Instead of preheating the oven, try a cold start and postheating

[joeekaitis]

 

 

A few decades ago when I was in my teens and still living at home with the parents, both of our local utilities (SoCal Edison and SoCal Gas) encouraged customers to skip preheating their ovens for recipes with baking times of 30 minutes or more.  I've been doing that ever since with excellent results and have added an extra step, especially when cooking meats and poultry: leave the food in the oven for an additional 15 minutes, i.e.: cooking on stored heat.

 

We have a Hotpoint gas stove with a self-cleaning oven/broiler so heat loss is not a major problem.  The oven also lacks a fast preheat cycle which would light both burners and probably scorch the top of the food on a cold start.  Similarly, most fast-preheat ovens have a way to disable the feature.

 

If you want to give it a try, here's a no-boil version of my Baked Chili Cheese Mac recipe.

 

2 15-oz. cans chili (with or without beans as desired)

2 chili cans of water

1 lb. uncooked elbow macaroni

1 lb. shredded Cheddar cheese

 

Spray your 5-quart Corning Ware Pyroceram or Visions Dutch oven with non-stick cooking spray.

 

Combine chili, water and macaroni in a large mixing bowl.  Stir together for about a minute to make sure every elbow is saturated inside and out.  Fold in the cheese.

 

Dump the mixture into the prepared Dutch oven, poking any errant elbows below the surface.  Don't worry about the soupy consistency.

 

Set the Dutch oven on the middle rack and bake uncovered from a cold start for 1 hour.  Leave in the oven an additional 15 minutes, then remove and let stand at room temperature for 15 more minutes.

 

Total cooking time is comparable to par-boiling the macaroni first.

 

Shovel into bowl, admire, then DIG IN!

 

[henene4]

Not preheating

Works wonders for some things (meats, everythin with verry long cooking times) and even better with fanforced heting.

A few things however I still preheat, though, not always to full temperature.
Everyting that is frozen goes in once it reaches ~150°C (our oven can show you the current temp during heating up). The faster thawing and quick evaporation of ice makes getting things crispy easier and quicker.
Cakes go in only when fully preheated.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

Interesting. Did either utility ever say how much energy was saved by using this technique? Have you found any foods this would not work with?

I haven't baked anything in years. The bending and stooping involved with using a typical oven is too painful. Any kitchen I have a hand in designing or renovating will have 42" counters, a drawer dishwasher, a GE Cabinette, and a Flair or Flair-style stove. I wouldn't be surprised if baking came back onto my radar then, lol.

 

[turquoisedude]

This makes sense.... Look back in the old range instruction books for timed cooking of an entire oven meal.  No way to preheat in that situation and from experience, I can say it works fine! 

 

I can't imagine cakes or pastry working as well with this method, though.  

 

[DADoES]

 
Can't do a preheat on my oven when using the temp probe ... which is aimed largely for use with meats.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I remember a recipe from the 40s and 50s for a "cold start pound cake." As I remember, it did not make a lot of difference whether you preheated or not except for a lengthening of the bake time when started in a cold oven.

 

[joeekaitis]

Note also that this seems to work best with glass (Pyrex) and vitroceramic (Corning Ware Pyroceram, Visions, etc.) bakeware, possibly due to the heat-retaining nature of the material with fewer hot spots than metal.

Yeah, l know, it's exactly the opposite of what people say about using Corning Ware on the stove.

 

[lordkenmore]

My mother had a Farberware convection oven, and we never preheated as far as I can recall. IIIRC she said the manual (or a cookbook or something) had said it wasn't necessary.

 

But I preheat these days, unless I'm directed otherwise. (I think there are/have been frozen pizzas that direct one to use a cold oven...but I can't say for sure. It's been so long since I'd have baked one.)

 

 

 

[lordkenmore]

I haven't baked anything in years. The bending and stooping involved with using a typical oven is too painful. Any kitchen I have a hand in designing or renovating will have 42" counters, a drawer dishwasher, a GE Cabinette, and a Flair or Flair-style stove. I wouldn't be surprised if baking came back onto my radar then, lol.

 

A wall mounted oven might be worth adding to your list. Countertop ovens of some sort can also be a nice solution--I mentioned the Farberware convection oven we had. That was our only oven for more than 10 years, and we never felt particularly limited. Indeed, my mother came to really like convection ovens, and swore that was her ideal even if/when getting a "real" oven again.


 

 

[DADoES]

 
Our 1964 Martha Washington wall oven (turquoise ) had automatic preheat in the thermostat.  It cut-out @ ~350°F, IIRC.

