Kitchen Appliances

Conventional ovens and cookstoves like those by DS Retail and Fabrication work by generating and transferring heat. In an oven, this generated heat gets transferred via air. Hot air heats up the food surface, and the heated food surface transfers heat throughout the food's interior structure. That's why the external temperature of a cut of meat cooked in a conventional oven is always higher than its internal temperature.

A convection oven is a unique kitchen appliance; it's a powerful oven with an internal fan. The fan blows hot air throughout the oven's interior. This billowing hot air generates more heat energy, heating and cooking food in less time than a conventional oven requires.

Adjusting temperature and cook times for a conventional oven

A convection oven's whooshing hot air generates roughly 25% to 30% more heat energy than a conventional oven. Since this heat energy hits the food's surface first, the food's surface cooks faster in a convection oven. Generally, all food cooks faster inside a convection oven.

To compensate when following recipes optimized for a conventional oven, you might want to shorten the cooking time, lower the cooking temperature, or both. A recipe might entail a cooking time and temperature of 45 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit in a conventional oven. The same recipe in a convection oven may only need a 30-minute cooking time at a reduced cooking temperature of 350 degrees.

Auto-adjusting convection ovens

Some convection ovens have an auto-adjust feature. The feature optimizes temperature and cooking times when you prepare recipes developed for a conventional oven. If the convection oven has an auto-adjust feature, it's mentioned in the owner's manual.

It's helpful to know this before using the oven so that you can decide whether to make adjustments or not. If the convection oven has an auto-adjust feature, you may not have to lower the cooking temperature or adjust the cooking time. The oven does it automatically.

The best things to cook in a convection oven

Intense, circulating heat energy and reduced cooking times make convection ovens superb for cooking certain items. What items? Huge, dense cuts of luxurious meat like beef roasts, leg of lamb, and prime rib are great options. The convection heat creates the perfect environment for ideal results, with large cuts of meat emerging gorgeously browned on the outside and lusciously pinkish/medium-rare on the inside.

Naturally, convection ovens are also great for baking smaller items like small-to-medium cakes, cookies, pastries, and bread. Today's convection ovens come in many different sizes, from countertop versions to commercial standalone floor models. For more info about convection ovens, other kitchen appliances, and professional kitchen upgrades, visit TheHomeMag on Facebook and Instagram.