it through its paces pretty well. The results are ... pretty mixed - while this is a good appliance for most families who are pressed for time and therefore doing much heating, a keen cook creating recipes from scratch will probably become annoyed with it quite rapidly.
THE HOB
There are four burners, each of a slightly different size, overlaid by two large racks. This arrangement is extremely handy, as it means you have fine control over the heat supplied to each pan. The two back burners are of medium (large) and medium (small) size, while the left front is a fierce beast and the right front a gentle simmerer. This means you have complete freedom - you can cook something very gently if you're trying to extract flavour, or you can hubblebubble it fiercely to reduce it down speedily. Each individual burner is easily taken apart for cleaning: you can actually remove the tops and give them a wash in the sink, which is really handy.
However, the big downside is the recessed nature of the hob. This makes it extremely difficult to clean properly. I'm forever wiping, wiping, wiping it, trying to remove the debris that inevitably falls from pans. It simply gets stuck in the recessed rounded corners. The only way I've found to cope is to wipe it twice with a wet cloth and then once with kitchen towel. A flatter surface would be SO much easier to clean.
There's a glass lid that sits over the hob. I find this a useful feature because I'm really pushed for space. It enables me to use the top as a work surface to chop and prepare ingredients when I'm not actually cooking. However, it is extremely difficult to keep clean, showing up any fingerprints, and any dirt like nothing on earth.
TOP OVEN
This functions as both a grill and an oven, with a door that folds down rather than across. You have to light it manually, using the ignition on the top, which can be a bit of an irritant if you're busy cooking and have messy hands. Both oven and grill features have an inbuilt safety function: the gas will cut out if you partially close the door, meaning that you don't get incomplete combustion releasing carbon monoxide. However, as someone who has to work in a tight space, I find this a bit of an irritation, as I often go to close the door to get past the oven, only to find that I've actually put the darn thing out!
The grill flame is well-designed and toasts a tray really very evenly for a gas appliance. However, the racks are oddly spaced: the height bars are either a bit high or a bit low to allow for the most even finish.
The oven is less of a success story. The space inside is relatively small (though large enough for a standard size tray), and the line of flame heating it really quite long. The overall result is that it gets hot, hot, hot! Temperatures inside it bear absolutely no resemblance to the 'gas mark' values stated on the knob: at my estimation, gas mark 4 here is like gas mark 7-8 on other ovens (including the lower oven of this cooker). This means that while the oven is great for cooking things that require really high temperatures, like pizza, it's useless for slow roasting of small dishes. This is a shame as having a functional smaller over can be a really energy efficient way of cooking single tray dishes.
Cleaning-wise, the combination of a tight space, high heat, and non-self-cleaning surfaces is a bit deadly. Be prepared to do some scrubbing or to use an oven liner that you can simply remove. However, the glass door is a better piece of design: it has two panes of glass for insulation, one of which simply clips out to allow you to clean it in the sink, while you wipe the second in situ. It's brilliantly easy and really helps keep the cooker looking nice.
BOTTOM OVEN
The bottom oven is a much larger space, with better temperature regulation, though you do get the usual problem found in most non-fan-assisted cookers, of hot and coolspots. Shelves are regularly and sensibly spaced, and allow you plenty of room for everything from big deep casseroles to shallow trays of roasting veg. I've cooked huge amounts in this oven, and have had great results with everything from fruit cake (cooked slow and cool) to pizza (fast and hot).
Cleaning-wise, this is the best part of the appliance. The sides and top are self-cleaning, which saves an awful lot of time. All you have to do is to "cook" an empty oven at gas mark 5 for 30 minutes and then gas mark 7 for a further 120 minutes and hey presto, clean oven! If only all domestic chores were so easy. It's only the bottom of the oven that needs to be wiped out occasionally. Zanussi recommend cleaners such as cif, but the best results I have had have been with Lakeland's Ovenmate. The door, like the grill door, has an easy-release pane of glass, which means that it's exceptionally straightforward to clean.
ELECTRONICS AND SAFETY
The electronics with this cooker allow you several timer functions with inbuilt safety features that make this a far more worry-free appliance than many gas cookers. There is the usual digital clock with inbuilt countdown timer feature for the oven, but in this case if the bleeper (which is fairly loud) is not switched off, the gas will actually cut out automatically, ensuring that conditions for a domestic fire are not created. You can also program the oven to come on automatically and heat whatever is inside, ensuring that you have hot food on the way home from work. Similarly, if the glass lid is down, the gas won't come on - which prevents accidents if kiddiewinkie fingers play with the dials.
OVERALL EVALUATION
This costs just over £400 in the shops, and is therefore good value for money. On the positive side, the burners provide a great deal of control, and the lower oven cooks beautifully and is easy to clean. On the negative side, the top oven and hob are a bit of a nightmare to clean, and the top oven is also far too hot for most dishes. Safety features, however, are extremely good and I feel very secure using gas in my home in this way. Much depends on how often you cook, and how keen you are. If you're generally making basic recipes, or heating ready-made food, this will see you through without any problems. If you're keen on cooking a wide variety of food, some of its shortcomings may seem more glaringly obvious.
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