Oven 101: All the settings and modes to maximise your oven game

Have you ever wondered what certain oven modes and features do? Unsure how to use your oven to its full potential? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Many people don’t know how to use their ovens correctly. In this article, we’ll go over the basic oven modes and features so you can impress your guests with your next meal!

Getting the Temperature Right

Let’s start with a feature we all have experience with – the temperature gauge. Did you know that most ovens are slightly off when it comes to temperature?

This is why it can be frustrating to follow a recipe exactly, set the correct temperature, and still end up with burnt or undercooked food.

To fix this, get yourself an oven thermometer. They’re inexpensive and give you an accurate reading of your oven’s true temperature.

Conventional vs Convection Cooking

The easiest way to remember the difference: one uses a fan and one does not.

Conventional cooking doesn’t use the fan. This mode is ideal for baking bread, heavy cakes, or meatier dishes like casseroles. You’ll see the symbol as a line at the top and bottom (both heating elements on), or just a line at the top or bottom.

Convectional heating, also known as fan-forced, uses a fan to circulate hot air around the oven. Fan-forced is perfect for roasting or cooking multiple dishes on different racks simultaneously.

Oven Grill

The oven grill setting is represented by a zig-zag line at the top. You may see one or two lines:

Double line: Heat spreads across the entire grill, ideal for sausages, bacon, or a large batch of toast.
Single line: Only the center heats, best for small amounts of food.

Check your oven manual to see if you should keep the door ajar while grilling or if it’s safe to keep it closed.

Defrost

The snowflake icon represents the defrost mode, which is often underutilised. This mode circulates air without heat, helping defrost delicate desserts like scones or iced cakes, as well as meat, fish, and poultry.