Using convection ovens

[bwoods]

Any of you have a convection oven and can me advice on how to use it?

I have had a General Electric Spacemaker Convection/Microwave for several years. I have attempted to use the convection mode a few times, but usually get lousy results.

This may, in part, be due to the fact I am a lousy cook. ha But things just don't seem to come out right. I have tried to make apple crisp twice and the top burns and yet the apples are not done, when I use the time and temperatures given in the recipie. (On the second attempt, I put aluminum foil over the top after the topping started to burn. The air moving around kept blowing the foil off the baking pan so I had to finally weight it down with a fork. I eventually got the apples done with only a partially burnt topping.)

Frozen pizzas also see to burn on the top, by the time the crust is done. I keep the rack down on the lowest level.

I am curious about others experiences with a convection oven. Is one supposed to reduce time or temperature (or both) when using a convection? Is so, how much??

 

[DADoES]

 
I don't have a countertop-style unit, my GE Profile range has convection, which I use frequently.  It automatically reduces the temperature by 25°F ... i.e. enter 400°F when turning it on, the setpoint comes up at 375°F instead (400°F [or whatever] can be had by entering it a 2nd time).  I find that in majority of cases 3 to 10 mins more baking time may be needed (depending on what's involved).  Have never had anything burn within the time stated on packages or recipes.

 

[launderess]

Aluminum Foil + Convection Ovens ='s Disaster

As you've found out unless firmly affixed will blow around and thus of little use.

Cooking/baking via convection requires understanding what one wishes to achieve versus what is possible.

Normally in an oven radiant heat moves in a pattern as heat rises and cools. This creates hot and cool spots inside an oven. Convection ovens via moving air inside the oven equalise the heat so in theory there aren't hot or cold spots. Convection also causes air to flow around whatever is inside in a more direct method than the natural currents created via radiant heat.

Being as all this may certain foods bake/cook better with one type of system over the other.

In general cakes and baked goods inside pans are better with radiant heat that causes the pan to heat from the bottom up (as heat rises and circulates) rather than hot air being blown (convection).

There is also a problem in that for most convection ovens the area near the door (if the fan is located as usual at the back of the oven) will often cook faster than sides and back. Contrary to popular thought when a true convection fan is located at the back of an oven it does not blow hot air onto the food, but rather air is sucked into the fan and blown out side baffles up and around the oven walls. This sends air round to the front where it is drawn back over the food and into the fan. Thus slightly hotter air reaches the front first and will be a bit cooler by the time it is drawn back into the fan.

Whenever one is doing pies find it almost always requires turning them round at least part way through baking to avoid the crust burning on one side.

Because convection ovens move hot air around you foods often cook much faster. Standard advice is to lower the temperature 25 degrees and cook for the same or shorter period of time or keep the same temperature and cook for a shorter period of time. Much depends what type of food one is cooking and how full the oven is (doing three racks of cookies will take longer than just one rack).

Adding to your woes is that your oven also uses microwave energy for cooking. This can also speed up time so you've got to play around with what works.

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[sudsmaster]

I generally go by the instructions on the frozen pizza. I have yet to see one that recommends using convection mode. So I cook my 12" pizzas in the Cuisinart convection toaster oven on the "Pizza" setting, which is basically regular oven mode (as far as I can tell). It does a very good job; however I notice that it tends to cook the pizza more at the back of the oven, so usually I rotate the pizza 180 degrees once during the process.

The convection mode works well on things like chicken wings or breaded fish - things that benefit from having a crispy exterior.

As Launderess has said, you want a lower temp and/or a shorter cooking time for convection mode. Again, going by the recommendations on packaged foods, it seems like both time and temperature can be reduced for best results. If I think the food will benefit from convection, I'll drop the temp 25 degrees and shorten the cooking time by about 20%. One can always add more time to get the degree of browning desired.

 

[launderess]

Did Some Turkey Wings Last Night

Using a SS roaster pan (with lid and rack so could "steam" them by putting some water in the bottom of pan), and they came out streets ahead of "convection" roasting.

