Upgrading cooktop/rangetop...(going high end)

[Anonymous]

We are replacing our current whirlpool gas cooktop. I (and DH) are avid cooks and we love it. We are looking at cooktops but would also consider rangetops. For reference, cooktop lays on top of the counter with the knobs on the surface and the rangetop slides into the countertop and has the knobs on the front.

Like so (these images shown below are for the Thermador):

Cooktop:


rangetop:


We are considering Bluestar, Wolf and Thermador.

I've read reviews and they all seem great but Bluestar and Theremador seem to come out ahead. Looking for a 36" 5/6 burner setup.

I tend to Bluestar but it seems like it's overkill.

Opinions/advice?

[Anonymous]

I worked in a kitchen alongside some great chefs. Unless you're making really huge batches of soup every day, any range/cooktop of reasonable quality is just fine. This whole obsession with burner power and open vs closed is really just marketing BS for rich people who like to research things and buy gadgets. Having a hugely overpowered burner is fine, as long as it's well-ventilated, but also completely unnecessary. Oven quality/fuel varies much more and is maybe worth spending for depending on what you want to do with it. A burner is a burner. Pots and pans, liquid and stirring do a good job of distributing heat.

So pick a well enough made burners, open or closed depending on your cleaning preferences. But only get something super intense if you will enjoy knowing how many BTUs it has and thinking about how much you paid for it, like a sports car or something. It won't make a difference to your cooking performance.

[Anonymous]

Because I moved around frequently for my job, I've cooked on quite a range of stoves from the very fancy, bells and whistles, to the mundane and even the cheapest possible stove you could get away with in an expensive rental (you'd be surprised). Did the expensive stoves make a difference in my cooking?

Nope. Not at all. None whatsoever. If anything, the cheap and basic gas stove didn't break down on me while one of the luxury stoves did. At least I didn't have to pay to repair it.

I also didn't like the fancy stoves because they're aggressively overengineered far beyond what you need for home cooking, even serious home cooking.

I do understand the appeal of a nice looking stove and when I do a remodel, it will be a factor. But the stoves you get in the 2-4k category are going to be just as good as any Viking or La Cornue. The baseline Bosch is all you really need. More than that is design preference rather than any cooking advantages.

[Anonymous]

We have a wolf range top and it works very well. We swapped the red knobs for black.

We have an electric cooktop in our second home and one of the things I hate most about it is that the knobs get dirty from cooking grease or splatters. Much prefer the knobs on the front.

[Anonymous]

I have a Bluestar 36", 6 burner range, and love it. The chief advantages are (i) the open burner configuration, which, though a pain to clean, allows for better control and cooking with a round-bottom wok without a ring (which I love); and (ii) being able to fit a commercial baking sheet into the oven, which isn't possible with other similar sized ranges. That isn't a concern for you, though with a rangetop.

I did overpay for the Platinum series, though - I don't use, at all, the interchangeable griddle or grill. In retrospect, I wish I'd either splurged and gotten the 48" with the French Top - I'd have gotten a lot more use out of that - or saved some money on one of the less expensive models.

The best thing about Blue Star is there aren't any bells and whistles, so there's less to break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a wolf range top and it works very well. We swapped the red knobs for black.

We have an electric cooktop in our second home and one of the things I hate most about it is that the knobs get dirty from cooking grease or splatters. Much prefer the knobs on the front.

This is hilarious - the Wolf is basically a GE where people pay a premium for the red knobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a Bluestar 36", 6 burner range, and love it. The chief advantages are (i) the open burner configuration, which, though a pain to clean, allows for better control and cooking with a round-bottom wok without a ring (which I love); and (ii) being able to fit a commercial baking sheet into the oven, which isn't possible with other similar sized ranges. That isn't a concern for you, though with a rangetop.

I did overpay for the Platinum series, though - I don't use, at all, the interchangeable griddle or grill. In retrospect, I wish I'd either splurged and gotten the 48" with the French Top - I'd have gotten a lot more use out of that - or saved some money on one of the less expensive models.

The best thing about Blue Star is there aren't any bells and whistles, so there's less to break.

