If you were to ask people what their number one home appliance is, you are likely to be met with a similar response: their cooker.
Centre to all of the kitchen’s and arguably the home’s activity, the cooker is a huge investment for any family and home.
Range cookers have been at the centre of this flurry of activity for over three centuries and continue to capture the hearts of armoured cooks and professional chefs alike.
Though the cookers have changed and adapted to the times, their basic style and functionally has largely remained the same.
Changed features such as fuel types and modern-world add ons such as mobile phone apps have created a huge question over which is the best range cooker for you.
With this handy guide, we aim to answer that question with a breakdown of every range cooker feature and design.
See Our Top Range Cookers Reviews
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Best For Higher Budgets
1Rangemaster Professional Deluxe 110 Induction Range Cooker
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| 2
Best For Low Budgets
2Belling Farmhouse 60DF Dual Fuel Cooker
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| 5
Best Overall
5Belling Kensington 100DFT Dual Fuel Range Cooker
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1. Rangemaster Professional Deluxe 110 Induction Range Cooker
- Four cavities to cook in.
- Five zone induction hob.
- Two electric fan ovens.
- Slow cook oven and grill.
If you’re looking for the creme de la creme of range cookers, there’s no doubt about it, you have to go for a Rangemaster.
Established in the 1930s this kitchen appliances brand has over 200 years of experience dealing with all things cookers.
And this Rangemaster Professional Deluxe is one of their most impressive models yet.
As well as looking sleek in design, this Rangemaster functions without a hiccup.
It’s two oven spaces along with a slow cook oven and a grill allow you to pander the appliance to your exact cooking needs.
So, whether you’re looking to bake a cook, grill a fish or slow cook a lamb tagine, you can do them all at the same time without compromising on the quality.
Along with its effortless functionality, this master cooker features a proving drawer for the keen bakers out there and even a quick heat setting that will have your oven ready for use in no time.
That’s all before we even start to look at its five induction hob.
Cooking that Christmas dinner for the whole family has never been easier!
Specifications
Pros
- Multifunctional oven spaces.
- Caters to different cooking settings.
- The catalytic lining makes it easy to clean.
- Rapid response heats the oven in record timing.
- Two-year manufacturer warranty.
Cons
- Can seem pricey compared to other models on the market.
2. Belling Farmhouse 60DF Dual Fuel Cooker
- Four gas burners or electric hob.
- Double oven with integrated grill.
- Defrost function.
- LED touch control screen.
Designed in a farmhouse style, this rustic dual fuel cooker is dainty enough to fit any kitchen, no matter how small.
Although it is just 60cm across, its small size does not mean that it compromises on its abilities.
This mean-machine still has two multi-functional oven spaces, including a convection oven and grill, along with four gas burners that can be ignited at the push of a button.
Despite its old fashioned appearance, this Belling Farmhouse Dual Fuel Cooker is equipped with a large LED clock and digital buttons to make working the appliance a piece of cake.
An added bonus is its defrost function, that can help you to defrost any meat, fish or other frozen goods in the most hygienic way possible.
Specifications
Pros
- Compact enough to fit in even the smallest of kitchens.
- Dual fuel abilities.
- Removable glass door for easy cleaning.
- Made with easy-clean enamel material.
Cons
- Fewer ovens/hobs compared to other models.
3. Stoves Richmond Deluxe S900G Gas Range Cooker
- Three cavities to choose from.
- Five gas hobs.
- Wok burner.
- Smartphone app.
- Automatic safety shut off.
If you’re the kind of cook that loves the look of an Aga but doesn’t like using one, then the Stove Richmond Deluxe could be the range cooker for you.
With a farmer-esque appearance, an enamel finish and chunky steel handles, this appliance will look the part in any kitchen. However, it’s modern functionality makes it user-friendly no matter what your experience in the kitchen.
It’s three cavities allow you to bake, grill or slow cook your items, while its five gas burner hobs, of varying sizes, can be catered to your cooking use.
If you’re worried about safety in the kitchen then there’s no need to be with the Stoves Richmond Deluxe Range Cooker.
With an automatic safety shut off and a flame failure safety device, you can rest easy knowing that this range cooker shouldn’t cause any unexpected problems in your home.
