How to Use An Oven - A Free "Learn To Cook" Lesson

There it is... sitting in the kitchen... The Oven.... Have you tried to bake or broil things and they were well.... not edible? Those days are over.

Your oven is your friend... It helps you with so many dishes, if you use it correctly ... and it is really easy to use.... You will learn how here.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1. This article
• 2. An oven or a stove with an oven in it.

1. Stand in front of your oven and locate it's controls... There will be two sets and they are usually on the back of the stove or on top of the oven it is built into a wall.
   
   One set will give you a choice of "Bake" and "Broil". There may be other choices, but don't worry about them right now.
   
   The other set will give you a range of temperatures from warm to broil... with degree numbers in between... 250.... 350... etc....
   
   For right now, leave both controls set to "Off"

2. Now, open your oven door and look inside. Most ovens have two wire rack shelves that can be moved from level to level.
   
   The shelves are locked into a track that runs front to back in the oven. This is a safety measure so that a hot rack filled with hot food will not fall out of the oven if it over balances when you pull it forward to work with your food.
   
   To adjust the placement of the shelves you must disengage them from the track.

3. Here is how.
   
   With the shelves pushed all the way in the oven, grasp the shelf and lift the back of the shelf. The shelf should disengage from the track it on which it sits in the back of the oven. Once the back of the shelf has lifted from the track, pull the shelf towards you and it will come out of the oven.

4. Remove both shelves. Note the difference between the front and the back... the top and the bottom of the shelves.. This is important.

5. Next, look at the tracks on the sides of the oven. We want to place one shelf on the tracks that will place it in middle of the oven. The other shelf will be placed on the top set of tracks....

6. Grasp a shelf from the front with it right side up and slide it into the oven, keeping it on top of, not in, the middle set of tracks... When you have pushed the shelf all the way in, it will settle into the track lock and be locked into the track.

7. Repeat with the second shelf on the top set of tracks.

8. "BAKE" provides heat that surrounds the food in the center of the oven... The food cooks from all directions at once and the heat can be provided at a large range of temperatures...
   
   Food should be placed on the middle shelf for baking. If the food is very tall you may have to lower the shelf a bit to keep the bulk of the food in the center of the oven.

9. "BROIL" provides high heat only from the top. You have to position your food accordingly.

10. If your oven is electric, it will have heating elements on the top and bottom of the oven... When you bake both elements will provide cooking heat. When you broil only the top element will provide heat.
    
    You will place food to be baked on the middle shelf and food to be broiled on the top shelf.

11. If you have a gas oven... it has two parts... the oven where you bake and the salamander where you broil. The salamander will either be a drawer under the gas burner for the oven or a separate compartment with its own door and gas burner somewhere else on the stove. In most stoves, it is a drawer under the oven.
    
    With a gas stove you will still bake foods on the center shelf in the oven.... but you will broil foods in the salamander... Remember... when you broil... you apply heat only from the top.

Tips & Warnings

• Now, the controls. To "BAKE" you will set one control to bake and select the temperature from the other control... You usually need to preheat the oven for a few minutes to allow it to come up to temperature before you put your food in to cook. To "BROIL" you will set both controls to broil and it is not necessary to preheat... When you broil in an electric oven, you should leave the door open slightly... it will stay on its own.. just an inch or two.. to allow excess moisture to escape. Gas salamanders provide enough ventilation to broil with the door closed. Now, both you and your oven are ready to cook. Try using you oven to toast the buns in this recipe. http://www.xomba.com/mommas_easy_cheeseburger_and_steak_fries_a_learn_to_cook_meal NOTE: This is a free online cooking lesson from the "Learn To Cook" series. You might also like to read these http://www.xomba.com/learn_to_cook_cooking_lessons_an_introducton http://www.xomba.com/learn_to_cook_cooking_lessons Enjoy, Angel

[oleszka]

on 8/19/2009 Thanx! I moved to USA just 2 weeks ago and got confused about how to use oven here.... your article helped me!

[Walkaboutangel]

on 8/10/2009 Pepper, a casserole type dish should be baked and the shelf should be set so that the dish is as near to the center of the oven as possible. This is true of any baking. The food should be as close to the center as you can get it. This allows the heat to surround the food in an even manner and will give you the best result for your table. Thanks for the question..... Angel

[pepper1952]

on 8/8/2009 My oven inside has letters A,B,C,and D on the side. What number do I use to set the rack for baking a casserole? Thanks, Pattie

[MFoust]

on 1/3/2009 Excellent article! placement of shelves is very important when cooking particular dishes. This is actually a great article for new cooks, very detailed and hands on.

[L1onherd]

on 12/9/2008 Excellent article with lots of great ideas!!!