I show to you another small, but wonderful, part of my home: the stove top on the range. A very small area, and yet, I am so grateful for the continuous grate feature over and over again. Are you ready for me to wax poetic about my stove top? I am! Ha! I could sing the praises of all my appliances in one way or another (and I just may one day!). They are such workhorses that get a great work-out each and every day.
Let’s talk about the grates on my stove!
When we decided to purchase a foreclosure, we knew all of the appliances would need to be purchased new. I had never purchased appliances on my own. In our first house, I had the help of parents for the washer and dryer and the rest came with the house.
When researching for a range for our current house, we were so thankful the house was already equipped for a gas stove. Both my husband and I love to cook, and we much prefer a gas range.
I was fortunate enough to be carpooling with a lady who had purchased a foreclosure a year or so prior to the purchase of ours. She informed me that our mutual place of work had a discount program with Whirlpool. She was very happy with her appliances, so we decided to purchase ours through this program too.
Now since we limited our search to what was available from Whirlpool through my work program, we had far fewer ranges to search through. A blessing looking back, there are SO many companies out there to choose from! We decided on the Whirlpool Gold line, and I found a range with 2 power burners.
The burners on our very inexpensive apartment stove did not satisfy our cooking abilities, so it was basically this feature alone that sold the stove to me. That and price. We weren’t looking to break the bank on the stove. I believe paid around $550 for the stove. This one is a little fancier (we don’t have 5 burners) but similar. The best part, price-wise, the deliverers dented the side of the stove in transit so they gave us a discount. We ended up paying under $500 for the stove. It has been worth every penny in my opinion!
I can’t remember thinking too much about the grates on the stove, but I am so thankful for continuous grates. Continuous grates run, wait for it…continuously, from the left to the right side of the stove and from front to back.
The beauty of this feature? My very normal, 30 inch range can hold massive pans. The grates don’t wobble or wiggle if the pan is really too large for the burner. I have a massive cast iron dutch oven that can cover two burners. The stove handles this with easy with no extra finagling from me to get the pot on or off the stove.
Another great aspect? You can slide a pan from one part of the stove to the other without jarring the other grates. Think of delicate sauces that you must remove from heat at the right moment. No problem. A quick slide with one hand while the other turns off the heat. Need to fill up every burner for Thanksgiving dinner? Just slide those pans around like a slide puzzle!
Side note: Anyone really dislike those games as a kid? We always had several kinds lying around, and I would try but get frustrated and give up easily. Puzzles are not my thing!
The grates are cast iron so they don’t move easily. I’ve never had trouble with them shifting, and I give my stove a work-out regularly!
They are a bit heavy to move for cleaning, but they don’t hold a candle to the weight of my other cast iron pans, so I think nothing of their weight! For daily cleaning, I just wipe the grates down with a Norwex cloth. For a deeper clean a couple times a year, I put them in the sink for a good scrub.
Notice the discoloration around the burners above, I wonder now if I’m caring for the grates properly? I oil my cast iron pans after each us, but I’ve never oiled these! I might need to start that. Anyone know the proper way to care for these?
If you’re in the market for a a new gas range and don’t want to spend a fortune, I’d look for continuous grates first! And if you’re interested I’d also look for high power burners and a simmer burner.
Do you have an appliances that have really shined for you, and you didn’t even plan it that way? Do you absolutely love one that you didn’t even spend that much time picking out?
Leave a Reply