Misinformation about… warming drawers!?

[fan-of-fans]

I keep seeing a false post going around on Facebook asking people how old they were when they learned that the drawer under their stove is a warming drawer. Lots of people seemed surprised and said they never knew! They thought it was just storage.

Well of course they didn’t know, because the vast majority of people don’t have a warming drawer! Only ranges that specifically have a warming control have a warming drawer, and I’m not aware of ANY ranges currently in production that actually have one. They seemed to peak around the early to mid 2000s and in the last decade seemed to disappear.

 

[steved]

idiots

These are the same folks who advertise a High-Low range as having a "upper convection oven" or "microwave" up top. Or their "Amanda" fridge.

"vintage yellow General Electric electric range w toaster oven top - $450"
"World Pool Electric Stove - $500"

 

[combo52]

Bakelite gas heating elements

Love it, Steve, just wish they came in some other color other than black, maybe ones with a nice blue color to them lol

John

 

[circlew]

Some single oven 39"-40" ranges from the 1940's and early-mid 1950's had a switch to turn the side storage drawer into a warmer. I don't remember which brands had this feature.

 

[superocd]

I don't like storage drawers, warming drawers, etc.

It's too close to the floor and collects dust. Definitely not to food code where everything has to be at least a foot off the floor in a commercial setting. Plus the paint on the actual drawer box is super thin and easily rusts. It might be only finished with primer. I think the space below the oven should just be a kick plate. Mine is unused. Apparently people put pans, cookie sheets, etc in them.

I'm surprised that manufacturers haven't done away with drawers in all the creative ways they cut costs. It would be cheaper to make that space a kick plate rather than a drawer.

 

[ea56]

I love having a storage drawer in my electric stove. I use it for storing pans and it’s as handy as hell! I’ve never had a problem with dirt or dust accumulating in the storage drawer. I keep it lined with newspaper that I change out as needed. Every once in a while some crumbs from the oven floor may fall into the drawer and I just clean them out when that happens.

Everyone’s different about the way they like their kitchen to be set up. I like mine set up for convenience.

Eddie

 

[114jwh]

Warming drawers vs storage drawers seemed to be more popular in Canada when electric stoves were starting to take off in the 1950's. I have three 1950's stoves and all three have a warming drawer. Interestingly, one of them is a Canadian 1958 GE TOL 30" - almost identical to the US model except it has the warming drawer which is absent on the equivalent US version.

I do tend to use these from time to time when preparing larger meals. They do well and are handy for keeping food warm while waiting for other parts of the meal to finish cooking. However, if the oven is operating you do get some residual heat in the drawer anyway without the warmer even turned on.

I also have a 2015 GE range that has the warming function in the drawer as well although this one is much more shallow due to the larger size oven vs the 1950's ranges.

Interestingly, some of the current GE ranges indicate the storage drawer is a "baking drawer". Not sure how that works.

 

[fan-of-fans]

That’s interesting that the warming drawer seem to have been much more popular in Canada.

Frigidaire used to offer a combination baking and warming drawer on some of their ranges here in the mid-late 2000s era, maybe early 2010s also. It was similar to a warming drawer except could reach baking temperatures also. Probably nice for things like rolls, pizzas, etc. It had a window in the drawer, and where the knob for the warming drawer would be, it said “convertible bake N warm drawer” or similar. It was mostly only offered on their Professional or Gallery models with the convection oven.

 

[tomturbomatic]

In pressure cooker instructions from the 1940s into the the early 60s, there were instructions about not storing them in warming ovens as the heat would dry out the rubber gaskets, air vents, etc. At first, this was in a time before Neoprene rubber was invented and used for these parts. It was also when warming ovens were beside the oven like in my Aunt Mary's 36" Thermador. She used the warmer for proofing yeast dough.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Disappointed that in the era I'd had fairly new ranges, none had a warming drawer, and warming foods would surely be a welcome feature, though I have a warm feature on my current range and past range or just use the lowest temperature setting...

I agree about the kickplate replacing the storage drawer for cost-cutting purposes, though a storage drawer is a boon in small kitchens and I and many others I know do use them...

In gas ranges, that would always still be a broiler close to the floor, hopefully not gathering dust, and i once did see an electric range so cheap, and BOL that it had a kickplate there, no broiling andcprobably one of two fixed positions for the oven rack as well...

-- Dave

 

[tomturbomatic]

Electric broiling is done at the top of the oven in most electric ranges. I don't think that a kickplate under the oven would would eliminate broiling in an electric range just because it replaced the storage drawer. I do not remember seeing an electric range so cheap that it did not have a broiler. Even electric ranges made by Brown Stove Works that were too cheap to have an oven vent had a broil element at the top of the oven cavity. I pray that my appliances outlive me.