Category Archives: Ovens

Don’t Put Foil In the Oven

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Maybe your grandma used to use tinfoil to line her oven floor to aid cleanup.

But times have changed; tinfoil is no longer made of tin. The stuff you use to shield your ham is actually aluminum foil, which has a lower heat tolerance.

The high temperatures of your oven floor can actually cause the foil to melt right onto that oven surface.

And you can’t clean it off.

aluminum foil in ovenWe’ve had Warners’ Stellian  customers spend hundreds of dollars replacing the oven floor on relatively new ranges because of this well-intentioned mistake.

Instead, aluminum foil-makers suggest you line the oven rack you’re using with aluminum foil rather than lining the oven itself.

Simplify Cooking with Appliances that Multitask

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Buy based on how you cook most days.

When buying appliances, people often focus on two days of the year: Thanksgiving and Christmas.

What matters at that moment to you is finding a range whose oven accommodates a massive turkey.

Or, thinking about overflow casseroles and Christmas cookies, you opt for double ovens.

But what about the other 363 days of the year? If you’re not a serious baker, that second oven sits cold. And warming up that range with the huge oven capacity for a couple of baked potatoes wastes time and energy.

Appliances that Multitask

Instead, a trend we’re seeing is assembling a team of appliances that can work alone during normal operations but also can multitask for occasional holidays and parties.

So instead of a giant range, combine a double oven range and convection microwave.

The smaller upper oven of the range can be used for one-dish meals. Come Christmas, you can bake a dessert up top while a roasts monopolizes the lower oven. The convection microwave can bake a casserole.
A convection microwave also works overtime when paired with a single oven, perfect for those who won’t make enough use of a double oven.

Better yet, make that second oven a speed oven for the ultimate versatility.


This GE Advantium cooks up to 4 times faster than your grandmother’s oven – covering all 4 bases: warming/proofing, true convection, sensor microwave (that can rotate a 9×13 casserole on its turntable!) and of course, speed cooking.

Convection oven baking tips

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.christmas snowflake food

It's cookie season. Do you need to brush up on your convection baking knowledge?

 

Are you taking full advantage of your convection oven (if you don’t know what that is, read What is convection?)?

You probably already know to decrease your oven temperature 25 degrees and decrease the bake time about 25 percent for convection oven vs. conventional oven.

But if you already know how to use convection cooking — and you probably do if you partake in holiday baking and cookie exchanges — I bet you’ll still learn something from Dacor’s convection oven baking tips (PDF).

Also, if if your convection oven cooking times seem to be longer now than when you first bought your convection oven, perhaps you need to clean your convection filter.

In a convection oven, the fan draws air through the filter. So especially if you do a lot of roasting,  grease particles will stick to the filter and could obstruct the airflow. Check your use and care manual for instructions on how to clean your filter. Some, like Dacor convection oven filter, are dishwasher safe.

How To Check Oven Temperature

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turkey in oven

Before you trust your oven to your family’s turkey and pie this Thanksgiving, make sure the oven heats to the correct temperature.

Some manufacturers say that using an oven thermometer (available at most hardware stores) isn’t accurate because once the door opens, the temperature changes. However, it’s a better measure than trying to decipher how far off your oven is by experimenting on baked goods or other methods.

First, check your thermometer’s accuracy by sticking it in boiling water for a minute. Boiling temperature is 212 degrees F, so if that’s not what your thermometer reads, note the difference.

Next, put your thermometer in the oven and select 350 degrees. Check the thermometer after about 20 minutes. If it doesn’t read 350 degrees (after factoring any difference you found in step one), you know whether your oven temperature runs high or low and how many degrees.

If you were smart enough – or organized enough – to save your Use & Care manual, your manufacturer might include instructions on how to calibrate your oven so that the temperature settings can be adjusted for accuracy. Otherwise, just make a mental note and select a 355 degrees (for instance) next time a recipe calls for 350.

Many ovens now come with built-in temperature probes, which offer another great way to ensure your meat cooks perfectly.

And the best way to ensure consistent temperature in your oven is to minimize opening the door by using your oven light. Having the oven door open for just seconds can decrease the temperature by 25 degrees!

Cook to Perfection with a Convection Oven

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Have you ever baked a tray of muffins and noticed that one half of the tray was done to perfection while the other half was slightly underdone? Have you ever attempted to bake multiple sheets of cookies and been frustrated with the results from one of the pans? What about that Thanksgiving turkey that turned out so dry you swore next year you’d skip it and get takeout?

If you’ve experienced any of the above situations, it may be time for you to enjoy the benefits of a convection oven.

What Is A Convection Oven?

A convection oven has a fan implanted in the rear of the oven cavity. When in operation, the fan circulates the air so that from side to side, front to back, and top to bottom. As a result, the oven’s temperature is even and consistent throughout. By eliminating natural hot and cool spots, the convection oven yields much more even and consistent baking results. When preparing meats, the convection fan has a tendency to sear skin, trapping juices inside. Not only does this speed up the baking process, but it also traps the juices inside for more moist and more flavorful meats.

Many people think they need to sign up for cooking classes at their community college to figure out their convection oven. But that’s not true. Cooking with convection is incredibly simple. Follow the “25 rule” which states that you reduce your recipe’s cooking time 25 percent and temperature 25 degrees. For those who don’t want to convert, many of today’s ovens offer built-in convection conversion modes. You can also bypass your oven’s convection function and bake traditionally if necessary.

Another misconception about convection ovens is that they are only available in electric. Today, more and more gas ranges are offered with the convection fan. Several ranges wrap a 110-volt heating element around their convection fan, so as to force heat from the back for better multi-rack baking. This feature is sometimes known as “true convection” or “European convection.”

Once upon a time adding convection to your home was very expensive, but today it is more affordable than ever. Browse our ranges to find the right model for your budget and lifestyle.

If your oven is delivering more furrowed brows and frustration than delicious baked goods, stop into Warners’ Stellian today and treat yourself to one of our many convection ovens!