Appliance. net

Appliance news, reviews, ratings, forums, reports and buyers guides.
Locate repairs and parts. for home and kitchen appliances.

You are here: Home / 2008 / Archives for November 2008

Archives for November 2008

Roasting a Turkey in Your Convection Oven

By

If you’ve got a convection oven, Thanksgiving is a great day to use it.  The even heating that a convection oven provides is great for your turkey and baking.  Here are some turkey roasting tips straight from the experts at eatturkey.com.
A whole turkey or turkey breast will cook in less time with more even results when a convection oven is used. The convection oven circulates preheated air around the oven cavity for faster and more even cooking. Depending on the manufacturer, it is recommended the traditional roasting times be reduced by 10 to 40 percent. Usually both roasting temperature and time are reduced when using a convection oven. In such cases, the convection oven cooking temperature is lower to 300 degrees F.

The formula for conversion is different for each convection oven. Some manufacturers provide the conversion formulas on the front control panel of the oven.

The newest convection ovens feature an electronic thermometer probe that assists in more accurate roasting. The temperature probe should be set to the desired internal food temperature of 180 degrees F and inserted in the inner thigh. The electronic thermometer probe monitors the internal temperature and will alert the chef when the desired temperature is reached.

With or without the automatic thermometer, it is important to use a thermometer to ensure the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 180 degrees F in the thigh and 170 degrees F in the breast. If the turkey is stuffed, verify the stuffing temperature registers 165 degrees F.

NTF Convection Oven Open Pan Method Guidelines for a Fresh/Thawed Turkey Roast on the Lowest Rack Position
Cooking Method Cooking Temperature Weight Unstuffed Estimated Cooking Time Weight Stuffed Estimated Cooking Time
Roast 300 degrees F. 14 – 18 lbs. 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hrs. 14 – 18 lbs. 2 1/2 to 3 hrs.
Roast 300 degrees F. 18 – 22 lbs. 2 1/2 to 3 hrs. 18 – 22 lbs. 3 hrs. to 3 1/2 hrs.

Other Hints:

1. The preferred method is to roast the turkey in the center of the lowest rack or oven shelf so the top of the turkey will be centered in the oven. If two racks must be used, place the turkey on the lowest or middle rack. When baking with two pans, position the pans in opposite corners of the oven. Place the pans so one is not directly over the other.
2. Basting is not necessary when using the convention mode of roasting. If a special sauce or marinade is used, baste the turkey during the last hour of cooking.
3. The hot air must circulate around the turkey for even heat distribution. For best results, allow 1-1/2 to 2 inches of space around the turkey, including other pans as well as the oven walls.
4. If the oven door is opened frequently, there will be heat loss and cause longer roasting times.
5. The wings and drumsticks may brown more quickly and should be covered with foil to prevent over browning.
6. If the turkey is lightly tented with foil to reduce surface browning, be sure the foil is secured so it will not blow around and impair the fan action.
7. If the turkey is to be cooked in a closed oven bag or completely encased in foil, convection roasting is not necessary.

Remember these safety tips from the USDA:

Always wash hands, utensils, the sink, and anything else that comes in contact with raw turkey and its juices with soap and water.

Storing Your Leftovers :

  • Discard any turkey, stuffing, and gravy left out at room temperature longer than 2 hours; 1 hour in temperatures above 90 °F.
  • Divide leftovers into smaller portions. Refrigerate or freeze in covered shallow containers for quicker cooling.
  • Use refrigerated turkey and stuffing within 3 to 4 days. Use gravy within 1 to 2 days.
  • If freezing leftovers, use within 2 to 6 months for best quality.

Reheating Your TurkeyCooked turkey may be eaten cold or reheated.

 

In the Oven

  • Set the oven temperature no lower than 325 °F.
  • Reheat turkey to an internal temperature of 165 °F. Use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature.
  • To keep the turkey moist, add a little broth or water and cover.

In the Microwave Oven

  • Cover your food and rotate it for even heating. Allow standing time.
  • Check the internal temperature of your food with a food thermometer to make sure it reaches 165 °F.
  • Consult your microwave oven owner’s manual for recommended times and power levels.

Fisher & Paykel Advances on American Market

By

Fisher & Paykel recently revealed its new “DishDrawer Tall” which will be manufactured in Mexico specifically to fit plates big enough for the large meals popular with Americans.  F&P managing director John Bongard told analysts and media the new dishwashers, whose top drawer can fit 13 inch plates, would open up a new market for his company.

