The ProBake ranges, both gas and electric, will be available in September. Some models have two cavities: a smaller, upper oven for quick meals and a larger, bottom one for your turkeys and such. Like other convection ovens, the ranges will have a fan that helps circulate the warm air throughout the cavity, but LG moved the heating element from the bottom of the oven to the back wall where the fan is located. This means the air that’s blowing around the food is already warm.
With that relocation, LG was able to up the oven’s capacity a bit, to 6.9 and 7.3 cubic feet, depending on the model. By comparison, its current double-oven range is 6.1 cubic feet. Moving the heating element also speeds up the cleaning setting, the EasyClean Express, taking just 10 minutes, according to LG. The ranges offer “users professional-grade technology designed for even cooking and more consistent results at home,” said David VanderWaal, vice president of marketing for LG, in a statement.
Commercial ovens often have similar setups, and high-end range-maker BlueStar incorporates it into its Platinum models, for example. However, those can cost close to $6,000. Meanwhile, the ProBake linke will retail for between $1,299 and $1,899. LG is making the technology more affordable for sure, and it will be interesting to see how it stacks up against higher-priced competitors when making all the cold-weather goodies.
