If you want your roast dinner or homemade pizza to be perfect every time, choose an oven that allows you to cook both efficiently and evenly. What is hot air circulation? Read on and find out!
If you want your roast dinner or homemade pizza to be perfect every time, choose an oven that allows you to cook both efficiently and evenly. What is hot air circulation? Read on and find out!
Hot air circulation – what is it?
If you like cooking, you are probably familiar with this function. But if you are a beginner in the kitchen, then read on to find out more about this function.
Hot air circulation is a function of fan ovens that revolutionised home cooking. It makes cooking easier, more efficient and you can always achieve the expected results. But what is hot air circulation? As the name suggests, hot air is set in motion. In most ovens, this function activates heating with the upper and lower heating element and a fan responsible for evenly distributing heat throughout the oven.
Another type of increasingly popular hot air circulation is that based on the operation of a circular heater connected to a fan. This option is more effective than standard solutions, hence its growing popularity.
Hot air only occurs naturally in electric ovens, so if you are still in doubt about whether to choose a gas or electric oven, bear in mind that the latter will give you many more options for preparing food.
What are the advantages of using hot air?
Now that you are familiar with hot air circulation, it’s time to take a look at the benefits of using this feature on a daily basis:
- Energy-efficient – the hot air mode is cheaper than using standard, static heating. The difference between these functions is estimated at approx. 20°C – setting the oven to 160°C will achieve the same results as when using just the upper and lower heating elements at 180°C. What’s more, the cooking chamber heats up faster thanks to the even distribution of hot air, and the cooking process itself takes less time than with other programmes.
- Faster cooking – as already mentioned, using the hot air function saves a lot of time. Therefore, you will especially appreciate this function if you cook dinner after coming home from work. Waiting for a meal after a long day of hard work can be very frustrating, but thanks to the hot air circulation, the whole process will take less time.
- Evenly cooked food – when roasting meat, do you ever worry that the finished dish might still be raw in some places? Have you ever taken a partially undercooked casserole from the oven? Using hot air will help to prevent such situations from happening. In this mode, hot air is constantly in motion and reaches every nook and cranny of the oven.
- Cooking on several levels at the same time – even distribution of air over the cooking chamber has another advantage. You don’t have to worry about which level you place the tray on, because the temperature is the same throughout the oven. Thanks to this, you can cook meat on one level, and vegetables on another, significantly speeding up the preparation time.
The advantages of hot air circulation in an electric oven are undeniable. However, is this function good for cooking all types of food? Check which dishes will be perfect when cooked using hot air circulation and which ones should be prepared using standard programmes.
What is the hot air function good for?
Food prepared using hot air circulation will be evenly roasted and moist inside. You can avoid all the usual kitchen mistakes, where meat can lose all its juices if wrongly cooked and spoil the dinner experience. With the hot air function you can count on the opposite effect – juicy pieces of chicken or your favourite roast meat wrapped in a crispy crust, which will delight even the most discerning palates.
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Mini Oven – 1600 W – 30 L – timer – 5 settings
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Mini Oven – 1,600 W – 30 L – 5 programmes
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Countertop Convection Oven – 1,700 W – 12 programmes – incl. oven rack, baking sheet, rotisserie and drip tray
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Countertop Convection Oven – 1,600 W – 13 programmes – incl. oven rack, baking sheet, rotisserie and drip tray
159.00 GBP149.00 GBP
However, you can use the hot air function for more than just cooking meat. It is also perfect for fish and vegetables, as well as all dishes that taste best when baked on top – so all kinds of casseroles or pasta. Which pizza oven is the best? In this case, it is also worth choosing one with hot air.
What should be cooked without using hot air, but with the use of static programmes? First of all, any type of food that should not stay moist inside. This includes biscuits, bread, rolls and various types of cakes.
Hot air circulation for commercial use
Is the hot air function a good idea for use in commercial kitchens? The answer is yes. In fact it’s ideal for such places, because it lets you cook several dishes at the same time. In places serving food, ovens are often a separate device – traditional cookers may turn out to be too small, and in such kitchens, special induction or electric hobs are used.
Do you own a small bistro or food truck? Small but multifunctional ovens can be used in many ways. On top of the hot air function, many also offer a practical rotisserie function, ideal for preparing mouth-watering chicken. Despite their universal scope, such ovens do not have to be large – you can choose small countertop versions if you lack enough space in your kitchen.
Ovens with the hot air function used in commercial kitchens have a few more features that you will appreciate when preparing food for a large number of people on a daily basis. These include a timer, so that you can set the baking time and avoid accidentally burning the dishes when busy doing something else. Another advantage are the wide availability of automatic programmes, making it easier to prepare certain popular dishes.
What is hot air circulation – summary
Hot air circulation in an oven is a function that has become incredibly popular in recent years. More and more household appliance manufacturers started offering this function, and it is now standard in good quality, modern electric ovens. Make sure you have this function – both at home and in your restaurant. It will significantly speed up the preparation of meals, making the whole process much more efficient.
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