Oven with 3D convention. Advantages of a convection oven. What is convection mode used for?

Convection - special way heating in the oven using the built-in fan. It ensures free movement of air throughout the space oven, as a result of which the temperature at the far wall and at the door is equalized. To understand how convection affects cooking a dish in the oven, it is enough to remember how my grandmother would put the pies in the oven, wait for the furthest ones to brown, and change the position of the baking sheet so that the pies would bake evenly. In addition, grandmother could not put two baking sheets in the oven at the same time, because the pies were not baked. When using an oven with a convection device, the housewife will not have such problems. Of course, for a novice housewife who cooks charlotte twice a year, a convection oven is not an essential household appliance. But for those who like to experiment and master new recipes, this device can be a wonderful help in the kitchen. The air temperature in a convection oven is the same in all planes, so in such an oven you can cook several dishes at the same time, for example, bake meat and a side dish for it on different levels or place two or three trays of eclairs. Thanks to the free movement of hot air, all eclairs will turn out equally golden brown and evenly baked. A convection oven is also indispensable when cooking meat in an open baking dish or on a spit. Air circulation will ensure the formation of a crispy crust on the surface of the dish. And if the oven is equipped with a “grill” option, then thanks to these two functions working simultaneously, meat dishes turn into real gastronomic masterpieces. In addition, convection allows you to reduce the amount of salt and oil used for cooking, which will be appreciated by people who lead healthy image life.

The energy of movement and interaction of the molecules that make up the body is called internal energy. The thermal movement of particles never stops, so the body always has some kind of internal energy. This energy can be changed (decreased or increased) by performing work and heat exchange. There are three types of heat transfer: conduction, radiation and convection.

Convection is heat exchange in liquid gaseous media carried out by flows (or jets) of matter. IN solids ah, due to strong molecular attraction, convection cannot occur. Energy inside solids is transferred by thermal conduction. It is well known that liquids and gases are heated from below, for example, a kettle of water is placed on the fire, heating radiators are placed under windows near the floor. This is explained by the fact that part of the substance is heated from below, expands, its density becomes less than that of the surrounding (colder) medium, and under the action of a buoyant force it begins to rise upward. And its place below is filled by the cold part of this substance. After some time, having warmed up, this layer will also rise upward, giving way to the next flow of matter, etc. This is how convection occurs. Therefore, liquids and gases should be heated from below; heated layers cannot fall below cold, heavier ones. During convection, energy is transferred by the gas or liquid jets themselves. There are two types of convection: natural (free) and forced. Free convection occurs when layers of gas or liquid change places without the help of external forces, for example, heating the air by a radiator in a room occurs by natural convection, but the speed of heating water in a pan can be ensured by stirring the layers of liquid with a spoon, such convection is forced. Convection occurs most quickly in gases due to their free arrangement of particles. They are on long distances from each other, interact poorly with each other and move in an almost independent direction, so gases have poor thermal conductivity. Liquids are intermediate between gases and solids in convection and thermal conductivity. That is, their convection is slower, and thermal conductivity is faster than in gases. And relative to solids, their thermal conductivity is weaker.

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Microwave ovens in most families are still used only for heating food or preparing hot sandwiches with melted cheese, but the capabilities of even conventional microwave ovens are not limited to this. There are rumors about the dangers of microwaves, but if you follow some simple tips, then all the negativity can be nullified and you can enjoy healthy and high-quality food.



A modern microwave oven complements the stove, and often can even replace it. Those who have small kitchens should pay attention to the microwave to replace the oven. After all, a microwave oven not only heats dishes and defrosts food, but also cooks food perfectly. A microwave has a high efficiency: all the energy goes into cooking, and not into heating the air.

Some people consider microwaved food to be harmful. This is a myth. Microwave ovens contain the same radio waves as conventional radios, but at a different frequency and higher power. However, there is no residual radiation in food. Scientists claim that thanks to microwave ovens, the incidence of stomach cancer has decreased in developed countries, since the cooking technology is very similar to the most useful way processing - steam.

