Over the range storage

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Able Hands

Assistant Cook
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
38
Location
Garner, NC
I just (like two seconds ago) read a post saying not to store spices and herbs over the range. It made sense to me, but now I have a problem. Where to put that stuff, and what can I put over the range safely. Something moved, means something else has to move as well. Currently I do not have an exhausted fan above the range, it spews heat, fumes, smoke and all back into the kitchen. This is something that I want to change, but for now, what do you all store above the range?

Matt
 
I put tins for cupcakes, a tart pan,and some cake and pie pans..My spices I keep in my pantry that is very cool and has room for them so I don't have to dig to find what I want.
kadesma
 
I wouldn't keep any foodstuffs over the range -- heat destroys. But it's a great spot for seldom-used pots and pans, baking pans, and small appliances.

As for the spices and herbs, I have a drawer that's dedicated to them. Cool, dark, out of the way. Only problem is they all look pretty much alike, so I write the first initial of the contents on the lid of each bottle with a Sharpie (e.g., B for basil, O for Oregano) and keep all the bottles of A, B, & C spices (which, surprisingly, is about half of them) in one section, everything else in another, with large bags of pepper, salt, chiles, etc., in the back.
 
So how far away...

is far enough?

I know that may seem academic, but here's the thing. I live in Raleigh, NC (a relatively hot area), and keep my butter in the cupboard next to, but not over, the range. In both summer and winter I can count on my butter being soft, pretty much at all times. In the summer I only cool to about 76*, and in the winter heat to about 68*. So how far away from the range do I put the spices and such with out it being inconvenient?

I am considering installing and over the range 'nuker vented to the outside, and building a pantry of sorts in the place where it currently sits. But that seems a long way away from the cooking center. Granted it's only 8-feet or so, but having gotten use to spices an arms reach away, it would be a nuisance.

So how far, in linear feet, is far enough.

Matt

PS, I have a pretty small kitchen so counter top spice storage is out of the question.
 
Wife is gonna Kill me

A few months ago I rearranged the kitchen to make it make a little more sense. Guess I'll have to change it again.

She doesn't like change
 
I only have room for small items due to my exhaust fan so I store (display) a collection of old spice tins, all of which are empty. Their colorful and decorative. Not to mention they go with my country/rooster decor.
 
I have only a range hood over the range -

I find that it gets very greasy from sauteeing on the range top
and I guess anything stored ofer the range would
also get greasy.

I store spices in a dark cupboard.
 
I think that Wyigal has the answer. Over the fridge (which is quite warm) and over the stove storage should be for items you don't use too often, especially if you're short (Ok, I'm sure there is a PC word for that, not going there). Food items really don't belong over a heat source.

That said, the person who actually cooks most of the meals, that is to say, the most meals of the week, should get to decide where the various things (be it food or cutlery, pots&pans, dishes) belong. Not the person who gets to do show off meals once a month. There is nothing worse than going to reach for something in the kitchen you need, NOW, and finding it not there. Just because your spouse prefers it to be somewhere else.

I have a childhood friend I get to see every few years. She can walk into my kitchen (and she has in many kitchen across the continent and then some), and whenever she cooks, she can find exactly what she wants, exactly where it sould be. She's said, on more than one occaision, when I've been surprised (I'm talking she's visited my homes from coast to coast and then some) ... Oh, Claire, but that is where it is supposed to be! On the other hand, my husband will decide that a pot I use every month or two should be in front of a pot I use daily.
 
Claire,

I couldn't agree more. Since I am the one that does most of the exploratory cooking, I think I get to decide. DW does a fair amount of cooking, we probably split 60/40 with me doing the majority, it just depends on the week.

The difference is that when she cooks, more often than not, it's standard fair type of food. Stuff she's been cooking for years. When I cook, it's often something completely new that I've never done before.

In any case, I need to figure where to store the stuff that is currently over the stove and she agreed to that. I also finally managed to get her to let me install knife bars (magnets) behind the prep area.
 
Oooh, I love my magnetic knife bars--so convenient.

Over the stove: I am altitudinally challenged (short) so I store stuff I don't need very often over the stove--pitchers, candles for when the lights go out, vases.
 
Able, I'm like you. In my age group, I'm absolutely delighted to have a husband who does, if not half the work (even he wouldn't claim that), at least a fairly good share of the work around the house. That said, I will be cooking (which I do the very largest share of), and find myself reaching for something and it isn't there! I love him, but dear lord, puh-leeeze don't do this to me! He loves to reorganize the kitchen and there are times it drives me nutso. I will say we agree ... in our current kitchen we have NO over fridge or over stove storage, but we both agree that no food items go in those cabinets (we've lived in many houses together).
 
No offense to your husband, but it sounds like when my 9-year-old empties the dishwasher. Very few things go where they belong, so I try to find everything I think I'm going to need before I start, and I still miss at least one thing that takes 10 minutes to find.

But I am glad I can get him to do it.

Matt
 
Back
Top Bottom