Ask the Expert: Cooking with Convection
Faster and more efficient, convection ovens deliver impressive results—once you make a few adjustments
by Linda Stephen
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Convection Tips
- To get comfortable with using a convection oven, cook one of your favorite dishes and record the changes in temperature and time. The more you use a convection oven, the better you will know how it cooks.
- Always test for doneness a few minutes before the minimum time suggested until you get comfortable with cooking the convection way.
- When shopping for a convection oven, a major consideration should be the availability of repair service, if necessary. It’s great to have the latest and greatest stove, but if it cannot be serviced easily (either by the company or its contract people), it can be a nightmare and very expensive.
Convection vs. True Convection
Q:
What is the difference between convection and true convection? Is one better than the other?
Carol McKenzie, New York, NY
A:
A conventional radiant oven has two heating elements—a bake element in the bottom and a broil element in the top. A convection oven adds a fan to move air continuously throughout the oven cavity. The air blowing on the food helps it cook more quickly, evenly, and efficiently than it would in a conventional oven. Even better results come from a true-convection oven, which has a third heating element along with the fan, so it blows heated air. With true convection, also referred to as European convection and third-element convection, oven temperature is more uniform than it is with regular convection.
The right cookware for convection
Q:
When cooking in a convection oven, do I need to make any changes in the type or shape of the cooking vessel? I’ve heard you do not need to use a rack when roasting meat in convection.
Joanne Bryant, Coronado, CA
A:
When cooking in a convection oven, any barrier that prevents the heated circulating air from hitting the food slows down and defeats the purpose of convection cooking, so the less interference the circulating air has, the better. When baking cookies in a convection oven, use shiny rimless baking sheets to allow for even air circulation around the cookies. Baking time may need to be increased when using insulated baking sheets and pans. When roasting foods that require some containment, such as vegetables or fish, use baking sheets with shallow sides to encourage air circulation and browning. As for roasting meats, I’ve found that using a rack set over a broiler pan gives the best results, as it holds the food slightly above the sides of the pan, allowing air to circulate over, under, and around the food, resulting in even browning.
Converting conventional recipes for convection
Q:
What are your general guidelines for converting conventional oven recipes for use in a convection oven?
Sharon Richardson, Southern Pines, NC
A:
For roasting large cuts of meat, I reduce the temperature by 25ºF and expect the food to be done slightly faster. For vegetables, fish, and small steaks, I maintain the same temperature as called for in the recipe and reduce the cooking time by about 25%. For baking, I reduce the oven temperature by 25ºF and expect items to be done sooner. The longer you cook something, the greater the time savings with convection; a turkey could be done an hour faster, while cookies may be done only a minute or two sooner. But with smaller baked goods, the time savings comes in being able to bake on up to three racks at one time (true-convection ovens don’t have hot and cool spots, as conventional ovens do, so you generally don’t have to rotate pans during baking).
From Fine Cooking 92, pp. 18
