Many electric ranges offer attractive, flat-radiant cooking surfaces, but Maytag's 30-inch MER5875RA adds an abundance of flexible-use elements. These include a Dual-Choice element, a Triple-Choice element, a warming center and two Flex-Choice melting elements for extreme versatility.

The Dual-Choice element has two rings of heat, while the triple element offers three. To maximize your cooking efficiency, select the heated ring closest in size to your pan. This increases the heat-to-pan contact for more even cooking results. This is especially important when preparing foods like omelets, frittatas and crepes. There is also a convenient warming center for completed foods, as well as two melting elements capable of very low power. All these options will prove very palatable to the selective home chef.

If you enjoy baking, you'll also appreciate the added convenience of the MER5875RA's convection oven. This oven allows for the baking of three racks of cookies, cake layers and shallow pies. The convection feature speeds roasting, although don't expect the time savings to be as dramatic as with a speed-cook oven. More important than time savings, the convection oven improves the tenderness of meats and poultry by sealing in the juices.

When it comes to design, the MER5875RA offers a good-looking backsplash and effective digital controls. The display shows both the time and temperature, which may not sound like much but proves to be a very welcome feature. We also like the way the flat glass-ceramic stovetop surface matches the glass of the white, black and bisque finishes.

As you might expect, you'll pay a bit more for all these features and benefits. However, if you demand more than basic performance from your electric range, the Maytag MER5875RA will deliver.


Pros: Great flexibility on the stovetop, nicely designed backsplash and controls
Cons: Added features inflate the price

Warranty
1 year, limited