Convection Cooking? Is it just hot air?

Cooking with Convection

How do convection ovens and ranges work?

Wikipedia

A convection oven (also known as a fan-assisted oven or simply a fan oven) is an oven that has fans to circulate air around food. Conventional ovens, which do not have fans, rely primarily on radiation from the oven walls, and to a lesser extent, on natural convection caused by temperature differences within the oven, to transfer heat to food.

Depending on the brand and type of convection (see below) the benefits of convection cooking include:

More even baking

Cookies on multiple racks will come out perfectly cooking regardless of where they are placed.

Faster roasting

Your Thanksgiving turkey may be done 1/3 to 1/2 sooner than cooking conventionally.

More flavorful

The fan driven air circulation and speed of convection quickly browns roasts and other foods giving them a nice crust and sealing in juices and nutrients.

True or European Convection

European convection or “True” convection has an element surrounding the convection fan versus regular ol’ convection that has a fan only – no third element. There is about a 50 year debate still going on about the differences and advantages of these two systems, and we’re not about to step in it here except to say that you get to choose…and that’s a good thing! Some ovens such as Wolf have DUAL convection meaning two fans. Jenn-Air’s unique V2™ dual fans are stacked vertically.

Just about all of the premium brands offer the convection feature, and the mass brands as well will have at least some convection models in their lineup. Here’s GE’s depiction of their new true European convection oven with Direct Air coming from above:

Dacor promotes Pure Convection™, their spin on European convection. They draw air in through their triple mesh filtration which collects grease and particles preventing the fan from splattering material through the oven cavity and resulting in a cleaner oven.

It’s important to note that cooking with convection is a feature. Ovens and ranges that have convection offer it as an option. You can use convection or not depending on what you are cooking and your personal preferences.

One of the great benefits of shopping at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center (UAKC) is that they have many of these products hooked up live. From time to time chefs will come in and demonstrate their convection ovens. The sales associates at UAKC are trained in the various brands and can explain the differences among their various convection systems.

Call or visit Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center today to learn more about convection ovens and ranges or other fine appliances and plumbing fixtures.

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Two locations to serve you – Calabasas and Studio City:

Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center

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