What is convection Oven Cooking?
Introduction to Convection
A convection oven (also known as a fan-assisted oven or simply a fan oven) is an oven that has fans to circulate air around food which gives a very even heat. The increased air circulation causes a fan-assisted oven to cook food faster than a conventional non-fan oven, which relies only on natural convection to circulate the hot air. Fan-assisted convection ovens are commonly used for baking, roasting, and broiling.
Best Uses
Please watch the videos about cooking modes located at the top of the page.
A BRIEF INSIGHT TO THE CONVECTION OVEN
Forty years ago a new feature was introduced in ovens that came from Europe, the Convection Fan, a remarkable invention that provides many benefits over traditional oven cooking. Today, Convection is a standard feature in most ovens. However, the benefits of cooking with Convection have remained a mystery for most users. This is because recipes are not written referencing the appliances we cook with so learning the basics of cooking with these enhanced features and new technologies is the only way to benefit from using them.
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Recipes are understandably written with generic information; for example, “preheat the oven to 350 degrees.” But this simple directive poses a challenge if you have an oven that features eleven or two modes of cooking since you will first have to choose a mode to cook with before you can turn the oven on.
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The great thing about multiple modes of cooking is that you have the option to cook food in the traditional oven Mode or in a Convection Mode. With a little experimentation and practice, the results will guide you to your preference, and soon choosing the Modes that best suit the recipe you are cooking will be easy.
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Convection technology was developed by the baking industry to enable the baking of large quantities of food on multiple racks. By adding fans encircled by heating elements at the back of the oven, air could be evenly circulated ensuring all racks would cook evenly with no need to turn them.
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Convection Ovens are tools that can really simplify cooking. When you better understand how to use them, the marvelous results will give you greater confidence with your cooking overall.
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In a Convection oven, there is a heating element around the fan that is engaged in some cooking modes. However, even if the heating element is not engaged, the fan is circulating the heated air; this is still creating the Convection effect.
In addition to the Thermal Modes, Bake, Roast, and Broil many electric ovens also feature the following Convection Modes: