Hotpoint SD 52K - SD 52 manual Practical Cooking Advice

Practical Cooking Advice

The oven offers a wide range of alternatives which allow you to cook any type of food in the best possible way. With time you will learn to make the best use of this versatile cooking appliance and the following directions are only a guideline which may be varied according to your own per- sonal experience.

Preheating

If the oven must be preheated (this is generally the case when cooking leavened foods), the “fan assisted” mode

bcan be used to reach the desired temperature as quickly as possible in order to save on energy.

Once the food has been placed in the oven, the most appropriate cooking mode can then be selected.

Cooking on More Than One Rack

If you have to cook on more than one rack at the same time, use only the “fan assisted mode” b which is the only one that is appropriate for this type of cooking.

•The oven is fitted with 5 racks. During fan assisted cooking, use two of the three central racks; the lowest and highest racks receive the hot air directly and therefore delicate foodstuffs could be burnt on these racks.

•As a general rule, use the 2nd and 4th rack from the bottom, placing the foodstuffs that require greater heat on the 2nd rack from the bottom. For example, when cooking meat roasts together with other food, place the roast on the 2nd rack from the bottom and the more delicate food on the 4th rack from the bottom.

•When cooking foodstuffs that require differing times and temperatures, set a temperature that is somewhere between the two temperatures required, place the more delicate food on the 4th rack from the bottom and take the food requiring less time out of the oven first.

•Use the dripping pan on the lower rack and the grid on the upper;

Using the Grill

This multi-function oven offers you 2 different grilling

modes.

Use the “grill” mode d, with the oven door ajar, placing the food under the centre of the grill (situated on the 3rd or 4th rack form the bottom) because only the central part of the top heating element is turned on.

Use the bottom rack (1st from the bottom), placing the dripping pan provided to collect any sauce and/or grease and prevent the same from dripping onto the oven bottom. When using this mode, we recommend you set the thermostat to the highest setting. However, this does not mean you cannot use lower temperatures, simply by adjusting the thermostat knob to the desired temperatu- re.

Setting e “fan assisted grill”, only with the oven door shut, is extremely useful for grilling foods rapidly, as the distribution of heat makes it possible not only to brown the surface, but also to cook the bottom part.

Moreover, it can also be used for browning foods at the end of the cooking process, such as adding that gratin finish to pasta bakes, for example.

When using this mode, place the grid on the 2nd or 3rd oven rack from the bottom (see cooking table) then, to prevent fat and grease from dripping onto the bottom of the oven and thus smoke from forming, place a dripping- pan on the 1st rack from the bottom.

Important: always use the “fan assisted grill” with the oven door shut. This will allow you both to obtain excellent results and to save on energy (approximately 10%).

When using this mode, we advise you to set the thermostat to 200°C, as it is the most efficient way to use the grill, which is based on the use of infrared rays. However, this does not mean you cannot use lower temperatures, simply by adjusting the thermostat knob to the desired tempera- ture.

Therefore the best results when using the grill modes are obtained by placing the grid on the lower racks (see cooking table) then, to prevent fat and grease from dripping onto the bottom of the oven and smoke from forming, place a dripping-pan on the 1st oven rack from the bottom.

Baking Cakes

When baking cakes, always place them in a preheated oven. Make sure you wait until the oven has been preheated thoroughly (the red light “E” will turn off). Do not open the oven door during baking to prevent the cake from dropping. In general:

Pastry is too dry

Increase the temperature by 10°C and reduce the cooking time.

Pastry dropped

Use less liquid or lower the temperature by 10°C.

Pastry is too dark on top

Place it on a lower rack, lower the temperature, and increase the cooking time.

Cooked well on the inside but sticky on the outside

Use less liquid, lower the temperature, and increase the cooking time.

The pastry sticks to the pan

Grease the pan well and sprinkle it with a dusting of flour or use greaseproof paper.

I used more than one level (in the function "ventilated oven") and they are not all at the same cooking point

Use a lower temperature setting. It is not necessary to remove the food from all the racks at the same time.

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