Convection ovens use specially designed followers in order to circulate the hot air inside the oven! This in turn results in 25 to 35 % of cooking time and temperature when compared to conventional ovens! This means that they can help you save a lot of money and time since they cook really fast!
While there are many special convection oven recipes you can still use a convection oven to cook pretty much all your favorite foods! Nowadays convection ovens have pretty much replaced conventional ovens in homes as well as restaurants!
What to look for when buying a convection oven
Size
If you want to buy a convection oven, you should know that they come in three sizes! The first is the total size, this means that you can fit regular 18-by-26-inch sheet pans in your oven!
Then there’s the bakery depth, which allows you to use standard sheet pans, placed lengthwise or widthwise in the oven.
Finally, there are the half size ovens, these use smaller 18-by-13-inch half-sheet pans! You should note that because pf their design, you can only use sheet pans of a specific size with each convection oven! This means that you should check and double check whether the oven you consider buying is “compatible” with your sheet pans and vice versa!
When it comes to size, or the footprint as some people call it, you should know that a typical convection oven meant for professional use, is about 6 feet tall, 3 feet wide and 3 to 4 feet deep! If this seems way too big don’t worry, these ovens come on all shapes and sizes! Some are even small enough to easily fit on your kitchen’s counter-top!
Design and Programmable Controls
A very important factor to consider before buying any model of a convection oven, are the controls! Most models will come with many preset programs, but they will allow you to adjust the cooking time, temperature, and the speed of the fans! Some people though think that the controls of some models can be a bit complicated at times! With that in mind, you should make sure that you can actually use your oven easily before buying it!
Most convection ovens use state of the art technology to maintain the temperature of the air circulating in them as even as possible! Some oven models can even be programmed by recipe and their high-tech computers will take care of everything else for you, automatically!
Specially designed electronic sensors inside the ovens will automatically adjust the cooking time to make up for any drops in temperature that may have resulted by the door being left open for too long or too often! Some are even equipped with state-of-the-art electrical meat probes that enable them to cook 3 different foods at the same time!
Before ordering a convection oven for your kitchen, you should also pay some attention to its doors. Most full-sized ovens are equipped with double doors which both open at the same time! Smaller models, however, come with doors that are hinged on the bottom of the unit, just like those found on conventional ovens!
Electric or Natural Gas?
Convection ovens can be powered by either gasoline, propane, or electricity! Many chefs believe that food cooked used with electrical convection ovens tends to be a bit moister.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
- Cooking Time Is Shorter by 25% when compared with a conventional oven
- The air circulation allows the food to cook evenly
- Convection oven allows you to Cook more than one dish at a time
- It’s more energy efficient
Disadvantages
- Adjusting most of the recipes since they are based on traditional oven directions
- Cakes and bread don’t raise the way they do in a conventional oven
Final Thoughts
Convection ovens are so versatile that there are many hybrid models available on the market, specially designed to cook certain foods! There are some hybrid models that have been made exclusively for baking bread and other similar foods for example! You will definitely find an oven that perfectly suits your needs!
When cooking using a convection oven, you have to place the foods on the sheet pans, which are then loaded onto the various racks of your oven. Since the air moves evenly in the oven, the height of the rack you place each food on, won’t affect the way it’s cooked!
