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1 Know your oven. A good chef knows his oven both by reading the instructions that came with the oven and by experience. Although recipes indicate specific temperatures, knowing how your oven works is essential and, combined with your cooking experience, will help determine the most appropriate cooking temperature and time. Every time you get used to a new oven, always start with the basics, following recipes exactly and adjusting them as needed, before moving on to more complex recipes. And read the manufacturer's instructions if you have access to them; they are full of useful information!

2 Understand the effect of oven positions. Each level of the oven has a different effect on cooking, and it is good to know this to get the best results:

• Upper oven level - this level is the best for fast cooking and high temperature cooking
• Medium oven level - this level is good for moderate cooking temperatures
• Lower oven level - this level is best for slow cooking and low temperature cooking

3 Learn to translate temperatures. It is very helpful to have a general idea of ​​the oven temperature and in Celsius or Fahrenheit, so you can bake with recipes from cookbooks. The most common conversions to know are:

• 160 ºC - 325 ºF
• 180 ºC - 350 ºF
• 190 ºC - 375 º F
• 200 ºC - 400 ºF

4 Explore temperature ranges. When a recipe requires the use of the oven at a given temperature range, these are the following temperatures:

• Cold / slow - 110 - 140 ºC | 225 - 275 ºF | Gas 1/4 - 1
• Moderately warm - 150 - 160 ºC | 300 - 325 ºF | Gas 2 - 3
• Moderate / warm - 180 - 190 ºC | 350 - 375 ºF | Gas 4 - 5
• Moderately hot - 190 - 220 ºC | 375 - 425 ºF | Gas 5 - 6
• Hot - 220 - 230 ºC | 425 - 450 ºF | Gas 6 - 8
• Very hot - 250 - 260 ºC | 475 - 500 ºF | Gas 9 - 10

5 Reduce heat for forced draft ovens. Forced ventilation or convection ovens are more efficient at providing heat while cooking. This means food is cooked more quickly and evenly than in a conventional oven - shorter cooking times and lower temperatures needed to save energy and make cooking more economical. All that remains is to follow the instructions for your oven carefully, but in general, here are the basic rules for using forced draft ovens:

• Reduce the cooking temperature for baked goods by 13 ºC / 25 ºF, especially when the cooking time is no more than 15 minutes, but cook for the same duration as suggested in the recipe;
• Reduce cooking time by 25% for frying and cook at the same temperature as suggested in the recipe.
• Keep track of changes in cooking time and temperature for your favorite recipes for future reference if you have a forced draft oven.

6 Preheat oven until cooked. It is always important to preheat the oven to the temperature suggested in the recipe unless otherwise noted. This will ensure that the oven is at the correct temperature when placing food to cook.

Tips

• While baking, open the oven door for as short a period as possible and only when really necessary; this saves energy, maintains temperature and prevents baked goods from settling!
• Clean the oven regularly; this not only ensures easier cleaning, but also ensures that the heat is directed towards cooking and not burning elements that can also give off an unpleasant odor.

What do you need

• Oven instructions
• Oven