You may have been using your oven wrong all this time, expert explains

Irish Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Irish people do a lot of cooking and while air fryers continue to soar in popularity, many people still turn to the ol' reliable oven when preparing meals. But it turns out we may not be using them properly and it could be affecting our food.
Which, the consumer advisory company, has shared a clip on how many of us might be misusing our ovens by failing to understand the basics of the daily appliance, The Mirror reports.
A video shared on TikTok explains the correct way to use the oven by learning what the symbols on the appliance actually mean, when many home cooks don't have a clue about what they represent. It's advised to brush up on the meaning of such symbols in order to make sure that your food is cooked safely and to ensure that it as tasty as it can be.
In the video, viewers are talked through the meaning of the various symbols.
The presenter explains: "Are you using your oven wrong? You probably know the classic fan oven symbol. Good for most types of cooking, especially when you use more than one shelf."
While discussing the symbol on the oven with a simple line at the bottom, she explained that: "In this case, heat only comes from the bottom. Good for gently cooking stews and casseroles and crisping up the base of a pizza or pastry."
But conversely, when there is a thin line at the top and bottom of a symbol, this represents heat coming from both sections, which is aimed at single-shelf cooking of food items such as pastries, scones or large cakes. It is also good for roasting meat.
The grill symbol, which some people struggle with, was also explained, with the presenter saying: "This is the grill. Some should be used with the door open, others closed, so always check your oven's manual. Place your food close to the grill, but with a little space in between, so it's not touching.
"The grill is great for anything that sizzles, like sausages and bacon. [It's] also handy for browning off meat or the top of a lasagne. You can also grill with the fan on, which spreads the grill's heat - good for cooking through thicker pieces of meat or fish without heating the whole oven or burning the top."
Another symbol is a grill sign that shows a line at the bottom and that represents a grill with a lower heating element and this is aimed at the cooking of pies, tarts or pizzas - essentially foods that require a crispy base and a brown top.
Another easily-confused symbol that is showed in the video is the half-grill setting which, when turned on, means that only one part of the grill gets hot so you will have to put food near that area of the grill to make sure it cooks properly and doesn't come out raw.
This video has been viewed almost 10,000 times since it was first shared and the comments underneath the post suggest that many followers were not aware of what the different symbols means. Person setting oven
One commented: "I'm watching this in the knowledge that I only ever use one setting and I will never change." Another added: "My dad's oven broke and he called an electrician around. Turns out he's only used his grill and never used his oven function. How he's survived this long is beyond me."
A third replied: "We just turn on the oven, press the go button and hope for the best." Meanwhile, a fourth also commented: "Thank you so much for this."
Someone else also chimed in with: "Handy and informative. I use three of the settings mentioned. There are others. I'll have to experiment."
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