Specifications
Pros
- Multifunctional oven spaces to bake, grill and defrost.
- Large LED display for easy control.
- Dough proving function for easy baking.
- Economical energy consumption.
Cons
- Enamel can be prone to chipping.
- Limited colour options.
4. Smeg Portofino CPF9iPYW Electric Range Cooker
- One cooking cavity.
- Self-cleaning oven.
- Five induction hobs.
- Comes in yellow, olive green or white finishes.
Whether you’re new to the kitchen or a budding chef, the Smeg Portofino Electric Range Cooker not only looks swanky but has the brains to match the brawn.
Despite having only one cavity to cook with, you can choose from options such as fan grilling, turbo mode for quick cooking, rotisserie or eco mode to find your perfect setting.
When you’re finished with the range cooker, the smeg’s pyrolytic cleaning function helps to effortlessly burn away any dirt or grease that has stuck to the sides of the oven.
All that you need to do is wipe it down when you’re finished and you’ll be left with a sparkling clean oven.
Specifications
Pros
- Five-year manufacturer warranty.
- A+ energy rating for efficient usage.
- Twelve different functions of the main cavity.
- Quick heating time in just eight minutes.
Cons
- Only one oven space.
- Needs hard wiring by an electrician.
5. Belling Kensington 100DFT Dual Fuel Range Cooker
- Three electric ovens.
- Seven burner gas hobs including a wok burner.
- Integrated electric grill.
- Easy clean enamel.
With a fan oven, two conventional ovens and an integrated electric grill, the cooking possibilities are endless when it comes to your Belling Kensington 100 Dual Fuel Range Cooker.
To control the cooker, you’ll find a range of touch controls and dials.
This will allow you to choose between fan, slow cook and defrost, as well as set a countdown timer for any pans that may need to be watched.
All three oven spaces are made from easy-clean enamel, which will make your life a lot easier in the long run.
This self-cleaning material repels dirt and grease, so all you need to do is give it a quick wipe over.
At the bottom of the range cooker, you’ll also find a hand storage spot.
Here, you can keep all of your pots, pans and trays so that they’re in a convenient spot for when you need them next.
Specifications
Pros
- User-friendly LED touch control clock face.
- Dual heating oven for flexible cooking.
- Stylish red finish.
- 4KW wok burner for maximum heat.
Cons
- Largest model on the market, not suitable for smaller kitchens
6. Leisure Cookmaster CK100D210K Electric Range Cooker
- Two separate ovens.
- Five induction hobs plus hot plate.
- Integrated grill with easy pull-out design.
- Easy access storage compartment.
With a sleek black design and stainless steel knobs, this a range cooker for the minimalist, style-conscious cookers amongst us.
One of the larger range cookers on the market, you can enjoy the flexibility that comes with two ovens and five induction hobs.
Bake a crumble, roast a chicken and get started on that all-important gravy without worrying about one setting impacting another feature.
While this is definitely a power horse of a range cooker, the Leisure Cookmaster Electric Range Cooker is rated an A for energy efficiency, which means it will keep costs low while you’re cooking up a storm.
Specifications
Pros
- Very energy efficient with an A energy rating.
- Programmable timer to stay on top of your cooking.
- Removable glass doors for easy cleaning.
- Heat indicators for safe induction hob usage.
- Two-year manufacturers guarantee.
Cons
- Programming can be tricky to get used to.
Range Cooker Buying Guide
What Is a Range Cooker?
In short, a range cooker is an appliance that combines both an oven and a set of hobs.
A freestanding range cooker is far larger than a standalone cooker and can incorporate many more different features.
These features can include things such as multiple ovens like a double oven, separate grills, a warming drawer and many different compartments.
Alongside the multiple features, a range cooker will also usually have far more control features, giving you better control over cooking times and types of cooking.
These different settings can include things such as a pizza oven setting, fan-assisted settings, quick start, true fan ovens and many more.
These features vary from make to make and model to model.
Range cookers tend to hark back to more traditional agas and huge ovens that once were commonplace in homes from the early 20th century and before.
