If you are looking for a new oven, you’ve probably noted that there are quite a few different types out there. The most popular oven types are conventional ovens and convection ovens. The major difference between these two ovens is the way the heat is dispersed during the cooking.
Convection Ovens
A convection oven will use a fan located on the backside of the oven. The fan will force the heated air to circulate around the inside of the oven. This heat is always pushing over and around the food being cook. Because of this, a convection oven cooks the food much quicker than will a conventional oven.
There are also some other benefits too. A convection oven won’t just cook food more quickly than will a conventional oven, but it can cook food at a much lower temperature too. When using a convection oven, you can save about 20 percent of the normal cooking time. You also cook at about 20 percent lower heat than you would with a standard oven.
Because of the energy and time savings, convection ovens are popular in restaurants and commercial cooking facilities. However, recently there has been a huge revolution in the home oven arena and convection ovens now dominate the bulk of the ovens available to the average consumer.
In short, convection ovens will cook faster and cook at a lower temperature. However, they are also more expensive than a conventional oven. Most professional chefs swear by convection ovens, however. Another advantage is that you can put the food anywhere in the oven – top, bottom, side – and it will cook within the same timeframe since the air is blow throughout the entire oven.
Conventional Ovens
Most people own or have owned a conventional oven at one point. These oven can be found in pretty much every household. You can cook practically anything with them.
Conventional ovens are similar to convection ovens in that they both use heat to cook. However, the conventional oven does not have a fan that blows the heat around the inner oven. As such, it takes longer to cook food and a higher temperature is required. With a conventional oven, sometimes the head can be blocked by pots and pans. This is especially noticeable when both top and bottom oven racks are being used at the same time. The items on the top will cook faster because the hot air becomes trapped up top.
Conclusion
If you can afford it, buy a convection oven – it’s a better oven. If budget is a concern, buy a conventional oven.