Kitchen ranges
The term 'range' is generally used to refer to wider-than-usual slot-in ovens. The best-known brand name is Aga, but there are plenty of others, in many different styles. They all usually have four or so ovens, and the bigger area on the upper surface offers the possibility of more hobs in a greater range of sizes, or options such as a wok-burner and a griddle.
Ranges can be powered by electricity or gas, or oil. The classic heavyweight ranges, made of cast-iron, have the advantage of storing heat, and so they radiate warmth throughout the winter (and, conversely, may make the kitchen too hot in summer). They also offer a great diversity of heat, in both the ovens and the hobs – an enticing prospect for the keen cook who likes to make really slow-cooked stews as well as to flash-fry meat and fish on searing heat.
The best of the great kitchen ranges are extraordinarily versatile, but – as with ships – it takes time and experience to get to know them well, and to get the best from them; then they become not simply ovens, but a way of life.