This full-circle approach has seen a revival in the use of range cookers and some even have the look of this older cooker.
Fuel
The huge variety of range cookers out there means that they have become even more universal in their ability to use many different forms of fuel.
From gas to electric and even dual fuels models, the choice is wide as it is diverse, allowing any home or restaurant to install a range cooker with ease.
Choosing the right fuel type range cooker can depend on whether the fuel type is available in your home or restaurant but can also come down to personal choice.
There are a number of positives and negatives to each different fuel type, so it is important to understand them all before making a decision.
Electric
Electric range cookers run directly from the home’s electrical mains and can easily be installed by a professional.
An electric range cooker will run an electrically powered oven that most often relies on a fan.
The electrical heat is then dispersed by the physical spinning of a fan.
The top of the electric oven will be covered with a ceramic cover or will normally use induction technology on their hobs.
The ceramic covered hobs use the electrical heat to heat up the ceramics and then in turn to your pots and pans.
On the other hand, induction technology uses a strong magnetic force to heat up metal pots and pans, without the risk of heating up the rest of the cooker.
The advantage of using electrical fuels to power your range includes a far better heat dispensation.
As opposed to gas, an electrical oven will fix itself on one temperature and maintain this through the entire cooking process.
A disadvantage to using an electrical oven is the overall consumption of energy, which is far greater in an electrically powered range cooker.
Gas
A gas-powered range cooker harnesses the power of a home or restaurant’s gas supply and links straight into the back of the cooker.
This supply is then ignited via built-in spark, automatic or manual, which then allows the cooker to be heated by a flame.
Gas-powered range cookers will have a gas-powered oven and then several gas burner hobs above.
These gas burners can be adjusted by turning the gas higher or lower, allowing control over each one in turn.
Cooking on gas hobs will allow far more control and use less energy consumption overall making it a great choice for those who are conscious of their carbon footprint.
One questionable disadvantage to using gas-powered range cookers is the constant exposure of a naked flame.
This naked flame may set users up for the possibility of accidents, especially around young children getting close to the cooker.
A disadvantage of gas-powered range cookers is the possible rising and falling of temperatures in the oven.
As you are cooking with a flame, the flame will lower itself once it has reached a certain temperature and then rise again to meet that temperature.
Dual Fuel
A dual fuel range cooker does exactly as the name suggests and incorporates two different fuel sources into the entire system offering the best of both worlds.
The dual fuel range cookers are some of the most popular in the modern market and it is easy to see why.
The best dual fuel range cooker will often use electricity to power the oven and gas to power the range cooker’s hobs on top.
The idea behind this construction is to have the better heating power of an electric oven while still having the better-controlled gas hobs on top.
The dual fuel range cookers tend to be a little more expensive than purchasing just one fuel type, yet power-saving capabilities of combining two fuel types are far more economical in the long run and will save you money.
Size
Knowing what size of range cooker you need will depend on all manner of factors, from the size of your kitchen or restaurant space to the amount and type of food you wish to cook with your range cooker.
The market is flooded with all different sizes and combinations, from huge restaurant sized cookers to the popular small range cooker.
When we talk about range cookers, there is generally considered to be three main sizes of cooker.
The three main sizes are measured in standard centimetre sizes and consist of 90cm, 100cm and 110cm.
There are smaller 60cm range cookers, resembling electric cookers, yet these will not give you the added extra features you often find on more prominent and traditional designs and models.
The 60cm range cookers are designed for those who are limited on space and are generally a similar size to your standard cupboard, ideal if you want the look without committing the huge change in your kitchen.
The best 90cm range cooker will be 30cm bigger than the average cooker, with a tall oven and larger burners on top. These are ideal for big families and batch baking cooking as you are able to fit far more inside these sized models.
100cm range cookers are usually used in professional kitchens, though they are not unknown to be in home kitchens too.
Generally comprising four different compartments, there is plenty of choice for where to cook your food, from grills, two ovens and even compartments for just keeping the food overheat.
The largest range cooker is around 110cm in size and is about twice the size as a standard cooker.
These tend to dominate any kitchen they are in and are usually purchased to cook huge amounts of food at the same time. With seven hob burners and three ovens, users are spoilt for choice when using the 110cm models.