IMHO after spending nearly a year or so with the Maxim and Cuisinart convection ovens find they are good for roasting thick cuts of meat or things with mass that can hold heat. Battered and breaded chicken, fish and other such things come out as if fried but without all the mess and fat. Chicken pieces when prepared properly also come out well "baked" in a convection oven. Problem with meats is that there is a *very* fine line between cooked tender and juicy and a dry, hard, and rubbery thing not fit for the dog. Remember convection heat will also dehydrate (another use for such ovens) if it goes on too long, so you really need to watch your temps and times.

I most never do roasts without a probe thermometer so can keep an eye on internal temps.

Though some swear by convection ovens for baked goods such as cakes, breads and such don't see the point. Cookies and some pasteries perhaps, but am not willing to risk the cost and effort in preparing say a butter cake batter. Have a small vintage Westbend "Ovenette" electric oven that holds an eight inch cake or pie pan. It is used during the warmer times of year when firing up the large oven is just out of the question. Or the famous alternative of doing one's baking at night or very early in the morning when it's cooler.

 

[sudsmaster]

Yes, the Oster digital toaster oven that the Cuisinart replaced has a "dehydrate" function, which I've never tried. But I suppose if I had a need to dehydrate something I could break the Oster out of storage and see how it does.

 

[lordkenmore]

My mother had a Farberware tabletop convection oven, and, as I recall, the temperature was reduced. I THINK it was by 25 degrees as mentioned above. Only recent experience has been with a convection toaster oven, and it seems to me that bread baked in it baked faster than the recipe (for a regular oven) suggested.

The Farberware my mother had was a good oven as I recall. I never had problems (and it was the first oven I ever used). Everything came out at least edible--whether bread, cake, or cookies. What few problems could well have been recipe or cook related. (I never roasted meat in it. My mother only roasted Thanksgiving turkeys in it, as far as I recall.)

 

[paulg]

I have a SHARP R930AK microwave-convection and absolutely love it. However rarely do I ever bake in it.
Typically I use it for standard microwaving and for reheating leftovers. I find that the mix setting (microwave+ convection) is great for leftovers.
When making muffins for house guests I will use a microwave-convection-safe muffin pan on a mix setting also. The muffins turn out really nicely and just a little bigger than expected.
For oven cooking we have a double Jenn-Air wall ovens with convections. With those we rarely turn on convection. Why? I honestly don't know. I suppose they work so well without it turned on??

 

[bwoods]

Thanks

Thank you for all the tips. It looks like the concensus is to turn the heat down about 25 degrees and keep a careful eye on the time.

Laundress, the GE oven I have is an over the range unit and the vents appear to be in the top unlike the big ovens where yes, I have seen the fan vents in the rear. For that reason, I put the rack on the floor of the oven as opposed to the middle so food wouldn't be too close to the hot air stream. The rack has "feet" so even when its on the bottom of the oven cavity, it allows a couple of inches of space for the air to circulate under the food.

When I worked at the university, my secretary had a countertop convection oven and loved it. From the way she spoke she used it over her regular oven routinely. That's what made me want to get one, but apparently I don't have her proficiency with it.

So next time around, I'll cut the recipie temps about 25 degrees. Thanks!

 

[launderess]

Don't get me wrong, one loves all three of my counter-top convection ovens, and yes do use them more often than firing up the range oven. However that being said again everything has it's place and there are certain things that are best done in a traditional oven.

For instance anything that is cooked with a cover or very high sided pan such as roasts inside a roaster with lid, various types of casseroles and so forth are wasted in a convection oven because air cannot circulate around the food.

Anything you want to do "low and slow" also won't come out well in a convection oven. The constant blowing of hot air (even at low temperatures) will dry things out long before they are done.

Depending upon the fan placement muffins and certain other baked goods may come out lopsided if not blown off the baking sheet entirely.

Placing food on the floor of the oven:

Check your owner's manual as to the airflow of your oven. As stated above am willing to bet your oven does not blow hot air "down" onto food but rather sends it over the top, down sides and across the bottom, then back up into the fan.

When using convection ovens prime rule number one is that air must be able to circulate around whatever is being cooked/baked. Even for roasting on the "floor" of an oven there normally is some sort of trivet, pan or rack that elevates food to allow for air circulation. If the hot air cannot get around the food you are loosing much of the benefit of convection cooking even with the microwave.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I still maintain that CU got it right when the gave the high mark to the Farber Turbo Oven. That oven turned out perfect pound cakes for years until I got additional real ovens. Having the intake in the top center sent the heated air down the 4 walls of the oven and pulled the air through the tube of the Bundt pan to give beautiful baking results. I don't think I ever cooked anything else in it since I had a nice electric oven that had great insulation and there is no way that the Farber can claim to have much insulation.

