
The conventional oven setting is represented by two lines or rectangles on top and bottom. This means the top and bottom heating elements will radiate heat, which is the standard for all-electric ovens. The fan is not involved for this, using only the natural convection within the oven.
What is a conventional oven?
What's a Conventional Oven? Conventional ovens have been a mainstay in the modern kitchen since the 1950s. They operate with bottom-up heat transfer from a stable, fixed source, usually a burner element or gas flame inside the oven house. Whether gas or electric, baking is essentially the same – the heat rises and cooks the food from underneath.
What are the different types of oven settings?
Oven Settings Explained 1 Conventional oven cooking. It takes two to tango when you’re dancing with both the upper and lower heating elements of the oven. 2 Fan-forced. Is your cake fluffy at the base but darkened to a crisp on top? ... 3 Fan-forced grill. ... 4 Oven grill. ... 5 Turbo grill. ... 6 Defrost. ... 7 Warmer. ...
What is the convection setting on an oven?
The convection setting on your oven turns on a fan and an exhaust system that moves hot air around your oven. This has the effect of cooking the outer edges of dishes more evenly. In addition, the exhaust system pulls moisture out of the oven, helping dry foods faster than when the convection setting is not turned on.
What is the best position for a conventional oven?
That’s why conventional oven cooking works best when the dish is placed in the centre of any bottom shelf. Conventional oven cooking is useful for cooking meatier meals such as casserole or bread, as well as fatty meats like duck and goose.

When should I use the convection setting on my oven?
When to use convection. Convection cooking is ideal for foods that do better in a dry climate and where you want to encourage browning and crisping. So roasting meats, potatoes and vegetables are all ideal, and it's great for reheating things like fried chicken or baking pizza.
What is the difference between conventional oven and regular bake?
A regular bake setting is fairly straightforward. The heated air inside the oven surrounds the food and cooks it from the outside, in. By contrast, a convection bake vs regular bake setting uses a fan at the rear of the oven to circulate the heated air inside. It also utilizes an exhaust system to help expel moisture.
How do I know if my oven is conventional?
Conventional or Convection? Both types of ovens look the same at first, and both can be gas or electric. The difference between them is that the source of heat in a conventional oven is stationery and rises up from a heating element at the bottom.
Can I bake a cake in a convection oven?
The simple answer, yes, you can bake a cake in a convection oven. But it is far trickier than baking in a conventional oven. This is mostly because cake batters are light, and the circulation of hot air can flatten air bubbles and create a short, flat, and dense result.
Is convection bake better for cakes?
Food experts generally do not recommend baking cakes in convection ovens. Cakes rise best with a steady heat; the heat movement adjusts the crumb of the cake and may cause it not to rise properly.
What does conventional oven mean?
WHAT IS A CONVENTIONAL OVEN? Conventional ovens, also called traditional, regular, thermal or radiant ovens, have heating elements that are typically located at the bottom and top of the oven. In a conventional oven, the dish closest to an active heating element cooks the fastest.
How do you use a conventional oven for baking?
When using ovens with both fan-forced and conventional settings, it is best to use conventional when you are baking long and slow (like for cakes) and fan-forced for fast cooking at high temperatures. If using a fan-forced oven, as a general rule, drop the temperature by 20°C to imitate conventional.
What is the difference between convection baking and conventional baking?
Very simply put, a convection oven has a fan and exhaust system that a regular oven does not. The fan and exhaust help blow hot oven air over and around the food, then vent it back out. As a result, this hot air surrounds the food so that it cooks evenly and more quickly.
What is a convection oven?
A convection oven has a fan and exhaust system that circulate hot air around the cavity of the oven, reducing hot and cool spots and helping dishes...
What is a conventional oven?
A conventional oven has two heating elements that heat air inside the oven to cook food. The heating element at the bottom of the oven is used for...
What are the benefits of a convection oven vs. a conventional oven?
Both convection and conventional ovens have their distinct advantages. Learn more about their unique benefits.The convection oven benefitsEven baki...
When to use the convention setting
Use the convection setting on your convection oven for most cooking, roasting and baking needs, including meats, vegetables, casseroles, cookies an...
