A Convection oven is also a normal type of oven with special addition of a fan and an exhaust system. As we know, an exhaust system is responsible for blowing away air from a place. In the case of an oven, it also does the process of blowing the hot air over the food for some time to help cook faster. After some time this hot air is blown away by the exhaust system. The presence of hot air over the food ingredients helps to increase the heat required to cook food. So, the cooking process is faster in a convection oven. But the convection option is only a setting in the oven that can be turned off when needed and then used as a normal oven.
When You Can Use A Convection Oven?
A convection oven can help in saving the energy needed to cook since it helps to cook food faster. So, you can save both time and energy using it.
Cookie Making
The convection heating helps to bake more cookies at once which makes it favorable to use the convection setting to bake cookies.
Roasting
The faster cooking and presence of hot air over the top make the food to be crispier and well roasted.
Dehydration
As the name suggests, it is a process of moisture removal from food that is done easily with the help of extra hot air.
Pastries, Pies, Roasts, and Vegetables
Can be cooked efficiently using a convection oven.
Crispy Meat
Can be delicious, done using a convection oven.
When Should You Avoid A Convection Oven?
Although a convection oven has many advantages, it will not be a good choice for some food. For instance, the crispiness created in meat due to the hot air can be delicious while that on a pizza won’t work. Some of these cases for which convection should be avoided are listed below.
Cooking Soft And Delicate Food
The hot air from the convection oven can drive away the softness in the food baked. So, soft food can be cooked in a normal oven.
Baking
Convection can be helpful in cooking meat while it will be the last option for baked food since the delicacy will be lost on exposure to the convection air.
Pizza Making
In the case of making pizza, it is necessary to apply heat from the bottom alone. If the convection is applied, heat will be applied on all sides. This can make a pizza cooked in the wrong way.
Cake and Muffins
We all know that cake is made by the rising of the ingredients when baked. If we use a convection setting, the hot air will make the outer part of the cake get hard faster that restricts it from rising further in the cases of baking tall cakes.
Bread
Bread comes under the category of soft and baked food. The hot air will create some stiffness and cracks on the slices removing the delicacy of bread.
Flans; Custards; Pudding Cake
A flan cannot be baked evenly in convection.
Boiling Eggs
An egg can be boiled in a convection oven however, the shell can be difficult to get peeled off.
Souffles
This egg-based dish cannot be baked well using a convection oven.
Conclusion
As said earlier, a convection oven is not a different oven but an oven with an additional setting. It is important to know what to be cooked in a convection setting and what should not be cooked in it. Although anything can be cooked using a convection oven, it is the matter of end result that makes the difference. In most of the cases, delicacy will be lost.