Kitchen Appliances

If your kitchen seems too cramped or crowded, consider replacing your oven with a built-in wall unit. This article shows you how to install a wall oven.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

It's the centerpiece of many festive occasions. It keeps beer fresh and makes it portable. So how is it designed and manufactured? And where does it go when its party days are over?

By Oisin Curran

Kegerators store and pour beer differently than standard kegs do, but at a higher price. How do these systems work to produce a perfect glass of beer?

By Thorin Klosowski

If you crave a warm, home-cooked meal, but don't have time to spend hours in the kitchen, a slow cooker may be just what you need. But how do slow cookers work?

By Jill Jaracz

Solar panels sit atop buildings, homes and tents, and power any number of gadgets and appliances -- including refrigerators. But can the sun still power a fridge without the panels?

By Julia Layton

Your refrigerator keeps your milk cold, your veggies crisp and your leftovers ready to see a new day. Why would someone want to unplug that boxy center of the kitchen?

By Julia Layton

Every morning you scoop in the coffee, add the water and turn it on, but have you ever wondered what is happening inside your coffee maker? Find out how that precious gadget delivers your wake-up dose.

By Marshall Brain & Jessika Toothman

Appliances are the workhorses of your kitchen. While features and performance are important considerations, how they'll look in your kitchen probably matters to you, too.

By Mary Wynn Ryan

Dishwashers are not very mechanically complex. We'll show you how they work from the inside out, plus tell you how to get the most out of yours.

By Ed Grabianowski & Melanie Radzicki McManus

They both have blades for chopping food into smaller pieces, so do you really need both kitchen appliances? Learn how food processors and blenders work, and when to use each.

By Nancy Lewis & Sascha Bos

There’s a certain mystique to fine bone china — have you ever wondered why? Lenox is the only manufacturer of bone china in the United States and they’ve even produced china for five U.S. presidents. Take a trip inside the Lenox factory with HowStuffWorks.

By Katherine Neer

Most of us can enjoy an ice-cold beverage any time, anywhere we want. With an icemaker, there's no need to crack, dump and refill a single tray yourself. See how icemakers do all the work for you.

By Tom Harris

Espresso, cappuccino, latte, double latte, double mocha latte... Espresso drinks have become coffee-shop staples all over the world. Watch us take apart an espresso machine!

By Karim Nice

A BBQ lighter uses something called piezoelectricity to generate a nice spark that lights the grill. Learn more about how this lighter works to grill up your favorite foods.

This will sound like a joke, but it's not: How can I tell for sure if the light in my refrigerator goes off or not when I close the door?

If you have an old refrigerator or one of the small dorm refrigerators, you know all about the frost that forms around the coils that cool the freezer. Learn how newer refrigerators keep this frost from forming.

The color of the back part of your refrigerator really has nothing to do with being visually stimulating, so why did the back of your fridge arrive painted black?

You refrigerator is already cold, right? So then, why does it need a fan? Find out in this article.

You know that the purpose of a refrigerator is to slow down the growth of bacteria, but what temperature should you set your refrigerator to so that it slows bacteria, but doesn't hurt food that doesn't freeze well? Find out in this article.

Microwave ovens are popular because they cook food in an amazingly short amount of time. They are also extremely efficient in their use of electricity because a microwave oven heats only the food -- and nothing else.

By Marshall Brain

Ever wonder how a toaster knows when something is done? Does it pop it up regardless? Does it really care if you pick "Light" or "Medium" or "Dark"?

By Marshall Brain

The garbage disposal is often overlooked until it breaks down or starts to smell. Find out how to clean, fix and buy a garbage disposal with the help of this article.

What do chefs, bartenders and geneticists have in common? They all use blenders. A blender is an appliance you can't live without if you want to turn solid ingredients into liquid deliciousness.

By Emilie Sennebogen

For busy families, every minute in the kitchen counts. But for some chefs, it's less about how long it takes to cook and more about how long it takes to clean. That's where nonstick cookware comes in.

By Jessica Brown

Getting your oven dirty is easy. Getting it clean again is another matter entirely. Self-cleaning ovens sound good, but do they really work as well as their makers promise?

By John Kelly