Stoves and ovens: the secrets of spiritual work

The cooktops are becoming more and more functional and self-contained. Sometimes it feels like you’re looking at something between a computer and a spaceship, rather than your average “home oven. Choose the optimal model can be only thoroughly prepared, finding out the subtleties of the names and the specifics of the modes, and most importantly their necessity in your kitchen. Today we’re talking about ovens.

The grill evens out the gas attack

Gas ovens are kind of outsiders in terms of innovation, because their device has not fundamentally changed throughout the history of. That’s why most gas stoves are so similar to one another, both externally and with a modest set of functions.

Every gas oven has a burner on the bottom. Heating comes from underneath. In a situation like this, it’s hard enough to ensure that the heat is evenly applied to a pie or casserole. It is true that gas ovens heat up very quickly, but it is difficult to maintain a strictly set temperature in them.

When cooking in the oven requires a better thermal effect, you can consider an oven equipped with a grill. Grill – this is the upper heating element placed under the ceiling of the oven most manufacturers are unanimous in terminology, but the company Gorenje uses the term “infra-heater” and Mastercook – “roaster” .

Grill is used when it is necessary to provide a flow of hot air coming from the top down, thereby heating directly the surface of the dish. The grill is designed for baking and browning pieces of meat or poultry, toasting, casseroles. It can be gas or electric, for example.

A gas grill is a gas grill. When working the gas grill in the oven does not circulate air, so the hostess has to ajar the oven door. Many housewives don’t like the fact that the red-hot air is blown outside in a jiffy, adding aromas to the food you’re cooking. This problem is solved in a number of models Bosch, Siemens, Brandt, Darina, De Luxe, they do not have to open the door, and the toast or meat is well baked and browned.

Electric grill is quite common in gas ovens. The electric grill is said to provide more even heat, plus the thermostat that controls it makes sure the set temperature is maintained. An electric grill, just like a gas grill, does not allow for good air circulation, so electric grill ovens need to have the door open when grilling.

My poultry gets all spun up in there!

Ovens equipped with a grill can include a rotisserie. For example, the Ariston oven uses a multi-shaped rotisserie for cooking kebabs. The rotisserie is equipped with an electric motor that sets it in motion.

Thus, the meat or poultry all the time turn different barrels to the heater and due to this browned on all sides. The rotisserie can be placed either horizontally or diagonally. In the latter case, the oven can bake large products whole pig or turkey .

Gas control: the oven under control

Turning on the gas burners of the oven has always been fraught with some difficulties. In the old ovens, a slight internal explosion could be caused by a slip of the hand, when a sharp flow of gas would catch the timid flame of a match.

Many gas ovens are now equipped with an electric ignition switch or igniter for example, Ardo, Ariston, Bosch, Brandt, Smeg . To turn the oven on, press the ignition button and turn the oven thermostat knob. Immediately a flame lights up and the burner starts to work. Automatic electric ignition of the oven is, unfortunately, not as common as a similar way to turn on the burners of the worktop.

Another unusual but important function is the gas control oven. It is a safety system that shuts off the gas supply to the oven if the flame suddenly goes out. This prevents gas leaks. If you are interested in this function, look for models Gefest, Darina, Ardo, Ariston, Bosch, Brandt, Indesit, Gorenje, Hansa, Kaiser, Mastercook, Moravia, Whirlpool.

Gas ovens are equipped with mechanical timers whose task is to promptly inform the hostess that the set time has elapsed and it’s time to look inside. The timer beeps and works like an alarm clock. It can be 45, 60, 120 minutes. Timers are available for Gefest, Ardo, Bosch, Brandt, De Luxe, Indesit, Gorenje, Hansa, Kaiser.

Electric ovens can be static

Electric ovens are becoming increasingly popular. Their ability to cook with quality and variety has led to the fact that even gas ovens are equipped with ovens that work with electricity. Ovens come with several types of heaters that allow you to choose the best way to cook.

A distinction is made between static standard and multifunctional ovens.

Static ovens work with a “gentleman’s” or rather minimum set of heaters: bottom, top and grill.

The bottom and top heaters work together under different names from the stove manufacturers.

The bottom heating also called the bottom heat is provided by an electric coil, which is not visible, since it is hidden in the bottom of the oven. Visible top heater is also a heating element, placed along the perimeter of oven ceiling.

It increases the temperature in the chamber, but does not roast the top crust of the products. For this purpose the grill is designed. Its spiral is located in the center of the ceiling. The grill heat is specifically “targeted” to the food surface.

In the same way, the sun heats the surfaces of houses, trees, and people. And, for example, in clear weather, even if it’s freezing outside, the snow melts on the sunny side. So the grill fries the surface of the dish, and that is why the cutlet in this mode of heating should be turned, otherwise it will be overcooked on one side, and with the other remains raw.

Another grilling specificity is that it covers only certain surface area. On the Small Area Grill, food is cooked in the center of the baking tray, not on the sides.

Multifunctional grill

Ovens with a wide range of modes allow for more efficient use of the grill.

The grill is not always able to grill food that is spread over an entire grid area. Very often only the middle part of the rack is actively grilled, while pieces of food around the edges do not get any heat and cook much slower. In order to cook any number of products, manufacturers use a combination of overhead heating and grilling, thus creating a powerful stream of heat coming from the top.

This mode is called a variable area grill and it is recommended to have a grill with full power for roasting a big sausage or goose and a low power for making some toasts or patties. Buyers when choosing a stove may encounter a whole set of terms that denote this mode.