+1 -- We have the 36" Bluestar rangetop for about 3 yrs now. It is by far the best thing about our kitchen. No problems with it at all since we've had it.
We do a lot of wok cooking -- the drop in design for woks is perfect.
We do use the griddle and grill... we didn't expect much from them, but they are really good -- exceeded our expectations. In the winter when we want grilled steak and don't want to go out in the snow to clear off the outdoor grill -- it is perfect.
If you are really into cooking, the high BTUs will really matter when you want to sear or stir fry something. Low end can be a challenge -- they do a dedicated "simmer burner" which helps...

Whatever you choose, if you are a serious cook, be sure to get a vent hood that is powerful and big enough for what you plan to cook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a Bluestar 36", 6 burner range, and love it. The chief advantages are (i) the open burner configuration, which, though a pain to clean, allows for better control and cooking with a round-bottom wok without a ring (which I love); and (ii) being able to fit a commercial baking sheet into the oven, which isn't possible with other similar sized ranges. That isn't a concern for you, though with a rangetop.

I did overpay for the Platinum series, though - I don't use, at all, the interchangeable griddle or grill. In retrospect, I wish I'd either splurged and gotten the 48" with the French Top - I'd have gotten a lot more use out of that - or saved some money on one of the less expensive models.

The best thing about Blue Star is there aren't any bells and whistles, so there's less to break.

I don’t understand, half sheet pans fit in my cheap kitchenaid range. I don’t want to use full sheet pans at home. It would be a pain to pull them in and out of an oven on the floor, for one. I don’t have a speed rack in my home kitchen. And a half sheet pan fits plenty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a Bluestar 36", 6 burner range, and love it. The chief advantages are (i) the open burner configuration, which, though a pain to clean, allows for better control and cooking with a round-bottom wok without a ring (which I love); and (ii) being able to fit a commercial baking sheet into the oven, which isn't possible with other similar sized ranges. That isn't a concern for you, though with a rangetop.

I did overpay for the Platinum series, though - I don't use, at all, the interchangeable griddle or grill. In retrospect, I wish I'd either splurged and gotten the 48" with the French Top - I'd have gotten a lot more use out of that - or saved some money on one of the less expensive models.

The best thing about Blue Star is there aren't any bells and whistles, so there's less to break.

I don’t understand, half sheet pans fit in my cheap kitchenaid range. I don’t want to use full sheet pans at home. It would be a pain to pull them in and out of an oven on the floor, for one. I don’t have a speed rack in my home kitchen. And a half sheet pan fits plenty.

Also this costs $8.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V3LV2H5/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a Bluestar 36", 6 burner range, and love it. The chief advantages are (i) the open burner configuration, which, though a pain to clean, allows for better control and cooking with a round-bottom wok without a ring (which I love); and (ii) being able to fit a commercial baking sheet into the oven, which isn't possible with other similar sized ranges. That isn't a concern for you, though with a rangetop.

I did overpay for the Platinum series, though - I don't use, at all, the interchangeable griddle or grill. In retrospect, I wish I'd either splurged and gotten the 48" with the French Top - I'd have gotten a lot more use out of that - or saved some money on one of the less expensive models.

The best thing about Blue Star is there aren't any bells and whistles, so there's less to break.

I don’t understand, half sheet pans fit in my cheap kitchenaid range. I don’t want to use full sheet pans at home. It would be a pain to pull them in and out of an oven on the floor, for one. I don’t have a speed rack in my home kitchen. And a half sheet pan fits plenty.

Also this costs $8.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V3LV2H5/

You've obviously never used one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a Bluestar 36", 6 burner range, and love it. The chief advantages are (i) the open burner configuration, which, though a pain to clean, allows for better control and cooking with a round-bottom wok without a ring (which I love); and (ii) being able to fit a commercial baking sheet into the oven, which isn't possible with other similar sized ranges. That isn't a concern for you, though with a rangetop.

I did overpay for the Platinum series, though - I don't use, at all, the interchangeable griddle or grill. In retrospect, I wish I'd either splurged and gotten the 48" with the French Top - I'd have gotten a lot more use out of that - or saved some money on one of the less expensive models.

The best thing about Blue Star is there aren't any bells and whistles, so there's less to break.

I don’t understand, half sheet pans fit in my cheap kitchenaid range. I don’t want to use full sheet pans at home. It would be a pain to pull them in and out of an oven on the floor, for one. I don’t have a speed rack in my home kitchen. And a half sheet pan fits plenty.