Modes

You can cook main courses, soups, cereals, desserts and hot snacks in the microwave. However, it all depends on the built-in functions and modes. For example, to bake pies, it is better to purchase a microwave oven with convection, then the fan will evenly distribute hot air, helping to bake the dough efficiently. However, using some recipes, baked goods can also be prepared in the normal microwave mode. Also, the convection function will speed up cooking. And for lovers fried foods There are ovens with grills.

Dishes

Earthenware, porcelain, ceramics, special plastic and even paper cups are used as dishes in the microwave. The main thing is that there are no silver or gold coatings on the dishes, otherwise this will cause small electrical discharges.

  • Make sure that the oven door is clean and level, closes tightly, and from time to time pay attention to the condition of the rubber gasket on the inside of the door. If it becomes dirty or damaged, microwaves will leak. An indicator of leakage will be radio interference affecting the operation of the radio and mobile phone.
  • Do not block the oven vents with foreign objects. The power cord must not touch hot surfaces.
  • Do not turn on an empty microwave, otherwise the device that generates electromagnetic waves will be damaged.
  • If the microwave volume is less than 24 liters, it is not recommended to place a dish that weighs more than 3.5 kg on the turntable.
  • If you want to heat something small (one sandwich, for example), put a glass of water in the chamber: the extra microwaves will be used to warm it up.

Sources:

  • How to choose a microwave oven?

Tip 4: How to cook “holiday” potatoes very quickly

There are so many housewives in the world - so many recipes for cooking potatoes! I will share the recipe for my signature dish, which always takes its rightful place on the holiday table.
Its main advantage is that it is prepared in a matter of minutes, which, as a rule, is very important in pre-holiday time pressure. But, naturally, preliminary preparation is needed here - it can be done at least a month before the holiday. So let's get down to business.



1. Pre-preparation stage. Wash and peel the potatoes. Using a sharp knife, apply a lattice pattern on one side of each potato (longitudinal and transverse lines, at a distance of about half a centimeter from each other), cutting through the tuber by 1-1.5 centimeters. Place the potatoes in boiling salted water and cook at high boil for about 6-8 minutes until half cooked. Drain the water. The tubers should remain firm (undercooked) and not fall apart. Place the potatoes in a container or freezer tray, cool and place in the freezer. This is the preparation for our dish. Now, at the right moment, we can always have such a potato preparation lying around - I’m not afraid of unexpected guests!

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A good oven can help you cook delicious and healthy food. However, one must understand that this is a high-tech household appliances with many operating modes. You need to be able to read their main and additional icons on modern models in order to competently use a kitchen unit, especially such as Ariston, Zanussi, Samsung, Electrolux.

Basic symbols

What can you see on the oven panels? What functions do these pictures represent?

Defrosting

Its designation is a few drops at the bottom of the square, above which hangs the image of a fan. This mode is characterized by the simultaneous operation of the convector with the lower heating element. This mode is used for:

  • rapid defrosting of food at +30°C;
  • maintaining the temperature of prepared dishes;
  • heating them at +40-100°C.


Convection

These icons look like a 4-leaf flower in a circle. The designations indicate that the heat generated during heating mode is distributed evenly by fans throughout its entire volume. A similar purpose is used for preparing frozen dishes and baking at a temperature of +170°C.

Convection and grill

The symbols of this mode of operation look like a 4-leaf flower at the bottom of a square with a zigzag line or a dotted line hovering above it. The oven in this mode turns on the grill heating element, which is located at the top of the chamber, while simultaneously activating the fan. This operation of the elements helps to level out the burning of the top part of the prepared products.

Large grill

This feature is indicated by a zigzag or italic pattern at the top of the square. Heating occurs using a grill heating element, which has a large area. The temperature is set within the range of +50-225°C. But the camera will start working after reaching +225°C.


Grill and top heating element

To depict this feature, the manufacturers chose icons that look like a zigzag in the middle of a square with an arc (straight line) at the top. The oven is heated using a heating element located at the top. Due to this, heat flows directly to the grill, helping the product being cooked on it to retain its juiciness.

