Hello all first time posting. My wife raves about these forums and we're currently deciding on appliances for a new home build and had a discussion on the issue of "true convection."
Can anyone explain the differences between normal convection and true convection? I am a mechanical engineer by profession and fairly knowledgeable of basic heat transfer mechanisms and don't understand the differences. I am not a chef but is there any advantages of one over the other such as browning faster due to the higher power?
I currently have a pretty basic gas 30” range, no convection, but decent burners and continuous grates. I’m considering upgrading primarily for the oven. I’m happy with sealed burners and not sure I would get much more out of open burners as in the Blue Star. I’ve been reading up on all the new ranges and technologies. In particular, I want a convection oven and a slide in with front controls (for better looks).
From what I can tell, there are three different types of
convection: regular, true and air fry mode. They all claim more even cooking, better browning, and even faster browning in the case of air fry. But it is hard to find any comparison of actual baking performance between ranges. Consumer Reports is maddening because they don’t distinguish between all gas and dual fuel in their oven performance ratings.
Regular vs true convection: Regular is simply a fan that circulates air throughout the oven, while true has a heating element behind the
fan. In addition, some ovens have “Convection Bake” and “Convection Roast” (e.g. the Samsung Flex Duo). Another variation is either “more powerful” fans or dual fans, usually found on the higher end ranges. But is there any fundamental difference between them?
My physics background tells me that there are really only two properties of convection that affect cooking: temperature of the air being circulated and speed of the air being circulated. If you set the oven at, say 400 degrees (and let it completely pre-heat), then there shouldn’t be any difference between regular and true convection if the fan speed is the same. The only difference I can imagine is that the true convection could pre-heat quicker. I’d be interested to hear other’s experience on real world differences between regular and true convection ovens.
Given the above, I would think that circulating air speed is the most important distinction between the different ovens, but no one seems to talk about it,
except those boasting dual fans or “powerful” fans.
So, how much of a difference in fan speed is there among ovens, and how much does it affect baking performance?
Is the difference between “Convection Bake” and “Convection Roast” simply fan speed?
Are you getting better convection performance in a Wolf or Bluestar, even though they are not “true convection” (except for the Bluestar Platinum)?
Finally, I presume an air fry addition is simply a faster yet fan speed. I found one interesting youTube video showing that there was very little difference between a countertop air fryer and a full size range with convection.
I’d love to hear other’s take on these issues.
Although air fryers have been crowding Amazon wishlists and flying off shelves at Sur La Table since 2015, most home chefs are still afraid to use the air fryer’s convection technology when found in the gadget’s grown-up cousin, the convection oven.
When I was in middle school, my parents spent one long summer renovating our kitchen and purchased a convection wall oven to go along with the other sparkling appliances. Over ten years passed, and they still didn't know how to use the convection feature.
They're not alone. The truth is, many of us have convection-capable ovens and simply don't use them to their full effect. The reason is simple—we're afraid of ruining our food, and haven't taken the time to learn how to cook with convection. (Already sold on convection cooking? Check out our list of the best ranges we've tested, where the winners all have convection!)
Like induction, convection is an almost indisputably superior cooking technology.
Since convection requires different cook times and temperatures, it can be confusing to figure out how to cook your tried-and-true recipes. It's not unlike the learning curve facing induction cooktop owners. The difference, of course, is that induction users have no choice but to learn; convection oven owners can simply use conventional cooking modes.
But like induction, convection is an almost indisputably superior cooking technology. After all, it can reduce cooking times and improve the overall quality of food. And thanks to new oven technologies like automatic convection conversion, which can adjust your conventional recipes for you, it's easier than ever to cook with convection.
Credit: Reviewed.com
Many ovens come with convection as a standard feature today.
How does convection actually work?
Conventional ovens include two heating elements—one at the top, and one at the bottom of the oven chamber. Both are often used during preheating, but in most cooking situations ovens only use the lower heating element. (The top element is usually reserved for broiling.) This can lead to uneven heating; the center of the oven can be cooler than the top or bottom.
These hot and cold spots can produce uneven cooking. For example, a turkey that you roast for hours could be overcooked in some places and undercooked in others. Or a tray of chocolate chip cookies could come out half-burnt and half-blonde.
