Cooking with a fan oven
If you are used to cooking with a
conventional oven, you will find a
number of difference to cooking with a
fan oven, which will require a different
approach:
There are no zones of heat in a
fan oven, the convection fan at the
back of the oven ensures an even
temperature throughout the oven; this
makes it ideal for batch baking - eg;
when planning a party or stocking the
freezer, as all item will be cooked
within the same length of time.
Cooking times
will generally be shorter
- by between 5 - 10 minutes per hour -
than those times given in recipe books
for conventional cooking.
We recommend preheating
the oven
for frozen of chilled food, and also for
soufflés, batter mixtures and yeast
mixtures. Preheat the oven until the
indicator light switches off for the first
time, this will take between 5 to 15
minutes depending on the temperature
selected.
There is no flavour transference in a
fan oven, which means you can cook
strong smelling foods such as fish, at
the same time as mild foods - eg; milk
puddings.
Foods are cooked at a lower
temperature (between 10˚C and
20˚C lower) than a conventional oven,
so conventional recipe temperatures
may have to be reduced.
Defrosting and cooling
To defrost frozen foods, turn the
oven control to the defrost position,
place the food in the centre of the oven
and close
the door.
To cool foods after cooking, prior to
refrigerating or freezing, turn the oven
control to the defrost position, and
open
the door.
Be safe
Do not
defrost stuffed poultry using this
method. Do not defrost larger joints of
meat and poultry over 2kg / 4lb using
this method.
Never
place uncooked food for
defrosting next to cooked food which
is to be cooled, as this can lead to
cross contamination.
Defrosting meat, poultry and fish can
be accelerated using this method, but
make sure they are completely thawed
before cooking thoroughly.
Place meat and poultry on a trivet in a
meat tin.
Defrosting times
Small or thin pieces of frozen fish or
meat - eg; fish fillets, prawns and mince,
will take approximately 1 - 2 hours.
Placing the food in a single layer will
reduce the thawing time.
A medium sized casserole or stew will
take approximately 3 - 4 hours.
A 1
1
⁄2kg / 3lb oven ready chicken will
take approximately 5 hours - remove
the giblets as soon as possible.
10
USING THE MAIN OVEN
USING THE OVENS - MAIN OVEN ONLY
Important: Food is more susceptible
to the growth of food poisoning
organisms in warm conditions. If the
weather is hot, either take care to
ensure that food is not left standing in
a warm oven, or avoid using the
automatic cooking facility.
Hints for automatic cooking
❍ Food is placed in a cold oven so
you will need to add about 10 -
15 minutes onto the cooking time
to allow for the oven to reach the
selected temperature.
❍ Wine or beer may ferment, and
cream may curdle during the delay
period, so it is best to add these
ingredients just before serving.
❍ Potatoes should be parboiled or
brushed with oil to prevent
discolouration during the delay
period.
❍ Meat can be brushed with oil to
prevent it drying.
❍ Lemon juice can be added to
certain fruits and vegetables such
as apples, pears, turnips and
parsnips to prevent discolouration
during the delay period.
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