Traditional mode

The designation has 2 arcs (solid straight lines) facing each other, located at the top and bottom of the square. These icons indicate that the upper and lower heating elements are operating in the chamber.

In this case, ordinary baked goods or products that require frying at a temperature of +200°C are placed in the oven.

Heating from below

Its designation is an arc or straight line at the bottom of a square. The fan helps the working lower heating element distribute heat throughout the chamber using forced convection. The icons indicate that cooking requires a temperature of +50-250°C, at which the product is baked from below, while desired temperature held on top.

Backlight

The icons for this function are a light bulb in a square. Such designations clearly indicate that the camera is comfortable to use with this function, and all its contents inside are clearly visible. This helps to further visually monitor the cooking process.

Additional characters

In addition to the main ones, any oven, especially the brands Ariston, Zanussi, Samsung, Electrolux, has additional icons that tell about the additional capabilities of the unit.

  • The simultaneous operation of the lower and ring heaters together with the fan allows you to easily prepare pizza in Ariston, Bosch, Elektrolux, Zanussi, Gorenje ovens. This function is symbolically depicted as an easily recognizable pizza.


  • By interacting the upper, lower and ring heaters together with the fan, the oven allows you to cook large dishes, for example, leg of lamb, suckling pig. This mode is also used to place several trays of pies in the chamber. They especially require uniform temperature distribution at all levels. This function is endowed not only with the Siemens oven, but also with Gorenje, Ariston, Bosch, Elektrolux, Zanussi, as can be seen in the photo.
  • Quick Heat, which is a symbol with wavy vertical lines and arrows at the bottom, helps save time by reaching the desired temperature up to 50% in a short time. In this case, all heating elements are used simultaneously, which allows you to avoid wasting excess energy. The oven can automatically switch to the selected mode or it can be set manually.
  • Heating ceramic tableware helps food stay hot longer. The “hot air 3D” mode with a temperature setting of 30-65°C will help you take advantage of this function. When the temperature reaches the required value, the screen will show the “stack of plates” symbol.

Advertisements for modern ovens offer different convection modes for cooking. Trusting beautiful words, we often purchase expensive models without thinking about whether we need certain functions. Few people know what the word “convection” actually means and whether it will be needed in the future.

Oven device

Most gas furnaces have the same structure. In the oven box at the bottom there are one or two burners, the fire in which is regulated by a special lever. There are grooves on the walls where a grill or baking tray is inserted at the desired height. Heating by fire is carried out exclusively from below. With the help of air movement, accompanied by heat exchange, the upper part of the dish is prepared in a closed space. This movement is called convection.

You can often observe that on one side of the baking sheet, baked goods brown quickly, but on the other side they still remain raw. The only thing that helps is to rearrange the baking sheet to the other side. If such manipulations can be done with meat and vegetables without consequences, then a sponge cake or tender meringue will immediately fall off.

Modern models of stoves, such as Electrolux, additionally have a top burner. The housewife has the opportunity to regulate both lower and upper heating. In this case, the lower burner can be gas, and the upper burner can be electric, and very rarely vice versa. With top heat, you can also grill chicken.


The latest models have several heating elements, but even in this case there is no guarantee that the dish will bake evenly. This is due to natural convection, which spreads quite slowly in the oven. For example, a wide baking sheet prevents hot air from rising, so the bottom crust will burn when the top begins to bake.


For this purpose, they developed a forced convection mode, which they like to mention in advertisements.

The heat is circulated using a built-in fan. Circulates in the middle strong current from hot air, which simultaneously penetrates the dish on the baking sheet from all sides. Most often, in cookers such as Electrolux, the fan is installed on back wall ovens The bottom is guaranteed not to burn, and the top will be covered with a delicious crust.


Electrolux oven

Forced convection allows you to bake large pieces of meat, pies, dry fruit, cook grilled meat and make delicious crackers. Cold convection will help defrost food.

The main feature of convection is that you can use two or even three baking sheets at the same time. This will cook the food at the same speed, and you won't have to move the pan from time to time.

