An Oven Vs. a Convection Oven
Convection ovens can be an important weapon in a cook's arsenal. These ovens use different heating technology than conventional gas and electric ovens, and this creates noticeable and important effects on the quality of the food you cook. The differences in technology used to heat the inside of the ovens also have important effects on the cooking times and temperatures you use to bake foods. Does this Spark an idea?
-
Traditional Ovens
-
Traditional gas and electric ovens use two heating elements, one on the bottom and one on the top, to maintain a consistent temperature inside the oven cavity. When foods are placed inside the oven, heat radiates onto the food from the heating element to cook it. The oven's internal thermostat monitors the temperature inside the oven constantly and the heating elements turn off or on to keep the temperature as consistent as possible.
Convection Ovens
-
Convection ovens also use two heating elements on the top and bottom of the oven cavity, as well as a third heating element in the rear. The third heating element is attached to a fan, which pulls air in from the oven cavity, passes it through the heating element to heat it and distributes it back inside the oven. The result is that heated air is circulated back inside the oven, meaning less wasted energy and the temperature is kept even inside the oven, thus eliminating cold spots. The fan in a convection oven also actively directs the heat onto the food rather than passively radiating heat into it as in traditional ovens.
-
Comparisons
-
This method of heat transfer from the heating element onto the food probably is the biggest difference between the two types of oven. Because the fan actively forces heat onto the food, all the chemical reactions that occur to make good baked food will happen more quickly. For instance, moisture inside a pie crust will convert to steam more quickly, creating a more tender and flakier crust in a shorter amount of time. The Fine Cooking website also suggests that using convection as a method of heat transfer reduces the amount of nutrients that are lost as part of the cooking process. Therefore, foods cooked in convection ovens also may be more nutritious than those cooked in non-convection ovens.
Other Considerations
-
Cost is an important consideration when comparing convection and non-convection ovens. Convection ovens tend to be much more expensive to purchase, but there is not as much difference in operating and energy costs between the two. To a substantial extent, the choice of which type of oven to use is highly objective. A person who doesn't cook at home all that often may not need the added expense and effort required with a convection oven. To someone who cooks regularly or puts a high premium on the quality of home cooked foods, on the other hand, this added expense and effort might seem a small inconvenience given the benefits of cooking with a convection oven.
-