To whom Carlson lent his motor?

When the oven is heated by two heaters, one on the bottom and one on the top, two opposing streams of warm air are created, such dynamics of air in the oven is called natural convection. It’s a beautiful expression but it really shows the disadvantage of cooking in standard ovens you have to open the oven door to grill, for example .

Multifunction ovens are usually equipped with so-called forced convection. There is a fan on the back of the cavity for this purpose. The fan creates swirling currents in the oven, so the warm air circulates through the volume of the chamber all the time. The oven heats more rapidly and evenly, heating every corner of the oven.

The fan turns on at the same time as the desired type of heating bottom and top, or lower, grill . The movement of the hot air creates an interesting effect – the food is cooked faster, at a lower temperature. So the fan really means time and energy savings. This phenomenon is reflected in the names of the oven modes.

So Ardo the joint work of the lower and upper heating with a fan is called “rapid cooking”, AEG uses the term “solo hot air”, Siemens – “convection”, and CANDU – “convection oven.

A fan allows you to use the oven’s versatility even more. At low heating temperatures or without it it became possible in a gentle mode to defrost food, create conditions for rising dough, dry fruits and mushrooms, for example, in Asko fan work is called “drying/defrosting”.

Grill and fan work together to replace the traditional rotisserie. Hot air moves to all sides of the food and grills not only the top, but also the bottom and sides. It looks much like a rotisserie, but it is the air instead of the food that is moving.

All the advantages of a grill – crispy crackling, appetizing aroma and juicy pulp – are retained. The food will not dry out and is cooked distinctly faster, and fat will not collect on the walls of the oven it collects in the pan .

With this feature, the stove is often stripped of the rotisserie for lack of use, but for those who are not yet accustomed to the unusual way of grilling on the “air” grill, the rotisserie is included. In this case, too, you should pay attention to the brand names of this mode.

The hot ring

A logical continuation of the idea with the fan was the appearance of another heater in the oven – a ring or circular . Its shape is dictated by the fact that the heat must be distributed as efficiently and quickly as possible throughout the volume of the oven, and the fan is placed inside this ring. The whole construction occupies space on the rear wall of the oven therefore, the ring heater can be called back .

The circular heater and fan have totally changed the approach to traditional cooking, when a housewife used to patiently bake Napoleon crusts in several batches, or several trays of cookies for a child’s birthday party.

The oven now allows you to cook on several levels at the same time without the slightest compromise on baking quality – food will cook in the same conditions, bake evenly on all sides, baked goods or cakes will be ready at the same time.

The new feature also allows you to cook different foods that require the same baking conditions. These features of the oven are in demand in large families or on the eve of celebrations, when expecting a large number of guests.

The emergence of a new function is reflected in the terminology, so it makes sense to expand your vocabulary with special mode names.

Special modes: starting with pizza…

Lower heating with the operation of a circular heater and fan creates special conditions in the oven. On one side, the oven heats up with lightning speed super-fast heating, this is the name of the function at Gaggenau . It creates conditions reminiscent of an antique brick oven.

Since most manufacturers are foreign, this function is called pizza Zanussi, Electrolux, Ariston, Bosch, Asko , it allows you to quickly bake an aromatic pizza, allowing you to brown thin or puffy dough and cheese. This mode is ideal for puff pastry, small cakes, and pot roast.

Special modes are more typical for the built-in, here you can find the heating function, where you can maintain a low temperature about 60 oC , so that the dish will remain warm until served. Interesting is the rapid heating function that turns on all the heaters at the same time.

Smart automation for housewives and blondes

A distinctive feature of multifunctional ovens is more advanced and modern controls. We will focus on a few still unusual automatic programs, which can be found only in expensive models of electric stoves.

Most of the ovens operate in manual mode, ie time, temperature and heating method is chosen by the user and personally sets with the help of buttons or rotary switches. Housewife has to “watch” all the time of cooking – not to miss the time when you need to add or reduce the temperature, turn on the grill before grilling.

Automatic programs relieve their lucky owners from the need to relentlessly monitor the process, tell you what level to put the tray Bosch . The user chooses a program which is tailored to the recipes, specifies the weight of the products and puts the dish in the oven. The oven itself will combine cooking modes, turning on the right kind of heater for the right time, turning down the temperature in time, and turning off the oven.

Automatic programs can have a memory function to activate the grill five minutes before the dish is ready to brown the crust of a pie or casserole.

Automatic braising – it is like a cookbook, which your stove remembers by heart, and the user only has to choose the most suitable recipe.

Automatic programs calculate the cooking process very precisely and optimize the use of power and heat, reducing cooking time.

Of course, automation in solo models is not common, they are more likely to be equipped with built-in ovens. And the price of such stoves is much higher from 30 000 Dollars , in our market they are German Bosch, Siemens.

Equipping the stove with a programmer also frees the hostess from watching the process. In this case, an electronic timer is connected to the heating elements and disconnects them from the network at the right time if the stove is equipped with a delayed start, then at the right time the oven itself can turn on heating . Thus, the heating will stop at the time set by the hostess. You can set the cycle time or the end of cooking time, whichever you prefer.

A good oven is very important for the hostess, it is its performance, not the skill of the cook that will determine the final and main stage of cooking – heat treatment. Oven manufacturers try to make the most of technological advances to make cooking easier, faster and of higher quality.