Convection ovens use a fan and an extra heating element to correct these flaws. Positioned at the back of the oven, the fan creates a stream of air that's passed over the third element and recirculated into the oven chamber, normalizing the temperature throughout.
"Just like how wind chill works, you kind of have a little bit more intensity of heat when it's moving around," said Chef Bruce Mattel, Associate Dean of Food Production at The Culinary Institute of America.
Credit: GE Appliances
This infographic explains GE's Direct Air convection system.
Mattel says using convection results in roasts that sear better, pastries that are lighter and flakier, and foods that caramelize to a more ideal golden brown.
"One of the reasons why you get better color is that, as food cooks, it emits moisture," said Mattel. "The fan helps wick away that moisture a little more rapidly than a conventional oven."
He added that the whole idea of cooking in an oven is to get rid of moisture. The great thing about convection is that the fan accelerates that process.
Credit: Reviewed.com
What's "true" convection?
Before we continue, I have to break some bad news: There's deception in the world of convection. If you already own a convection oven, you might want to make sure it's the real thing.
There's deception in the world of convection.
You see, there are two types of "convection" ovens on the market: "True" or "European" convection, and standard convection. True convection ovens have both a fan and a third heating element, while regular convection ovens only have a fan—no additional heating element is included.
"You can use the element at the back of the cavity to provide a good portion of the heat," said Sabrina Hannah, a food scientist at the GE Advanced Systems Group. "And then it's easier to distribute that heat evenly for two or three racks of food."
Regular convection ovens may not cook food as evenly as true convection ovens, since the fan blows around both hot and cold air. In other words, if you want to guarantee you get the most out of convection cooking, make sure you buy a convection oven with a third heating element.
Credit: Reviewed.com
Some ovens sport controls that can make convection cooking easier.
What's automatic convection conversion?
If you're in the market for a convection oven but don't want to deal with the hassle of converting all your recipes, you're in luck. Virtually all convection ovens available today have a feature called automatic convection conversion. As the name suggests, these ovens will automatically convert the temperature and/or cook time from your conventional recipe to work with convection.
"It stems from this idea that consumers have been hesitant to use it because they don't want to have to change a recipe," said Hannah. "You don't want it to not work."
But if you already own a convection oven without automatic conversion, don't worry—you don't need to buy a new stove. Below, we'll explain how you can convert your recipes yourself.
How do I convert recipes myself?
There are no hard and fast rules for converting your recipes to convection, but we can still provide some general guidelines.
Better Homes & Gardens recommends either reducing the cook time by about one quarter or reducing the oven temperature by about 25 degrees. Chef Mattel adds that, in general, it's best to reduce oven temperature first, before adjusting cook time.
For recipes that need to be covered while cooking, the cook time and temperature should be the same. This makes sense, since the food inside a covered baking dish isn't exposed to the hot air being blown around by the convection fan.
It takes some trial and error to get the hang of convection, but if you use these simple tips, you should be able to avoid any culinary mishaps.
When shouldn't I use convection?
Convection can help just about anything cook faster and taste better, but there are still a couple cases where you shouldn't use it.
In particular, Chef Mattel says the fan can cause problems when you're cooking foods that are naturally light and airy. Take cream puffs, for example.
"You wouldn't want to use the fan because once the product leavens, it could actually blow off the pan," he said.
Mattel adds that the same thing can happen when cooking with parchment paper or tin foil; air can get under it and blow everything off your cookie sheet.
For her part, GE's Sabrina Hannah said she has never witnessed this particular issue with her company's ovens, but it's not outside the realm of possibility for convection ovens in general.
Should I buy a convection oven?
Our lab tests convincingly show that convection settings consistently outperform conventional cooking in terms of uniformity and consistency. That alone should convince serious cooks that their next oven or range ought to include convection.
If you can afford a convection range or wall oven, there's simply no reason not to pony up.
However, you may need to spend a little more to get convection—particularly if you want true convection. Typically, you should budget at least $700 to get a range with a traditional convection setting, or $800 to $1,000 for true convection. Many of the bestselling ranges on the market today are below those price points.
If your budget can support a convection-enabled range or wall oven, there's simply no reason not to pony up.
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.