How Does a Convection Oven Work?

How the Convection Oven Cook

Convection ovens use a fan or fans in the back of the oven to move the heated air around in the oven compartment, distributing it more evenly than a regular oven. There is a thin layer of air that normally insulates the food in your oven. Because a convection oven blows the air around, it strips away that thin layer of air, resulting in a faster cook time.

Advantages of a Convection Oven

The advantages of the convection oven are many. Your food is heated more evenly and there is less burning. You also cook faster and at lower temperatures which saves on your energy bill. Some convection ovens come with a built in rotisserie rack, because the more evenly distributed heat makes roasting better. There is less food shrinkage due to the lower temperature and shorter time, so there is more to eat. You can also put a lot more in the oven and get it all cooked. The more you put in a regular oven the longer it takes to cook everything. And something on the top rack won't cook at the same speed as something on the bottom. With a convection oven, everything gets heated the same, so you can fill it up and it will all cook at the same time, at the speed it is suppose to.

How to Cook With a Convection Oven

Cook your foods at at least 25 degrees less than in a regular oven, and cut the cook time down by about 20 percent. Use baking pans with low sides to allow the heat to circulate around the food better. You can cook any food in a convection oven that you would in a regular oven. If you are covering foods with foil, or using a parchment paper under cookies, use a wooden spoon to hold them down or the foil may blow off and the parchment may blow up, moving your cookies.

What to Look For in a Convection Oven

You can buy convection oven in many different sizes. They can be as small as a microwave or as big as your regular oven. They can be gas or electric. You can even buy a traditional electric or gas stove and have a convection feature in it. The doors on a convection oven can be a single or double door. Some double doors open independently of each other and some open automatically if you open one. They also come with an optional gentle bake cycle for baking meringues and other foods that can't get blown on too hard. Free standing convection ovens can come with casters so you can move them around freely. You can even have them custom designed to your standards.