Do I need a convection oven?

[hisno1girl]

I'm so glad my oven is on it's last legs and I'm shopping for a new one.

DH is adamant that he wants to get the one with 5 burners on top. I think it's a waste, but whatevs.

I should insist on convection, right? I don't have one right now but my sister has one and goes on and on about how well things cook.

[TrickyBob]

I don't like them because for me they are really hit or miss.

They work well on things like meats. But I've found they sort of suck on things like cookies and cakes. Maybe I just suck at using them but I'm not a fan.

I know people who love them, I know people who hate them.

[hisno1girl]

Hmm. I use my oven a lot, for meats and baking.

[TrickyBob]

Aug 23, 2012 19:58:00 GMT -5 hisno1girl said:

Hmm. I use my oven a lot, for meats and baking.

Think of it as a "wet heat", almost like you are steaming everything. Where as a normal oven is a dry heat and circulates the air out.

I think I have that the right way, it could be switched. I don't know the ins and outs of them really.

[greylady]

My mom has an older oven with a convection drawer and it is fine for meat and baking - cookies, biscuits, etc. I mean, she's never used it for a souffle or cheesecake.

[Coley]

We just bought an LG model that is both convection and regular. I like it but I don't use convection for baking at all (and I bake large cakes at least once a week). I've had the same issues Moonbeam mentioned.

[hisno1girl]

Hmm. Once the cooler weather kicks in, I use my oven almost daily for dinner. I do bake a lot too. I don't know if moist heat is going to be a good thing.

[speckledfrog]

I don't find that mine is particularly useful. I do like to use it to skip preheating.

[revolution]

Yes! I love that it cooks quicker and better.

Mine has 2 modes.... normal oven and convection... get that one!

[MixedBerryJam]

I have a separate stovetop with five burners and would never want to go back to four (nat gas) and a convection/conventional oven and loveit, too. I love convection for pretty much everything but baking. I roasted some vegetables in 15 minutes flat recently. My microwave also has a convection setting (as does my toater oven, now that I'm thinking about it) and use that feature all the time. Go for both.

[revolution]

Mine doesn't have moist heat. It has the regular mode and the convection mode has a fan that circulates the heat to cook evenly.

[sonrisa]

Huh. I've found it works for baking but not meat.

[Jalapeñomel]

I love love love our one in the last apartment. It always cooks the meat perfectly, never too dry. It is also great for baking; it's the first time in my life that I didn't burn the cookies.

[Jalapeñomel]

I don't have a moist heat setting or whatever.

[TrickyBob]

Aug 23, 2012 20:40:22 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I don't have a moist heat setting or whatever.

I think I was thinking of the fan and I mistook that for some sort of moist heat.

[lemondrop]

I think convection just means how it circulates the heat around the oven. I loved mine. It was really handy.

[Jalapeñomel]

Aug 23, 2012 20:44:54 GMT -5 lemondrop said:

I think convection just means how it circulates the heat around the oven. I loved mine. It was really handy.

Yes, that is what it means.