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10 Easy Pieces: Compact Cooking Appliances

Friedlander and Schmidt Brooklyn Kitchen Photo by Matthew Williams

Being confined to small cooking quarters doesn’t mean being limited to subpar appliances. If you’re living day to day with a tiny kitchen, there’s a growing selection of compact cooking appliances that offer big performance in a small package—including some options for petite induction cooktops, the far more eco-friendly (and safer) alternative to gas.

Here’s our roundup.

Reduced-Size Ranges

Blue Star 24 Inch RNB Series Range
Above: The Blue Star 24-Inch RNB Series Range is professional style downsized. Designed in stainless steel, it has a generously sized convection oven and four oven burners with up to 22,000 BTUs. It’s available for natural gas or propane and is $5,995 at Blue Star.
Bertazzoni Professional Series 24 Inch Freestanding Gas Range
Above: The Bertazzoni Professional Series 24-Inch Freestanding Gas Range (PROF244GASXE) has four sealed aluminum burners, a 2.4-cubic food convection oven, and a storage drawer; $2,599 at AJ Madison.
AGA 24 Inch Cast Iron Companion Dual Fuel Range
Above: A tiny kitchen can house a taste of the British countryside (for a price). The Aga 24-Inch Cast Iron Companion Dual Fuel Range is part of their City Series. With four burners, two ovens, and cast iron construction, the range is available in 13 colors, starting at $12,959 at AJ Madison.
Summit Professional Series 20 Inch Slide In Gas Range
Above: Super small but well detailed, the Summit Professional Series 20-Inch Slide-In Gas Range has four burners, a 2.5-foot capacity oven, and a broiler drawer; $1,020 from Build.
Summit Professional Series 24 Inch Freestanding Electric Range
Above: For many reasons, however, an electric range is a wiser choice than gas (as we detail in Remodeling 101: Farewell to the Gas Range), and Summit offers its electric professional-style ranges in 20-inch and 24-inch options. The Summit Professional Series 20-Inch Electric Range and the Summit Professional Series 24-inch Electric Range in stainless steel feature four coil elements, towel bar handles, and a storage drawer; $859 and $899 respectively at AJ Madison.

Compact Cooktops

No room for a range? Consider a cooktop.

Fagor Pro Portable Induction Cooktop
Above: The Fagor Pro Portable Induction Cooktop offers energy-efficient, high-power cooking in a small package. The 12-by-14 inch induction burner packs 1,800 watts of power and seven power level settings, ranging from warm to boil. It plugs into a standard outlet and has a hard-wearing Schott Ceran glass surface; $139.95 at Gringer Appliances.
Miele CombiSet 12 Inch Gas Cooktop with 2 Sealed Burners
Above: The demure Miele Double CombiSet Gas Cooktop measures just 12 inches wide. Designed to coordinate with other built-in, independent cooking modules, it also works well on its own. It has sealed burners, a cast iron grate, stainless knobs, and electric ignition. Available for natural gas or liquid propane; $999 at AJ Madison.
Fagor Modular Gas Cooktop with 2 Sealed Burners
Above: A more affordable option is the Fagor Modular Gas Cooktop with 2 Sealed Burners, measuring 12 by 20 inches; $449 at Home Thangs.
BroilKing Professional Double Cast Iron Space Saver Range
Above: No hard wiring required. The electric plug-in BroilKing Professional Double Cast Iron Space Saver Range is fully portable and features two cast-iron burners with a stainless steel body. It measures 13.5 by 22.75 inches and is $359.95 at Overstock.

Countertop Ovens

Breville Smart Oven Convection Oven
Above: Your compact cooktop needs a partner: a new generation countertop oven. What used to be known as toaster ovens—now more aptly called countertop ovens—have moved far beyond just toasting while still maintaining a countertop-sized footprint. Here is one to consider: The Breville Smart Convection Oven is a countertop convection oven with nine operating modes, including bake, broil, toast, and roast. It measures 18.5 by 16.25 by 11.25 inches and has a 0.8 cubic-foot interior—large enough for a 13-inch pizza (and yes, 13-by-9 baking sheets are available); $215.95 at Williams Sonoma.

For more small kitchen ideas, see 10 Ingenious Space-Efficient Kitchens. And for more space-saving kitchen appliances, see our posts on Compact Refrigerators, Skinny Refrigerators, and Dishwasher Drawers.

Considering a kitchen remodel? Go to our Remodeling 101 posts for advice on choosing a layoutcabinets, countertops, and much more. And if you’re considering a formal eat-in kitchen, you’ll likely be further convinced by Michelle’s Domestic Dispatch on The Death of the Dining Room.

N.B.: This post was originally published on April 23, 2014. We have updated it with new and additional product selections and current pricing.

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