Conventional oven cooking
It takes two to tango when you’re dancing with both the upper and lower heating elements of the oven. You might recognise this setting in recipes or on the back of a frozen meal as ‘conventional’, ‘static’ or ‘traditional’ heating – otherwise known as the option that isn’t fan-forced.
Fan-forced
Is your cake fluffy at the base but darkened to a crisp on top? The fan-forced mode can help you achieve greater consistency throughout because the top and lower elements are not active. Instead, the setting turns on both the fan and a circular heating element in order to spread hot air throughout the oven.
Fan-forced grill
Want to avoid the disappointment of tucking into a succulent steak and finding it to be dry and chewy on the inside, making it tough to swallow? To help you maintain consistent temperature throughout your cooking you might like to use the fan-forced grill function on your oven.
Oven grill
Similar to the straight line on the conventional oven cooking symbol, the oven grill icon typically features wavy lines. When double lines are shown, it indicates heat is spread over the whole grill portion of the oven. But when the icon only shows one line, heat is usually directed towards the centre or another specific area of the grill.
Turbo grill
There are only a few things more satisfying than walking into the familiar aroma of home-cooked comfort food. But just like a Christmas dinner, things can get a little overwhelming. Thankfully, the turbo grill function can help calm the intensity of different odours. It’s also suitable for simultaneously cooking larger amounts of food.
Defrost
Frozen on what to do with the snowflake icon on your oven? Keep cool and use the defrost function to quickly thaw food in time for dinner. Switching this feature on typically prompts the fan to distribute air throughout the cavity without using any heat.
Warmer
Put the foil away and activate the warming function to enjoy freshly made food later on without drying out your roast chicken or burning a batch of choc chip cookies. A modern take on traditional warming drawers, this feature can also heat up plates.
How Conventional Oven Works
Before we teach you how to use conventional oven, we will first discuss how it works. We know you’re curious how this simple-looking kitchen equipment can produce delicious food. So here’s how it works.
Steps in Using the Conventional Oven
If it is your first time and still confused with conventional oven cooking, don’t worry because you can do this in no time. After mastering these steps, you can try different recipes and make your signature dish that your family will love! So, if you are excited, here’s how:
Conventional Cooking
When you think of a delicious meal or dessert, you can make it in an instant if you have the ingredients and a conventional oven. A conventional oven is dependable when we bake delicate goods like cake and pastries. That is why it is one of the best kitchen equipment.
How Does a Convection Oven Work?
A convection oven works by circulating hot air around the cavity of the oven, helping food to cook faster and more evenly. It does this with the help of a fan and exhaust system that blows hot air around the food.
Convection Oven vs. Conventional Oven
Here's your quick reminder on how a conventional oven works: A conventional oven has two heating elements that heat up the air inside the oven to cook food. One can be found on the bottom, and is used for most cooking and baking. The other is on the top, which is mostly used for broiling.
Convection Oven vs. Air Fryer
Here's a hot take for you — an air fryer is just a small, countertop convection oven. That's right, air fryers don't actually fry foods at all. They work the same way as convection ovens do — by circulating hot air around the food until it is cooked through on the inside and crispy on the outside.
When to Use a Convection Oven
Okay, so if the convection oven heats food faster and more evenly, then why don't we always use it over a conventional oven? Believe it or not there are times when you don't want hot air circulating around your food.
How to Use a Convection Oven
Convection cooking is not as simple as turning on the convection setting. This is because most recipes are written for conventional ovens, which means you'll need to adjust your temperature and cooking time to accommodate.
Regular Oven To Convection Oven Conversion
Every oven is uniquely and innovatively designed. The functionality, efficiency, and reliability of each brand and model of oven you will come across will differ. That doesn’t mean you should be worried though as all ovens are mostly classified as convection, microwave or conventional.
Convection Oven Cooking Guidelines
Pay attention to these guidelines for keeping food under watch while cooking in a convection oven.
Mistakes To Avoid When Cooking With A Convection Oven
A convection oven isn’t like your kid’s first doll. It’s technical, mechanical, and demanding. You can play around with even the most intricate of convection oven settings but only if you learn and master the cooking guidelines.
