Skip to main content

What is a convection oven?

 

For K:

"Rather than let hot air circulate randomly, convection ovens carefully create a uniform temperature with internal fans that circulate hot air. Convection ovens are larger and more expensive than standard, or radiant, ovens, but they cook food faster, at a lower temperature, and with better results. Fans ensure that the same temperature reaches the top and bottom of foods, as well as foods at all rack levels.

A frequent complaint of cooks with radiant ovens is that bottoms of foods get scorched, while tops are not browned evenly. This is because the temperature is not the same over the course of the cooking time, as well as over the volume of the oven cavity. Convection ovens correct this variation by using a fan that blows the hot air throughout the oven. A "true" or "European" convection oven goes one step further by adding a third heating element. Thus, the fan actually blows pre-heated air, rather than distributing the already-heated air. These are the most expensive and effective types of ovens.

Cooking with a convection oven requires some adjustments, but proves much easier and more rewarding in the long run. Because the heated air transfers heat more efficiently to cooking containers and exposed food surfaces, food will take less time to cook. Most recipes can be cooked for 25% shorter time, which ends up saving energy. Also, you might need to slightly lower the temperature at which food cooks on a trial and error basis.

You'll notice that convection ovens seal in the juices of meat so dishes taste more flavorful and moist. Baked goods, such as pies or cookies, will be perfectly browned, even if you place them on different racks. Pastry will come out better, too, because the heat doesn't fuse flour and butter, but allows it to form flakes. When you're using multiple racks, the food itself won't interfere with the heat that reaches other foods. For all these reasons, convection ovens are no longer reserved for high-end restaurants, but increasingly find themselves in the renovated kitchens of amateur cooks."

Source: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-convection-oven.htm

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thank you for the info. It sounds pretty user friendly. I guess I’ll pick one up for fun. Thank u.


Cooking Convection Oven
Anonymous said…
You're welcome. I'm glad it was useful, if only 3 years after my original post. :)

What brings you to my blog?

Popular posts from this blog

Board Game Review: Hues and Cues

Last week we received Hues and Cues from The Op Games. We recently finished playing through Scooby-Doo Escape from the Haunted Mansion (a fantastic game in The Op Games catalogue designed by Jay Cormier, Sen-Foong Lim, and Kami Mandell that you should absolutely pick up to play with your family) and wanted to give another game from the same publisher a go. I picked Hues and Cues because I’ve been pleasantly surprised by other “test whether our minds think the same way” games such as The Mind   and Wavelength. In Hues and Cues , players gather around a large central board comprised of 480 graduating colors of the rainbow surrounded by an x-y axis and scoring table. White and black (which are technically not colors) are conspicuously absent as are shades (mixtures of color + black; e.g., grey) and tints (mixtures of color + white; e.g., cream).  On each player’s turn, they draw a card with four colors and the x-y axis codes of those colors depicted and they select one. They are in the

Board Game Review: Obsessed with Obsession

I'm completely obsessed with Obsession! I received a review copy of the updated second edition along with all the expansions (Wessex, Useful Man, Upstairs Downstairs) and from the moment I took everything out of the boxes, my excitement was over the top. Actually, that's not even the half of it - I remember I was already quite excited before the game even arrived. I'd wanted to get my hands on a copy as soon as I learned there was a game that brought the lifestyle that we all fell in love with watching Downton Abbey to the gaming table. Back in 2021, I was having a great time at the Dice Tower Summer Retreat and a new friend Bonnie sang the praises of Obsession. She had seen me eyeing the box on the shelf and gave me a summary of the game mechanics as she owned the first edition. She explained that the theme is centered on running an estate in Derbyshire and competing against others to have the best home, reputation, gentry guests, etc. Based on her enthusiasm and descripti

Board Game Review: Anno 1800

Whenever Martin Wallace designs a new game, I am all over it. This is because I absolutely love Brass Birmingham (another MW designed game); in fact Brass Birmingham is my #1 board game of all time. Over the years, his other games I've tried have been pretty good, but not necessarily amazing must-buys. Still, I keep trying each new release of his, searching for that next star performer. That's why I'm excited to report that Anno 1800 is, in fact, a star performer, and an amazing must-buy board game. Anno 1800 was adapted by the publisher (Kosmos) from a Ubisoft video game of the same name. In the board game, players take on the role of industrialists, charged with developing their island economies and exploring other islands. Each player begins the game with a personal industry board with trade & exploration ships, a shipyard, and industrial goods tiles printed on the board. A starting collection of workers (wooden cubes) of various types to produce the goods is a