It is completely optional to use this mode for every cooking. The fan is turned on manually if necessary.

Why do you need convection mode?

  • for baking large volumes of products;
  • to eliminate juice that has escaped from a dish;
  • to get a beautiful golden crust.

Types of convectors in modern ovens

Electric furnaces

The convection mode icon in the oven on the stove panel indicates that a fan of a simple design is built in the middle, as in the photo. Its only function is to drive air into the middle of the oven. Powerful fans instantly form a crust on the product. Due to this, juices do not leak out, and the dish turns out juicy in the middle, and has a fried crust on the outside.


Some stove models have a wet convection function. In the middle of cooking, the oven is additionally filled with steam. This makes it possible for the prepared dishes not to dry out; the product is stewed and not fried. Baking in the oven with additional moisture is less finicky than without it.

Gas ovens

Until recently, only electric furnaces had all of the above capabilities. More recently, the Electrolux company has developed a gas stove with a convection mode and a corresponding icon. Today, only one model has a built-in fan, but the developers are not going to stop.


Freestanding gas stoves are more popular among buyers than electric ones. This is due to the fact that many apartments are equipped with a gas pipeline, and gas is much cheaper than electricity. About 80% of housewives choose gas stoves; therefore, not every woman uses the convection mode. Only microwave oven owners can truly appreciate its benefits.

Designations on the electric furnace panel

Icons on ovens may differ slightly. The designation of the convection mode in the oven indicates the additional capabilities of your oven.


How is the convection mode indicated in the oven:

  1. “Ecco” – recommended mode for large volumes of baked goods that consume small quantity electricity.
  2. “Two parallel lines in a square” - indicates the presence of convection in the oven, the recommended mode for baking bread, cakes, and preparing almost all dishes.
  3. “Fan with three triangles at the top” – the ability to use a grill.
  4. “Fan between two lines above and below” – operation of the convector with the upper and lower heating elements turned on.
  5. “Fan in a circle between two lines above and below” – operation of the convector with the upper, lower and additionally rear heating elements turned on.
  6. “A fan in a circle underlined by a straight line” – frying any food in an intensive mode.

“Pizza” – allows you to prepare dishes with complex recipes.

July 23, 2017

When purchasing an oven, it is important not to go wrong with the set of additional functions. After all, no one wants to overpay for something that you will never use. However, when it comes to the convection mode, there should be no doubt about its necessity. Housewives who are fond of baking will especially appreciate this function. But if this is your first time encountering convection in an oven, you may want to think about what it is and why it is needed. So that such thoughts do not come to you anymore, let's study this mode in detail.



Operating principle

To understand whether you need convection in your oven, you need to understand how it works. Most often, the oven is equipped with several heating elements. This is especially true for electric ovens. There is only one heating element in a gas oven. When the heating elements heat up, natural air circulation occurs. Thanks to air flows, cooked dishes heat up more evenly. This approach is very important when baking muffins and biscuits. It is the movement of warm air currents in the oven that is called convection. This phenomenon can be either natural or forced.

Free convection is the spontaneous movement of air caused by temperature differences. Compulsory happens with the help of devices. In the oven it is achieved under the influence of a fan. In natural mode, warm air moves unevenly. As a result, dishes are poorly baked and burnt. Thanks to the built-in fan, food is heated from all sides, eliminating the possibility of food burning on the bottom and dampness on top.

Thanks to the convection mode in the oven, dishes are baked evenly and do not burn.

It should be noted that in gas and electric stove the action of convection is different. In gas ovens, the burner is placed at the bottom, which makes it difficult to distribute air evenly. To prepare a quality dish in such a cabinet, you should first turn on the convection and wait a while for the heat to spread around the entire perimeter. Only after this can you start cooking. Significant disadvantage gas stoves with convection – no sealing. As a result, cooking takes much longer. Electric ovens with convection mode are equipped with heating elements around the entire perimeter. Therefore, creating culinary masterpieces is easier and faster.

