Ovens - the essential guide

The oven is arguably the most important kitchen appliance so make the right choice with our expert tips

How to buy a multifunction oven

What is it?
With heating elements at the top and bottom, plus a grill and fan, these ovens cover a variety of cooking options. Some even have functions for pizzas, defrosting, and (on top-end models) steaming.

Pros
Cooks food in the most appropriate way, eg conventional for cakes, fan grilling for a roast. Will please old-school chefs, while the automatic programme technology will appeal to busy cooks.

Cons
Some offer a mind-blowing list of settings, from rotisserie to keep-warm, so you may feel you're paying for functions you won't use.

What's new?
Top-of-the-range multifunction ovens can select the perfect cooking sequence for your food through ‘intelligent' automatic programming technology, eg defrosting meat and then cooking it or cooking and then crisping the top of a dish.

Cost
JLBIOS608 electric multifunction single oven, £469, John Lewis.

Head to
Beko, Electrolux, Indesit, John Lewis, Smeg, Wolf.

Above right: ZYB594X multi-function oven with pyrolytic cleaning, from £479, Zanussi.

Chosen by House to home