USING THE MAIN OVEN
USING THE OVENS - MAIN OVEN ONLY
Cooking with a fan oven
If you are used to cooking with a conventional oven, you will find a number of difference to cooking with a fan oven, which will require a different approach:
There are no zones of heat in a fan oven, the convection fan at the back of the oven ensures an even temperature throughout the oven; this makes it ideal for batch baking - eg; when planning a party or stocking the freezer, as all item will be cooked within the same length of time.
Cooking times will generally be shorter - by between 5 - 10 minutes per hour - than those times given in recipe books for conventional cooking.
We recommend preheating the oven for frozen of chilled food, and also for soufflés, batter mixtures and yeast mixtures. Preheat the oven until the indicator light switches off for the first time, this will take between 5 to 15 minutes depending on the temperature selected.
There is no flavour transference in a fan oven, which means you can cook strong smelling foods such as fish, at the same time as mild foods - eg; milk puddings.
Foods are cooked at a lower temperature (between 10˚C and 20˚C lower) than a conventional oven, so conventional recipe temperatures may have to be reduced.
Defrosting and cooling 
To defrost frozen foods, turn the oven control to the defrost position, place the food in the centre of the oven and close the door.
To cool foods after cooking, prior to refrigerating or freezing, turn the oven control to the defrost position, and open the door.
Be safe
Do not defrost stuffed poultry using this method. Do not defrost larger joints of meat and poultry over 2kg / 4lb using this method.
Never place uncooked food for defrosting next to cooked food which is to be cooled, as this can lead to cross contamination.
Defrosting meat, poultry and fish can be accelerated using this method, but make sure they are completely thawed before cooking thoroughly.
Place meat and poultry on a trivet in a meat tin.
Defrosting times
Small or thin pieces of frozen fish or meat - eg; fish fillets, prawns and mince, will take approximately 1 - 2 hours.
Placing the food in a single layer will reduce the thawing time.
A medium sized casserole or stew will take approximately 3 - 4 hours.
A 11⁄2kg / 3lb oven ready chicken will take approximately 5 hours - remove the giblets as soon as possible.
Important: Food is more susceptible to the growth of food poisoning organisms in warm conditions. If the weather is hot, either take care to ensure that food is not left standing in a warm oven, or avoid using the automatic cooking facility.
Hints for automatic cooking
❍Food is placed in a cold oven so you will need to add about 10 - 15 minutes onto the cooking time to allow for the oven to reach the selected temperature.
❍Wine or beer may ferment, and cream may curdle during the delay period, so it is best to add these ingredients just before serving.
❍Potatoes should be parboiled or brushed with oil to prevent discolouration during the delay period.
❍Meat can be brushed with oil to prevent it drying.
❍Lemon juice can be added to certain fruits and vegetables such as apples, pears, turnips and parsnips to prevent discolouration during the delay period.
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