Induction ovens

[TastyReuben]

A slight difference of opinion I think I'm going to interpret this as they're common, but probably not on basic ones, more on mid-range and above? Sound about right?

Yes, that’s my feeling. I think that a lot of people in the US don’t really know or care if an oven they buy is convection-capable or not. If it comes with it, fine, and if not, that’s ok, too.

The main reason I asked is that very few American recipes I've seen have temperature for fan oven, whereas it’s pretty ubiquitous here for anything written in the last 30-odd years.

That’s true (and why I get lazy about it), most of our recipes don’t list a convection setting, which makes me think UK/Europeans, if they follow an American recipe, may not realize that and may be blasting their food!

I do remember being intrigued when we’d first moved to the UK and saw recipes that dictated setting the oven to “180C/160C fan/gas mark 4,” because we just say, “Preheat oven to 375F” and move on.

 

[LissaC]

Yes, that’s my feeling. I think that a lot of people in the US don’t really know or care if an oven they buy is convection-capable or not. If it comes with it, fine, and if not, that’s ok, too.


That’s true (and why I get lazy about it), most of our recipes don’t list a convection setting, which makes me think UK/Europeans, if they follow an American recipe, may not realize that and may be blasting their food!

I do remember being intrigued when we’d first moved to the UK and saw recipes that dictated setting the oven to “180C/160C fan/gas mark 4,” because we just say, “Preheat oven to 375F” and move on.

Interesting, most recipes I get here in Portugal also don't list a convection setting, but I still use convection for everything as I believe it speeds up cooking. I know some foods must absolutely be cooked with the fan off (like meringues), but for most foods, I think it's OK to cook them with the fan on.

 

[MrsDangermouse]

I know some foods must absolutely be cooked with the fan off (like meringues), but for most foods, I think it's OK to cook them with the fan on.

I didn't know that - do you know why? I've always cooked mine on the fan setting with no problems.

 

[LissaC]

I didn't know that - do you know why? I've always cooked mine on the fan setting with no problems.

This is what I've read (for example here):"Almost everything lends itself to fan forced cooking except there are delicate foods like meringues and soufflés or breads and mud cakes, which are better suited to conventional ovens however can still be cooked in fan forced if that is the only option. "

My understanding with meringues is that they don't "cook" per se but they "dehydrate", which is somehow different to "cooking" but I can't technically explain what's the difference.

 

[caseydog]

Yes, that’s my feeling. I think that a lot of people in the US don’t really know or care if an oven they buy is convection-capable or not. If it comes with it, fine, and if not, that’s ok, too.

I don't know for sure, because I'm not in the market to buy a new oven, so I haven't looked at what is in the appliance stores. For all I know, all ovens sold these days are convection. My sister bought new kitchen appliances a few years ago, and she has a convection oven. I don't know what she had before.

CD

 

[MrsDangermouse]

This is what I've read (for example here):"Almost everything lends itself to fan forced cooking except there are delicate foods like meringues and soufflés or breads and mud cakes, which are better suited to conventional ovens however can still be cooked in fan forced if that is the only option. "

My understanding with meringues is that they don't "cook" per se but they "dehydrate", which is somehow different to "cooking" but I can't technically explain what's the difference.

Yep I'd agree that meringues more dehydrate than cook. But if you think about a dehydrator....that's usually a very low heat with a fan to move the air around...which is actually more similar to a fan oven than a conventional one. Its a shame they don't explain the reason why they think those dishes are better cooked in a conventional oven. I've cooked all those things mentioned in the fan oven (possibly with the exception of a "mud cake"...because I'm 100% certain of what that is) - though I haven't compared the results to a conventional one because I've (almost) always been happy with the results.

 

[pocofan]

Yep I found similar kinds of articles, but the text seems to only refer to induction hobs....the oven parts sound (and look from the photos) to be conventional electric ovens. So I'd love a link to the oven pocofan has bought because I'm struggling to understand how induction can work in an oven.

I'm also starting to wonder if this is a phraseology thing.....is "oven" being used to describe an appliance which is a hob + oven in a single unit (what in the UK would be referred to as a "cooker")? In which case the oven part is likely to be a conventional oven and the induction only refers to the hob part?

I have a double oven. Top is induction heat. Bottom is conventional

 

[PabloLerntKochen]

I don't know if this applies to your home ovens, in the professional kitchen we use these huge convection ovens with a ventilator that's soo strong and for example can let croutons fly down the baking sheet or flip bacon chips.