The new products will target the top end of the home appliance market, which F&P focuses on in the US. Bongard said the dishwashers, expected to hit stores in January, would sell for more than the US$1299 its existing, smaller dishwashers are sold for. F&P plans to introduce them in New Zealand and Australia later in 2009.

Bongard said F&P currently made around 45 percent of all its dishwasher sales in the US where the company generated 29.7 percent of its operating revenue in the March year. That made the US F&P’s second biggest market behind only Australia.

Meanwhile, Bongard said F&P had reined in marketing in the US over recent months as it would be like “throwing money against the wall” in such tough economic times. However, he said the use of F&P products by celebrities such as actress Tori Spelling – in her reality TV show – and talkshow host Oprah Winfrey had helped boost F&P’s profile.

When he briefed US analysts these days there were always three or four in the room who owned F&P products, Bongard added.

“Seven or eight years ago you had to spell the [company’s] second name for them.”

LG, Sharp, Chunghwa to Plead Guilty to Price-Fixing

By

LG Display Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp. and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd., three leading Asian electronics manufacturers, have agreed to plead guilty to price-fixing and pay a total of 585 million dollars in fines, the US Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

South Korea’s LG Display will pay the largest fine, 400 million dollars, the second-highest criminal fine ever imposed by the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, the department said in a statement.

From Yahoo Finance:

It said Japan’s Sharp would pay a fine of 120 million dollars while Chunghwa would pay a fine of 65 million dollars.

The Justice Department said the three companies had agreed to plead guilty for their roles in conspiracies to fix prices of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels used in computer monitors and notebooks, televisions, mobile phones and other electronic devices.

The price-fixing conspiracies had a direct impact on computer, television and cellular telephone manufacturers such as Apple, Dell and Motorola, the department noted.

Size is Important When Buying a Refrigerator

By

One of the benefits of replacing an older refrigerator with a new one is knowing that you will be saving energy using the new model.

Jame Duley at the Columbus Dispatch writes:

The energy savings from a more efficient compressor and insulation should pay back the cost of a new model over its lifetime. My refrigerator is about 16 years old. We had a power outage, and my food warmed within eight hours and had to be trashed. My neighbor has a new model, and the insulation kept food in his refrigerator safely below 40 degrees for the same time period.

When selecting a new refrigerator, the size is the most important factor affecting its electricity usage. Select as small a model as will meet your requirements. You can base the size requirements on your existing refrigerator size and how full it typically is, not on the few holiday occasions when you’re making dinner for your extended family.

Don’t buy one that will be consistently too small and then perhaps plan to buy another small backup or keep your old one running in the basement or garage. This will use much more electricity than just buying a larger one initially. Features such as split shelves and pullout shelves that crank up and down can increase the usable interior space with a smaller size.

Models with the freezer on top are most energy-efficient because the cool air naturally drops from the freezer to cool the refrigerator section. Top-freezer models also tend to have the most interior space for a given exterior size, so they’re ideal if your space is limited.

You can figure on about 80 percent of advertised interior volume as actual usable space.

Recall: GE to Inspect and Repair Wall Ovens Due to Fire and Burn Hazards

By

Name of Product: GE®, GE Profile™, Monogram® and Kenmore® Wall Ovens

Units: About 244,000

Manufacturer: GE Consumer & Industrial, of Louisville, Ky.

Hazard: The extreme heat used in the self-clean cycle can escape, if the wall oven door is removed and incorrectly re-attached by the installer or the consumer. This can pose a fire and burn hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: GE is aware of 28 incidents of minor property damage in which adjacent kitchen cabinets have been damaged. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves GE wall ovens sold under the following brand names: GE®, GE Profile™, Monogram® and Kenmore®. The wall ovens were sold in white, black, bisque and stainless steel. The following model and serial numbers can be found inside the oven on the left interior wall. For microwave combination ovens, the serial number can be found on the left interior wall of the microwave.

