Countertop Convection Oven

One of the reasons why getting restaurant results at home with just about any recipe that calls for baking is difficult, involves nothing more than the equipment used. No matter how hard a home chef tries, baked goods, roasts and other similar foods just don't come out the same. Even if the recipe used is exactly the same as a restaurant's, the taste is different. Why is this? It often falls on the type of oven used. To compensate, many cooks are turning to countertop convection oven models for use in their own homes.

Countertop convection ovens operate using the same principles that larger, professional ovens use. This type of oven uses a fan to circulate heat evenly throughout the cooking area. Regular ovens rely on heating elements and use what is known as thermal or radiant technology to cook food. The problem with the latter design is that heat is not always even. Items placed closer to the elements can cook much faster. Pans placed near the middle racks might take longer to cook thoroughly.

While countertop convection oven designs don't necessarily provide all of the benefits of a full convention oven, they can produce restaurant-like results more readily than a standard oven. In general, these benefits come along with the use of convection technology:

• Faster cooking times – A countertop convection oven can increase cooking times by as much as 25 percent. Since the heat is more evenly distributed, shaving off time from any recipe created using a convection oven is a very good idea. Do be a little careful here though, some ovens will vary a bit on how much or little they speed up the baking process.
• Better outcomes – The advantage of countertop convection oven designs is also found in the end product. A good convection oven will enable faster cooking and faster browning, caramelizing and more. This can make foods come out crisper, flakier and even juicier.
• Elimination of hot and cool spots – One of the biggest advantages of a countertop convection oven lies in the fact that all racks will be fully usable for recipes. Baking cookies in a regular oven, for example, often demands use of the middle rack only. When a convection oven is used, every rack can yield the same results – evenly baked cookies on every rack.
• More baking space – When a countertop convection oven is put into use, larger meals can be handled all at once. Some of the baking or roasting can be handled in the convection oven, leaving the regular oven open for other dishes.

While many professional chefs use industrial designs, countertop convection oven models can give home cooks access to this technology in an affordable way. Countertop models can produce excellent results and free up regular oven space for larger projects.