Fan-Assisted Ovens. Are They A Gimmick Or Do They Actually Work?
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
September 27, 2011 10:40am CST
I have an electric oven that can be used on two settings, one of which is "fan assist." I have never used that setting, just the basic one.
Question is. What is it there for and how does it work?
I've got my cheese and tomato puffs in there at the moment, something I really like to make as they are easy to do. No fan-assist necessary as they'll be out of the oven in about half an hour or so.
Do you find that the easiest dishes to make (with fewer ingredients) are always the nicest, taste-wise?
Can't be doing with messing about for hours and hours but I WILL make my own pork pie one day, seeing as John loves them so much.
I've got my cheese and tomato puffs in there at the moment, something I really like to make as they are easy to do. No fan-assist necessary as they'll be out of the oven in about half an hour or so.
Do you find that the easiest dishes to make (with fewer ingredients) are always the nicest, taste-wise?
Can't be doing with messing about for hours and hours but I WILL make my own pork pie one day, seeing as John loves them so much.10 responses
@derek_a (10874)
•
29 Sep 11
Hi Janey, We have a fan assisted oven and it is much more fierce than a conventional one. We always have to turn it down quite a bit from what the cooking instructions say on various products and recipes. The food seems to cook more evenly too. This oven was here when we moved in and it took quite some getting used to.
When you turn the oven on, you can hear the fan cut in and circulate the hot air inside and the top and bottom of the oven seems to keep more to the same temperature so we've found that it doesn't matter whether we put something on the top shelf or bottom shelf. 
_Derek
_Derek
@derek_a (10874)
•
30 Sep 11
We do put two different things in the oven, but they both have to be cooked on the same temperature. One may cook faster, so we just put that in a little later. We have to experiment a lot with that. But a good thing is that we have a double oven, a smaller on the top and a larger underneath. Obviously! 
Anyway, we mostly use the top oven for lighter meals, and the lower one for joints, chicken etc. Oven chips and fishfingers can usually be put in at the same temp in the big oven. The packets say to cook them on different temps, but they both work OK on the same temp in about 20 minutes. We put the plates in the top oven which is not switched on, but gets very warm from the heat of the bottom oven - so it's no more meals getting cold quickly because they are on cold plates from the cupboard. _Derek
Anyway, we mostly use the top oven for lighter meals, and the lower one for joints, chicken etc. Oven chips and fishfingers can usually be put in at the same temp in the big oven. The packets say to cook them on different temps, but they both work OK on the same temp in about 20 minutes. We put the plates in the top oven which is not switched on, but gets very warm from the heat of the bottom oven - so it's no more meals getting cold quickly because they are on cold plates from the cupboard. _Derek@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
29 Sep 11
That's good to know and handy if I ever try to make more than one thing..does that mean that, say one item has to be cooked at a different temperature than the other, can they both be cooked at the SAME temp?
1 person likes this
@CTHanum (8234)
• Malaysia
29 Sep 11
I do believe that the setting is actually work. If I do have one I will use it but since my oven do not have that setting so no choice. The different is maybe we just need to lower the temperature a little bit rather than the regular oven without the fan.(^^)
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
29 Sep 11
Yes, I don't suppose the fan assist setting would be there if it didn't work. If I ever cook a turkey (not very likely) I may use it for that.
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
27 Sep 11
I think that the reasons for the fan have been explained elsewhere. I usually use ours to heat the oven more quickly and to get a head start on some dishes, and then awitch to the more conventional oven that is not fan assisted. They do work but for most of us we use them so infrequently that there is always the risk of burning the food. I know what you mean about simplest being tastiest. I don't think that you can beat a plate of creamy scrambled eggs. Now that's so blooming easy. I make mine in the microwave. I have never made a pork pie but I did once make a game pie. The hot water pastry is lovely to work with and turned out much better than I thought. But it's a bit of a faff and I've not bothered again. If you make one let us know how it goes.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
28 Sep 11
I would need one of those fall away tins..you know which ones I mean? It would make life easier for a pork pie, especially the one I've seen being made on Videojug. Oh my, it's so awesome!
I want to make some sausage rolls like Mum makes at Christmas as well..but one thing at a time, eh?
Haha!
@marguicha (222896)
• Chile
27 Sep 11
When my mom bought a new fan assist oven for herself, many years ago, I asked her to give me the old one. It´s still at work, I do all my baking and roasting there and have no trouble. I don´t think my mom uses the fan assist devise much as she does all her cooking the way she has always done it
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
28 Sep 11
I reckon you may be in the "gimmick" camp and I'm tempted to be in there myself!
@marguicha (222896)
• Chile
28 Sep 11
If something works perfectly well in the old way, there´s no need to learn a new way. I think that we are always aware of wonderful things to learn, but we have a limited capacity. Why waste it in learning how to use ALL the tricks of the cellphone for example? Leave that to the kids and use it to talk to someone. Period.
I think that we are always aware of wonderful things to learn, but we have a limited capacity. Why waste it in learning how to use ALL the tricks of the cellphone for example? Leave that to the kids and use it to talk to someone. Period.
@sishen4429 (108)
• China
28 Sep 11
I can see you love making food and share what you did.Though i love food and taste delicious meal,i have no skill on cooking.The oven, i even didnt think about how it works,just realize it can make some delicious food and then i eat the food,lol.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
28 Sep 11
Haha! Excellent idea, I wish someone would make mine!
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
12 Oct 11
I am not really sure. I do not have one to see if it works.
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
8 Nov 11
i think it's there to distribute the heat more evenly,that's about it.
i've never been fond of electric stoves just in general.gas is more even,IMO.
@petersum (4522)
• United States
27 Sep 11
Fan ovens are really only useful for baking bread. When your dish should be on the "top shelf", using the fan enables you to fill the oven with each item supposedly getting the same amount of heat, no matter where it is placed.
Most ovens have such a ridiculously small fan, they don't actually work as they should.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
28 Sep 11
Mmm, that's interesting to note. So, if I cooked two things at once on different shelves, would the fan assist setting work better, do you think?
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
27 Sep 11
I don't use and or own the "fan assist" setting. I do make slow roasted pork from time to time and it can take up to 6-8 hours, depending on the size.
I have that down pat in terms of how I time it, so not sure how I would adjust to slower timer cooking with the "fan assist".
