The Straight Scoop on Buying the Best Cooktop for Your Kitchen

Making the jump to a cooktop combined with a separate wall oven is a great choice whether you are installing a couple of upgrades or doing a full remodel of your kitchen. This alternative to the traditional all-in-one range provides two immediate benefits; the convenience of working with an oven that doesn’t require you to work at knee level and the extra cabinet space that can be located beneath the cooktop to store bulky cookware.

Here is the straight cooktop scoop on what to look for as well as what to buy as the best option for your kitchen:

* Pricing – Plan for the combination of a cooktop with a wall oven to be more expensive than a single range. Prices for the cooktop will likely start around $300 for a basic version and range upward to around $2500 for high-end models.
* Sizing – The most cost efficient way to size your cooktop is buy one that fits the existing cutout on the countertop to eliminate the need for altering granite or the other materials that compose your countertop.
* The existing power source – This will, in all likelihood, be the deciding factor in whether you go with a gas or electric cooktop unless you’re comfortable with the cost of implementing a power source that isn’t present in your current kitchen configuration.
* The cooktop surface and the number of burners – The basic cooktop models will start with 4 standard gas or electric coil burners and move up in cost to glass, then seamless grates, and, at the top of the line, induction burners that use magnetic technology to heat quickly, conserve energy, and then offer fast cleaning with ceramic surfaces. 5 burner and bridge burner cooktops start at the mid-range of cooktop pricing.
* Control styles – Gas cooktops have yet to go beyond control knobs even at the highest end but electric versions can offer more variety once you approach mid-range pricing. The variety of controls includes digital readouts and touch screen operation. An added benefit of these models is that the absence of knobs makes cleanup easier.
* How exhaust will be vented – If overhead venting isn’t an option, electric cooktops can be purchased with a downdraft systems that aren’t as strong as traditional venting but can still reduce smoke and other cooking residuals.

Make sure to budget for the added expense of a cooktop with a separate wall unit as the components and the installation will be more costly than a traditional range. That being said, your new cooktop and oven can deliver bunch of great benefits that will have you cooking like a pro.