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How To Cook With A Convection Toaster Oven

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Today, most people are going in for convection toaster-ovens because they are more energy-efficient, easy-to-use and even consume less kitchen space than the larger convectional-ovens. Additionally, there different brands of convection toaster-ovens on the market which are equipped with different features and it upon you choose an oven that will meet all your needs. However, in case you purchased a new convection toaster-oven and you have no clue on how it works. I have presented some of the methods and tips that can actually read through in order to get some knowledge on how to use a convection oven when it comes to cooking anything in it.

RELATED: What Is The Best Toaster Oven

 

SECTION-1: UNDERSTAND WHAT A CONVECTION TOASTER-OVEN IS:

  • Get to know what a convection-oven means: while traditional-ovens have heating-elements on top and bottom, a convection-oven is different whereby it features a fan coupled with heating-elements. The fan on the convection-oven continuously circulates air through the oven while cooking food and this process ensures that food is cooked more evenly. In fact, traditional-ovens can leave food in some sections and may require the user to switch racks while cooking.
  • Understand that temperature and cooking-time is reduced in a convection-oven: you should know that convection-ovens cook food more quickly and at a lower temperature than in a traditional-oven. This is because a convection-oven circulates heat around the food so that it can be cooked quickly, evenly and in a shorter period of time.
  • Get to know about the benefits of a convection toaster-oven: convection toaster-ovens have many benefits to offer and these include; cooking faster and at lower-temperature, these ovens are smaller whereby they take-up less space in the kitchen, they release less heat hence reducing on amount of heat in your home, they have all the functions needed to prepare any type of recipe or food and they are even energy efficient compared to larger-ovens.
  • Check-out the different types of convection toaster-ovens: it very important to check-out or research on the different types of convection toaster ovens in order to find an oven that will perfectly match your cooking needs. Additionally, there are different brands of convection-ovens on the market and at different prices hence this is why you do some research to know which brand is of high-quality and also determine the price-range.

 

SECTION-2: HOW TO COOK USING A CONVECTION TOASTER-OVEN:

  1. Switch-on and lower the temperature of a convection-oven: after preparing the food to be cooked, switch-on your convection toaster-oven and then lower its temperature rate. This mainly because air circulates around food and the temperatures need to be lowered for best results while cooking with a convection-oven. In fact, most baking-recipes suggest lowering the temperature to 20-25 degrees when using a convection-oven for cooking. Additionally, lowering the temperature also ensures that food does not get burnt-out when cooking compared to traditional ovens which use high-temperatures.
  1. Reduce the cooking-time: convection-ovens cook more quickly than traditional-ovens and this implies that you have to reduce on the time needed for cooking while using a convectional-oven. In fact, you can begin by reducing the time by 1/3 of the original recipe cooking-time. Additionally, you can use a convection-calculator in order to get a more precise estimate of the cooking-time in case you can’t find a recipe meant to be cooked using a convection-oven. However, don’t over-reduce on the cooking-time because you may end-up with raw food hence take extra caution when setting the cooking-time.
  1. Grab and use the correct pans: because convection toaster-ovens cook a bit differently from any traditional oven, you will need to use specific pans that are meant to be used in a convection-oven in order to optimize on its benefits. For example; you need to use cookie-sheets with no sides and also use baking and roasting pans with low-sides because this allows the airflow to reach the food being cooked. Additionally, try to use rimless, non-insulated pans that are lined with parchment-paper because these work well for preparation of cookies. Likewise, try to place a baking-tray on the lower-rack while food is placed on the upper-rack because this tray will help to catch any dripping from food while allowing for the airflow to reach the food.
  1. Don’t cover the food: when using a convection toaster-oven for cooking, please don’t cover your food for best results. This mainly because airflow is part of the cooking process while using a convection-oven and covering the food will actually block this airflow hence hindering the cooking process. In fact, avoid covering the food with a foil or any other top-cover in order to achieve quick and good results when using a convection-oven.
  1. Check on the food as it cooks: just like with any traditional-oven, you need to keep an eye on the food as it cooks in a convection toaster-oven. However, check on food about 3/4 of the way through or 10-minutes before the end of the cooking process. Checking actually helps the user to ensure that he-she doesn’t overcook or undercook food in the toaster-oven. However, some convection toaster-ovens have temperature sensors and timer which automatically turns off the oven when food is ready or when its over-heat.
  1. Get to know which foods are cooked best in a convection toaster-oven: you will be able to cook most foods in a convection-oven but some foods actually get cooked well than others. In fact, a convection toaster-oven cooks drier than a conventional-oven because these ovens tend to be more humid and steamy. on the other hand, these are some of the foods that work best in a convection toaster oven; meat which can be roasted much better in a convection-oven, pries and cookies which end-up brown and flaky. However, cakes and bread will not get cooked well in a convection-oven because of the dry-heat which may make them dry instead of moist.
  1. Get to know that most recipes can be converted: once you learn what convection-oven is and how to use it, cooking with this oven will be relatively simple. In fact, almost every recipe can be prepared using this oven as long as you remember lower the temperature, reduce the cooking-time, keeping an eye on food and using the right pans. In fact, a convection toaster-oven makes cooking any food-recipe much easier and quick compared to any traditional oven.

Vanilla Farmer, Amazon Retailer & Tech Researcher. Yosaki is my personal blog but I'm working on some big tech project back doors. I will keep on posting various topics on things I have knowledge about.

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