Fan ovens

[MrIxolite]

Cooking times on food lables always give timing and temperatures for normal ovens and frequently say , for fan assisted ovens adjust cooking time accordingly. Is there a formular or rule of thumb for working it out? I keep overcooking my joints of meat.

[becks]

Hello mrlxolite i have a fan oven is this what the problem is? I'm assuming that you've tried following the instructions but it isn't working. I tend to go on what i can see ie cheese/oil/juices bubbling. Try reducing the time given for a normal oven by ten minutes or do what i do and do the same time but ten degrees less.

[Cetti]

They are a nightmare aren't they? For ages we had burnt cakes, dried meat etc. Now, as every oven is different it really is a case of trial and error, but.. if a small cake recipe says 200 for 30 minutes then mine will be 180 for 15-20 mins. My rule of thumb is 20 degrees cooler and 20 minutes off cooking time for most items, but a large fruit cake I can easily knock an hour off the time. I don't know whether becks would agree but I find putting meat on the bottom shelf instead of the middle also ensures loss of dryness.

[Tony Monero]

The best way of cooking joints is the same whether you have a fan or a normal oven, buy a thermometer probe. When the the joint is probed in the centre of the thickest part of the joint, if it reads 63c or more it will be cooked. 63c - 70c will be a moist perfectly cooked joint. If you are roasting a prime piece of beef about 55c is medium to medium rare. I should explain that the 'danger zone' relating to food bacteria is 5c to 63c. So if you are serving hot food it should be over 63c and cold food below 5c. I really cannot stress the need for a probe in a domestic kitchen. The example I always use is that most people are scared of chicken, so when they are cooking chicken they think that its ready and then decide to give it another 20 minutes and then it is dry and tasteless. Use a probe, it removes all guess work and takes into account the fact that oven temperature differ from oven to oven. Long winded i know.....but I hope that it helps!!!!

[secretspirit]

I just reduce the cooking temp by 20 degrees. Doing that I've never had a problem and usually the thing being cooked will only finish in the amount of time on the recipe or 5-10 mins earlier maximum. Although each ovem is different and tempremental so it's all trial and error in the end.

[MrIxolite]

Thanks for all the advice, had a perfectly cooked joint of roast lamb last night. Cheers

[Precey]

We have a True Fan Oven. Many people do not know the difference between a Fan Assisted oven and a True Fan oven, myself for one. However, we are now using 20c degrees less some times 30c degrees less. Our Engineer says that the maximum for meat show be 150c and ten mins less per hour. Dose anybody know a good book?