Cooking with the oven is usually considered the easy part. You’ve already prepared the food, and now you just need to throw it in the oven and it’ll be ready, right? While it is true that oven cooking does not require as much skill as other aspects of the cooking process, it does nonetheless require some basic understanding to get the most from it. Here are some really simple oven hacks that every home cook should know.
Preheat the Oven
Of course, this should go without saying. But it can never be said enough: preheat the oven before cooking. Simply adjust the knob to the required temperature and leave to heat for about 10-20 minutes. This ensures that food is cooked properly all the way through.
Identify Your Oven
It’s important that you know what kind of oven you have. This is because it will affect cooking times, how long you preheat it for, and where to position your food in the oven. Ovens are usually divided up into fan ovens, electric ovens, and gas ovens.
Pay Attention to Positioning
In most ovens, the top of the chamber is the hottest. If you want food to cook quickly, place it here. This is particularly true of gas ovens.
Don’t Turn Off Abruptly
When you turn off the heat on electric and fan ovens, turn the thermostat down as far as it will go without clicking. Leave it for a minute before turning it off, because this will help prevent the oven from breaking over time.