 

[petek]

Other than cakes and pastries, neither of which I make any more I never preheat, even for bread. Just put it in, set the temp and timer if necessary.   As well, say I'm boiling spaghetti noodles.. I let the water boil maybe 5-6 minutes (with the noodles in it)  and shut the burner off for rest of the time.. 

 

[norgeway]

Some Monarchs

Had automatic preheat, fine for some things, but several cake recipes work better with a cold start.

 

[tomturbomatic]

The fabulous Wilcolator thermostats like on my 1954 Frigidaire master oven will do a blue streak preheat if you turn the thermostat all the way up to BROIL, then back to the selected temperature to engage both oven units. The broiler element cut out about 75 degrees before the selected temperature was reached, giving the approximately 3000 watt open coil element time to cool down a bit as it coasted into the finish line.

 

Secrets of cooking with the current off was one of the things I learned from old owners' manuals for electric ranges.

 

[jkbff]

This is why I pulled out that modern whirlpool that I had.

I had gotten so used to not preheating the oven when we'd start cooking in the mornings at the catering places.

Grandma has always used the oven warming to temp as a way of getting that last bit of oven spring on fresh bread.

This race for fast preheat just changes the way everything works.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Looks like a great AMKrayoKookingProject!

And what I'd either call a practice makes (or WILL make) perfect, or almost made it on the first try...

First of all the directions on these bread sticks call for preheating to 425°, but just SET at that temperature and popped 'em in (on a pizza rack, that I right away, using for biscuits and cookies, found it was for MORE than just PIZZA!) while setting the timer for eight-out-of-the-four-to-eight-minutes, stated, then, flipping them over, gave 'em an additional two-minutes, flipping them over again, to the original right size up, (and then there goes the (BEEP!, BEEP!, BEEP!) preheat-alarm) watching them (maybe I needed to turn the heat off, to do the post-heating, but the oven arrived right AT the proper temp.) real carefully, gave the finished product:

(Click & guess the Before-and-After shots)

-- Dave

http://amkrayokooking, 101: --Behold!

 

[panthera]

That chili recipe sounds great!

Some dishes require preheating, some do not.

Definitely going to try the mac and chili - vegetarian style. Thanks!

 

[vacerator]

Baking cakes,

breads and cookies usually require pre heating. Braising covered meats not so much, or if you've browned them first.
Roasts and smaller poultry do tend to be juicier if the first 20 minutes or so is at a higher temp. like 425 or 450 f., then lower the temp.

Steam ovens seem to be the new fad. You can always add water to the roasting pan which also makes steam.

So we've had this GE profile slide in model dual fuel convection range for ten years. My stepson was cooking with ear bud head phones on and flooded the cook top with oil one evening we were out. I had him clean the stove the next morning.
A few days later, I made pasta sauce, and spaghetti. Soon after I cleaned it again, the igniter control for the right front power burner caught fire.
That was the burner he used. I called GE, and they felt it was a safety concern.
They serviced the range free of charge and replaced the igniter control and harness. All was fine for about 6 months.

Now if we try heating the oven past 350 it shuts down with an F9 error code. faulty door lock, but the door locks, then unlock once it cools down enough.
Sometimes the cooling fan for the control board comes on strong, but not until it really is warm enough, then we can bump up the oven temp above 350.

I don't know if the board is faulty, or the cooling fan motor is weak, or both.
It will likely cost at least $500 to repair. Rather than throw good money after bad, maybe it would be wiser to get a new range. It won't be GE of course, maybe a Dacor 30 inch "Distinction" series. if anyone knows if this Dacor is a reliable unit, I'd appreciate input.
Hubby is not fond of vintage appliances or much else, and our kitchen is already updated.
We make prime rib for holidays, etc. and this GE has performed well, but I realize it isn't a professional range.
I don't mind spending $4 grand, but I don't want to spend more. The Viking that is that much isn't self cleaning. A Wolf costs well over $5 grand.

 

[combo52]

Hi Mike, regarding your 10 YO GE dual fuel range, fix it, it is a far better range than a Viking or a Dacor, if fact I can not imagine anything worse than a Dacor.

 

If you want a new range get another GE, it is not throwing money away to spend $500 fixing your GE if you are willing to spend $3000 on a POS.

 

John L.

 

[mattl]

I concur.  Viking and even Dacor are overpriced and under-performers.  I too like duel fuel, but went the separates route, gas cooktop electric oven in the space formally occupied years ago by a slide in range.