An oven is a small but powerful tool in the kitchen. Looking at its small size, it doesn't seem like it can do a lot, but just about anyone who has worked with a kitchen oven will tell you the many wonders it does to home cooking. Casseroles, beef, chicken and pork, bread and cake, desserts-you name it, and the oven can cook it. A good kitchen oven works on most types of cuisine regardless of whether you're from Haiti or Timbuktu.

This kitchen appliance is used to cook food in a variety of ways, including steaming, broiling, and roasting. Old models work by burning wood or coal to generate heat inside a sealed compartment. Technology has found its way into kitchen ovens as well, though, and most if not all of today's models use gas or electricity instead. In addition, if the appliance contains both an oven and a stove, the stove may or may not share the same energy source with the oven. Some models feature stoves that operate on gas and the oven on electricity, and vice versa.

The thing to look out for when buying an oven is not how big it is, but what it does inside and outside. For instance, did you check the turntable when you bought your kitchen oven? A turntable is a device inside the compartment that helps ensure even cooking on all sides, which is very important. This is one of the things you need to be on the lookout for the next time you're shopping for a new oven in the appliance center at the mall.

Another important consideration is the interlock feature. Go to the kitchen and check whether your oven has one. An interlock feature is used to check that the door is closed at all times, and it shuts down the machine if someone opens the door while the oven is still heating. Think of it as an energy-saving function that doubles as a safety feature.