 

Brand Model Serial Number Begins With
GE/Profile JCT915, JT912, JT915,
JT952, JT955, JT965,
JT980*, JTP20, JTP25,
JTP28, JTP48, JTP50,
JTP86		 TD, VD, ZD

AF, DF, FF, GF, HF, LF, MF, RF, SF, TF, VF, ZF
Monogram ZET3058, ZET938,
ZET958
Kenmore (All model
numbers start with 911)		 4771, 4775, 4781, 4904,
4905, 4923*		 2T, 2V, 2Z

3A, 3D, 3F, 3G, 3H, 3L, 3M, 3R, 3S, 3T, 3V, 3Z
* Lower oven only

 

Sold at: Home builders and appliance stores nationwide from October 2002 through December 2004 for between $900 and $3,600.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should immediately inspect the oven to make sure they do not have an incorrectly re-attached wall oven door, which will not open into the flat position. If the wall oven door is incorrectly re-attached, consumers should not use the self-clean cycle and call GE for a free repair. Consumers can continue to use normal baking or broiling function in the oven until the oven is repaired.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact GE toll-free at (888) 569-1588 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday ET, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.GEAppliances.com

GE Wants to Try a New Refrigerant

By

GE is asking for federal approval to use, in the U.S., a type of refrigerant that has low global warming potential and is widely used in Europe and Asia.

The company has filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency to allow it to use isobutane, a hydrocarbon, in household refrigerators. Hydrocarbons like propane and butane have been used in fridges elsewhere in the world for years as replacements for HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) and HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons).

Although HFCs and HCFCs were originally introduced to replace chemicals that contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer, they are thousands of time more powerful than carbon dioxide in contributing to global warming. Hydrocarbons have no impact on the ozone layer and have a much smaller impact on global warming than HFCs and HCFCs.

Ben & Jerry’s recently gained permission from the EPA to test up to 2,000 ice cream cases chilled with butane, and Greenpeace, which developed the GreenFreeze technology used in hydrocarbon-based refrigerators, has been pushing companies to bring the fridges to the U.S.

If the EPA approves GE’s request, the company plans to use isobutane in a new GE Monogram refrigerator planned to launch in early 2010. GE also plans to use cyclopentane, another hydrocarbon, as the insulation foam-blowing agent in place of an HFC foam blowing agents. The development team behind the fridge also plans to seek ecomagination certification, GE’s in-house process for evaluating and labeling energy-efficient products. The company has seen success with its ecomagination line, expecting sales of ecomagination products to reach over $17 billion this year.

You can read the whole story here.

Haier Still Considering GE

By

News had it that Haier planned to make an offer for the appliance division of GE, but Haier said it plans not to bid for General Electric Co’s appliances unit until it sees clear signs of a U.S. market recovery, according to a Reuters report.

A bid for GE’s appliances business, which the U.S. giant put on the block in May, could be Haier’s last opportunity to buy a household U.S. brand, part of its ambitions to reach global consumers rather than just Chinese, the report said.

According to the Reuters report, a source who worked with Haier executives to evaluate the potential GE deal said the other concern for Haier is how to pay for it, as Haier would rather not borrow from commercial banks.

In May, GE’s CEO Jeff Immelt named companies including Haier, South Korea’s LG Electronics, and Turkey’s Arcelik ARCLK.IS as possible bidders for the second-largest U.S. appliance maker after Whirlpool Corp. No formal bids have been announced yet, and the plans of the other possible bidders have not been confirmed. With sales of $7.2 billion last year, the unit is worth an estimated US$4 billion to $8 billion.

How to Remove Refrigerator Odor

By

We’ve all experienced power outages and the mess of melted and spoiled food that must be cleaned once the power is restored. If the power is out for an extended period of time, the smell of rotten food can be hard to remove.

Here are step-by-step instructions from inrich.com for getting the smell out:

Start by cleaning the refrigerator compartment thoroughly. Anne Field, an emeritus extension specialist with Michigan State University Extension, suggests this method: Unplug the appliance, remove all food and removable interior parts, and wash the interior with a solution of 1 to 2 tablespoons of baking soda in 1 quart of warm water. Rinse and wipe dry.

Leave the door open and let the refrigerator air out, with a fan directed toward the inside. If weather permits, open the kitchen windows.

Field recommends washing removable shelves and other parts in a warm detergent solution. Don’t put glass or plastic parts in hot water, she cautions. They might crack, especially if they’re cold.

Clean the door gasket with a detergent solution, too.

Next, clean the freezer compartment following the instructions that came with the appliance manual. If you don’t have a manual, contact the manufacturer. Some can be found online.