Is it so difficult to understand different people have different preferences?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a Bluestar 36", 6 burner range, and love it. The chief advantages are (i) the open burner configuration, which, though a pain to clean, allows for better control and cooking with a round-bottom wok without a ring (which I love); and (ii) being able to fit a commercial baking sheet into the oven, which isn't possible with other similar sized ranges. That isn't a concern for you, though with a rangetop.

I did overpay for the Platinum series, though - I don't use, at all, the interchangeable griddle or grill. In retrospect, I wish I'd either splurged and gotten the 48" with the French Top - I'd have gotten a lot more use out of that - or saved some money on one of the less expensive models.

The best thing about Blue Star is there aren't any bells and whistles, so there's less to break.

I don’t understand, half sheet pans fit in my cheap kitchenaid range. I don’t want to use full sheet pans at home. It would be a pain to pull them in and out of an oven on the floor, for one. I don’t have a speed rack in my home kitchen. And a half sheet pan fits plenty.

Is it so difficult to understand different people have different preferences?

I’m just pointing out that it’s not an advantage. Full sheet pans are as big as a person can comfortably handle. That’s good for efficiency in a commercial setting. But there’s no advantage for a home kitchen, and a half sheet is arguably better.

[Anonymous]

If the dials are in front you get a little more space on the cooktop.

Bluestar gets a lot of love but also a lot of complaints on kitchen boards. I haven't done enough of a deep dive to summarize, but you might want to check out reviews online .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a Bluestar 36", 6 burner range, and love it. The chief advantages are (i) the open burner configuration, which, though a pain to clean, allows for better control and cooking with a round-bottom wok without a ring (which I love); and (ii) being able to fit a commercial baking sheet into the oven, which isn't possible with other similar sized ranges. That isn't a concern for you, though with a rangetop.

I did overpay for the Platinum series, though - I don't use, at all, the interchangeable griddle or grill. In retrospect, I wish I'd either splurged and gotten the 48" with the French Top - I'd have gotten a lot more use out of that - or saved some money on one of the less expensive models.

The best thing about Blue Star is there aren't any bells and whistles, so there's less to break.

I don’t understand, half sheet pans fit in my cheap kitchenaid range. I don’t want to use full sheet pans at home. It would be a pain to pull them in and out of an oven on the floor, for one. I don’t have a speed rack in my home kitchen. And a half sheet pan fits plenty.

Is it so difficult to understand different people have different preferences?

I’m just pointing out that it’s not an advantage. Full sheet pans are as big as a person can comfortably handle. That’s good for efficiency in a commercial setting. But there’s no advantage for a home kitchen, and a half sheet is arguably better.

Good grief. It isn't an advantage for you. I can handle it easily. Also, the right comparison is the difference between a 36" Blue Star and another 36" range, which I'm guessing your "cheap Kitchenaid" isn't.

You seem weirdly invested in this. Why is that? Do you not get enough validation in real life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a Bluestar 36", 6 burner range, and love it. The chief advantages are (i) the open burner configuration, which, though a pain to clean, allows for better control and cooking with a round-bottom wok without a ring (which I love); and (ii) being able to fit a commercial baking sheet into the oven, which isn't possible with other similar sized ranges. That isn't a concern for you, though with a rangetop.

I did overpay for the Platinum series, though - I don't use, at all, the interchangeable griddle or grill. In retrospect, I wish I'd either splurged and gotten the 48" with the French Top - I'd have gotten a lot more use out of that - or saved some money on one of the less expensive models.

The best thing about Blue Star is there aren't any bells and whistles, so there's less to break.

I don’t understand, half sheet pans fit in my cheap kitchenaid range. I don’t want to use full sheet pans at home. It would be a pain to pull them in and out of an oven on the floor, for one. I don’t have a speed rack in my home kitchen. And a half sheet pan fits plenty.

Is it so difficult to understand different people have different preferences?

I’m just pointing out that it’s not an advantage. Full sheet pans are as big as a person can comfortably handle. That’s good for efficiency in a commercial setting. But there’s no advantage for a home kitchen, and a half sheet is arguably better.

Good grief. It isn't an advantage for you. I can handle it easily. Also, the right comparison is the difference between a 36" Blue Star and another 36" range, which I'm guessing your "cheap Kitchenaid" isn't.

You seem weirdly invested in this. Why is that? Do you not get enough validation in real life?

Ahh, now here is the real argument for a fancy stove.