Some of the 115 volt micro-convection ovens did not perform very well; some function was always compromised.

 

[whirlcool]

We have a Maytag full size convection oven even though I have used a counter top version before.

I find that convection works best on things that have the majority of the item being cooked exposed to the oven. And on things that are cooked covered we just use normal baking mode. I find that breads, biscuits, etc. rise much better using convection. Roasts, etc. also do well with convection. We use convection for most everything we cook.

 

[lordkenmore]

"I still maintain that CU got it right when the gave the high mark to the Farber Turbo Oven."

My mother absolutely loved hers. I've told this story so many times I'll be like a Kenmore BD washer that's stuck on the multiple spray rinses of the spin cycle. But she got it as a cheap, easy fix for a wall oven that had broken. She was sold on that oven, and often said that she'd never go back to a conventional oven.

"no way that the Farber can claim to have much insulation."

I can't remember. But I suspect the insulation was minimal. On ours, I think there was air flow through the sides. I THINK it was fan forced. Probably to keep the sides cool, which suggests that heat loss was not insignificant. It would be interesting to connect one of those ovens to one of those Kill A Watt meters.

In our case, inefficiency wasn't a huge issue. Cost wise, we might have been ahead vs. a kitchen remodel to fit a new oven. And we heated with forced air electric, so in cooler parts of the year, waste heat from the oven was just less heat the furnace had to generate.

 

[tomturbomatic]

First off, is the recipe for the convection oven or a regular recipe for a conventional oven? Recipes for conventional oven cooking must have the temperature lowered as has been stated here.

I know this is counterintuitive, but maybe you could try putting the pan a bit higher in the oven. Since the heat seems to be coming from the top, it might help the bottom of the dessert to cook more evenly if there is more room for the air to pass beneath it and more of a cushion of hot air under it. Also, if you are not using the microwave function when baking the dessert, you might want to put a standard oven thermometer in to see what the actual temperature is. Nothing says the thermostat is perfectly calibrated. Another thing you could try if you are just baking this with convection is to give the dish a 4 or 5 minute nuking on high power to get the fruit up to cooking temperature before you start the convection. If the recipe calls for preheating the convection oven, you can go ahead and do that, then switch to microwaves for 5 minutes when you add the dish before restarting the convection mode.

Best of luck.

 

[bwoods]

Thanks, Tom. I never thought about using the microwaves with the convection. Will have to give that a try.

 

[mixfinder]

Blowin' in the Wind

Convection is the most civilized way to bake and it increases volume, reduces excess browing and uses less energy by baking at a lower temperature for less time.  I have a GE range with true convection that is the finest range I have ever baked with.  I also have a NIB Whirlpool convection Microwave that was a gift from Greg that is a great microwave, a great auxilliary oven and can combine the two modalities for lightning quick results that would take more than twice as long to accomplish by oven cooking alone.

 

[whirlcool]

If you have a full sized range with convection oven make sure you read the owners manual. On our Maytag unit when you set the convection mode on and set the temp for 350F it automatically stops heating at 325F. It automatically provides the -25F offset.

 

[westie2]

Allen/Whirlcool

 

We habe the Maytag convection oven too and the same for ours.  Just set the normal temp and it adjusts it back the 25 degrees. 

 

Kelly/Mixfinder

 

I agree with you on the volume of baked goods .  Have many times used all 3 of our racks to pake 6 pies and thye all turn out great.

 

 

 

[tomturbomatic]

lightning quick results

For fast, crude cooking operations, nothing beats a 230 volt micro-convection oven. I can turn on the broiler, put frozen french fries in a Corning Ware skillet, slip them under the broiler, lock the door, set the timer for 3 minutes of zapping and when the bell rings the fries are just about done. I turn off the broiler and let them sit under the cooling broiler element for a minute or so and they are ready to eat. This is amazing when I think of how long it took to fix frozen french fries in the oven when I was younger.