Ways to absorb odors: If odor remains, Field suggests trying one or all of these removal methods:

  • Spread baking soda on shallow pans and place them on the shelves of the empty refrigerator to absorb odors. Leave the door open and the refrigerator unplugged.
  • Spread activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, in shallow pans and place the pans on the shelves. Turn the refrigerator on low and run it empty a few days till the odors are absorbed.
  • You can also try the same method with cat litter spread on shallow pans, several ounces of imitation vanilla (not pure vanilla extract) poured into a saucer or fresh ground coffee in cereal bowls. With the coffee method, a slight coffee odor might remain, but it can be removed by cleaning the refrigerator again with baking soda solution, Field says.
  • Pack each shelf of an empty refrigerator with crumpled newspaper. Set a cup of water on the top shelf or sprinkle the newspaper lightly with water. Allow the refrigerator to run for five or six days. This method takes longer, but Field says it can be effective in removing strong odors.
  • Buy a commercial odor remover. One brand Field suggests is Odors Away by Wrap-on Co., available at some hardware and hospital supply stores.

    • If none of the methods removes all the odor, Field says it probably has penetrated the insulation. You can contact an appliance service company for an estimate on the cost of removing the liner and replacing the insulation, but replacing the refrigerator may be a better choice, she says.

    Maytag’s “Commercial Grade” Washers and Dryers

    By

    Whirlpool, the owner of Maytag is emphasizing the “commercial-grade elements and technology” found in its residential laundry products as it promotes its Performance, Bravos, Centennial and Epic Z series of washers and dryers.

    Models in these lines are said to feature a variety of features typically found in commercial-grade laundry products, such as commercial-grade stainless-steel wash baskets, five-rib dryer belts for longer life and quieter operation, and solid-steel base frames and hung suspension systems intended to reduce vibration.

    Maytag’s Performance series washers offer a wash-basket capacity of 4.4 cubic feet; the Bravos washer is said to offer the brand’s largest wash-basket capacity of 4.7 cubic feet.

    Both platforms feature load sensors that can adjust the water level and temperature, steam technology, a “GentleBreeze” system that dries clothes in the same amount of time it takes to wash them, and an “IntelliDry” feature that senses when clothes are dry to reduce the risk of over-drying and shrinking.

    The Epic Z’s standout feature is its space-saving design that allows it to be stacked in tighter spaces. The washer measures just 36 inches high by 27 inches wide and 30.5 inches deep while still providing 3.7 cubic feet of wash-basket space.

    Microwave Safety – It’s Not Kid Stuff

    By

    Many people feel that because a microwave oven doesn’t use fire and because the container generally doesn’t get very hot, it is safe to let young children use one. Healthday Magazine reports that “Scalds are the leading cause of burn-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations for young children under 5,” said lead researcher Dr. Gina Lowell, with the department of pediatrics at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

    Most of the scalds suffered by young children that require hospitalization are caused by hot foods or drinks, according to the findings, published in the October issue of Pediatrics.

    Parents should tell their toddlers that when the bell on the microwave rings: “Mommy or daddy gets it first,” Lowell said. “It’s inappropriate for any child under 5 to be pulling anything out of the microwave.”

    For the study, Lowell’s team looked at the medical records of children under 5 who were admitted to the University of Chicago burn center between January 2002 and December 2004. One hundred forty had scald burns, with 94 caused by hot foods or liquids.

    Nine children between 18 months and 4 years old were scalded after opening a microwave oven and removing a hot substance. And 17 were burned when an older child, between the ages 7 and 14, was cooking, carrying a hot liquid, or supervising a younger child, according to the study.

    To prevent these injuries, Lowell’s group thinks that microwaves should be redesigned to prevent young children from opening them. The child lock mechanisms currently on microwaves prevent children from operating the machines, but don’t prevent children from opening them after foods have been heated, she noted.

    Education and awarness will help prevent what Dr. James G. Linakis, associate director of pediatric emergency medicine at Hasbro Children’s Hospital/Rhode Island Hospital sees:

    “The majority of children we see in the emergency department with unintentional scalds are toddlers who have pulled down hot liquids from the stove or microwave onto themselves, and children who have been scalded by a hot liquid unintentionally spilled by an older child or adult,” he said. “These burns are extremely painful, and in some cases leave children with significant scarring. Efforts to prevent these causes of scald burns have the potential to make a significant impact on this type of injury.”