Design
As range cookers have been found throughout kitchens over the past three centuries, there are endless styles and designs.
The design of these range cookers can be based on practical use and others are purely based on aesthetic reasons.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common archetypal range cooker design features, what they offer to the final cooker and how they compare to each other.
Range Cooker With Lid
Opting for a range cooker with a lid can provide you with a handful of helpful points.
First off, having a liftable and closable lid means the range cooker is far easier to keep clean and can be less likely to gather dirt and dust with the lid down.
Secondly, when the range cooker is not in use, closing the lid can provide the kitchen with a whole new surface, opening up more space with its design.
Modern Range Cooker
Though the range cooker has been through many different design patterns through the years, a whole new modern range cooker design is breaking into the market.
These modern designs are sleek and stylish, matching their functionality with the design of kitchen decors.
Some of the modern range cookers come with more hi-tech features such as app technology and LED displays. These designs take the farmhouse-type design and pull it into the modern 21st-century world of computing.
Double Range Cooker
A double range cooker’s design incorporates two separate cookers into one huge range cooker.
The added advantage of the double range cooker is, of course, the ability to cook two separate meals in one go. The double range often includes dual ovens or dual grills for multiple cooking and at the same time.
The best range cooker in the double category will also have several more hobs on top, this provides far better control over the pots and pans as you can choose the size of the right hob for each individual pot.
Features
As well as the many different design patterns and styles, modern range cookers will also have their own different features.
These features can come as starred features whereas others are quite luxury add ons that will cost you a little more.
Storage Drawer
As the name suggests, the storage drawer is a feature that allows the user to store pots, pans and even food in the cooker itself.
This added space is great for a kitchen that may lack the space elsewhere, combining it the space that is already taken up by the cooker.
Two Ovens
Range cookers that fall in the 100cm and 110cm categories can accommodate two ovens into one cooker.
This feature is a great added extra if you are living with a large family or require extra space for cooking large amounts of food.
As the two ovens can be set to two different temperatures, they both can cook independently of each other and at different times.
Again, this feature allows you to cook larger and more complicated recipes without worrying about setting times for one oven.
Defrosting/Reheating Settings
The range cooker can eliminate the need to use both ovens and microwaves to reheat and defrost food.
More modern designs incorporate features such as defrosting and reheating settings to bring all these different functions into one cooker.
Range cookers with two separate ovens can also be set to defrost food as another is set to warm up or cook food.
These dual uses make the range cooker a multi-faceted appliance with many functions – an all-round kitchen tool.
Energy Rating
In a world quite rightly conscious about their carbon footprint, it is important to be aware of the range cooker’s energy rating when purchasing a new appliance.
This energy rating will tell you how much energy the appliance will consume.
This rating system works with a letter rating, with A being the best and working its way down to G which is the worst. The category itself is again split into categories of A+, A++ and A+++, with A+++ being the most efficient.
Pricing Range
When it comes to the price range of range cookers, there seems to be a seemingly endless scale.
At the lowest end of the scale, you will pay at least £500, this will get you at least the one oven with four hobs set-up.
The price can rise at the other end to the region of £3000, this will include the dual oven features, numerous hobs and all the mod cons associated with modern high tech designs.
Knowing the best price for range cookers is a difficult figure to arrive at.
If you want all the modern extra features or simply the added capacity, you have to be willing to pay those four-figure amounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Knowing which range cooker to buy all depends on what you are buying it for.
If you require a simple kitchen cooker, then opting for a 90cm or 60 cm one over range will do the job perfectly.
If you are seeking multi-performance restaurant-like quality ovens, then paying those extra few hundred pounds for an elaborate range cooker is well worth the money.
Our Verdict
As we have seen, there is more to the range cooker than first meets the eye. From sizes, features and multiple designs, there is so much to think of when purchasing your own cooker.
Understanding your own wants and needs in the cooking world and how this plays into the layout of your kitchen will get you halfway to knowing which range cooker to buy.
The rest of the way will be completed by sizing up your own budget and energy capabilities. Mixing these two points of view together will allow you to arrive at the best range cooker for you and your kitchen.