Purpose

Convection in the oven is not always necessary. But for preparing certain dishes it is simply irreplaceable. Among the main points when this mode is necessary are the following:

  • Possibility of forming a uniform crust on all sides.
  • High-quality baking of large pieces of meat, fish or dough.
  • Preserving juice in cooked dishes.
  • Possibility of using several baking sheets at a time.
  • Minimal evaporation of moisture from cooked dishes.

Modes

To ensure an even and constant flow of hot air, continuous blowing of the oven by a fan or forced convection is necessary. This is how the food is completely baked, burning is prevented and a beautiful golden brown crust is created. To achieve the desired result, you should carefully read symbols on the oven control panel and their decoding.

Among the main convection modes, the most popular are those presented below.

  • Moist convection. This function will be a real find for lovers proper nutrition. The cooking process when this mode is turned on is as close as possible to cooking in a double boiler.
  • Convection with hot air. Thanks to constant airflow, the dish will be ready much faster. This mode is great for making quick baked goods.
  • Heating circuit. The peculiarity of this function is that heating and airflow are achieved through a thermal circuit located around the fan.

Advantages

In addition to the advantages listed above, a convection oven can dry vegetables, fruits and herbs. At low heat it can be used to defrost meat and fish products. In addition, convection mode can be combined with grilling or turbo cooking. Many modern models equipped with ECO function. This means that much less energy will be consumed when cooking. The “Pizza” mode is no less convenient. It will allow you to bake dishes with many ingredients.

If you are still wondering whether to buy a convection oven, we hope that the listed advantages have cleared your doubts. After all, the presence of this mode will significantly expand the range of dishes that can be prepared for relatives and will improve the quality of home-baked goods.

Convection in the oven: what is it and what is it for?

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Many housewives, equipping their “office” - kitchen - with new household appliances, make sure that the devices perform many functions at the same time. An electric oven is no exception. A modern oven has many additional features: microwave, defrosting food, heating food, maintaining the temperature of a dish, steamer, convection... It is the last function that will be discussed. So what is convection and why is it necessary? Or maybe in electric oven is it not needed at all? Let's find out!

In order to understand what convection is, you need to understand how the heating elements are located in an electric oven. Older models of electric stoves were equipped with one or two heating elements and, naturally, they did not have this function. Remember how problematic it was to bake pies or cake layers evenly. One side is already burnt, and the other is not even browned yet. For more or less uniform cooking, it was necessary to endlessly rotate the baking sheet, and in order to prevent the bottom from burning, they placed a second baking sheet with salt.

A modern oven with a convection function will save you from these inconveniences, and you will be able to please your household with a dish with even cooking and a beautiful crispy crust.

The convection mode in the oven involves a large number of heating elements. The heating elements are located not only at the bottom and top, this function also provides for their presence on the sides.

Forced and humid convection

The Latin word "convection" translates as "transfer". When a convection oven is operating, a fan mixes hot air with cold air. Convection in the oven is improved by the installed fan. It's called forced. Why is it needed in the oven?

The convection function ensures uniform air temperature, which facilitates uniform cooking of various dishes in the electric oven. When you turn on the appliance, a certain temperature is set, which depends on the products from which the dish is prepared: meat, fish, pies, meringues... As soon as the middle of the oven reaches set temperature, the fan turns off.


Forced convection is also used for defrosting food, drying mushrooms, herbs and nuts.

There is also wet convection in the oven. , which gives the opportunity to lovers of healthy and healthy food steam. There is a water container in the inside of the oven. It may be located on the door or back wall of the device. A special generator converts water into steam. Hot steam ensures uniform cooking of dishes, preserving vitamins and beneficial microelements.

  1. All ingredients are baked evenly.
  2. It is possible to cook dishes on several baking sheets at the same time.
  3. Using this function, you can achieve a crispy, crispy crust.
  4. Reducing energy consumption.
  5. The use of oil when cooking is kept to a minimum.
  6. Possibility of preparing a varied menu.

So we figured out what convection is. When using this function in an electric oven, it becomes possible to expand the list of prepared dishes and improve the quality of baking. Nothing will burn and everything will bake evenly!