Hotpoint EG1000GX - Manual (Page 13)

13
GB
Fan Oven
The heating of the oven is achieved by turning the
control knob clockwise to the required temperature
as recommended in the temperature charts. The
pilot light will immediately come on and will
automatically go off and on during cooking as the
oven thermostat maintains the correct temperature.
It should be noted that at the end of a cooking
period there may be a momentary puff of steam
when the oven door is opened, this will disperse in a
few seconds and is a perfectly normal characteristic
of an oven with a good seal.
Since a fan oven heats up more quickly and
generally cooks food at a lower temperature than a
conventional oven, pre-heating the oven is often
unnecessary. However, foods such as bread,
scones, Yorkshire pudding do often benefit from
being placed in a preheated oven.
The ‘Oven Cooking’ charts are a guide only, giving
approximate cooking temperatures and times. To
suit personal taste and requirements, it may be
necessary to increase or decrease temperatures by
10°C.
Unless otherwise indicated in the charts, food is
placed in a cold oven ie. without preheating.
If food is placed in an already hot oven, the
suggested cooking time should be reduced,
depending on the type and quantity of food being
cooked.
OVEN POSITIONS
Since the distribution of heat in the fan oven is very
even, most foods will cook satisfactorily on any shelf
position, but the shelves should be evenly spaced.
To ensure even circulation do not use meat pans
larger than 390 x 300mm (15ins x 12ins) and baking
trays no larger than 330 x 255mm (13ins x 10ins),
these should be positioned centrally on the oven
shelf.
- Do not fit shelves upside down.
- Never use more than 3 shelves in the oven as air
circulation will be restricted.
- Food or cooking utensils should not be placed on
the floor of the oven.
To avoid unnecessary cleaning, rod shelves which
are not in use should be removed from the oven.
TEMPERATURE AND TIME
When all three shelves are used to cook large
quantities of food for home freezing or parties, it
may be necessary to increase the cooking times
given in the charts by a few minutes to allow for the
loss of heat due to the extra time taken to load the
oven, and the larger mass of food. Baking trays
should allow an equal gap on all sides of the oven.
NB. Recipes in cookery books give times and
temperatures for cooking in ordinary ovens. The fan
oven makes it possible in most cases to:
- Reduce the recommended temperatures 25°C
(45°F).
- Reduce the recommended time by approximately
10 minutes per hour.
- Make pre-heating the oven unnecessary for certain
foods.
TO PREPARE MEAT AND POULTRY FOR
ROASTING IN YOUR FAN OVEN
a. Wipe the meat or poultry, dry well and weigh it.
Meat which has been stored in a refrigerator should
be allowed to come to room temperature before
cooking and frozen meat or poultry must be
completely defrosted before placing in the oven.
b. The weight of any stuffing used should be added
before calculating the cooking time.
c. Place meat / poultry in the main oven meat pan
supplied with your cooker. Small joints weighing
less than 1.75kg (31/2lb) should be roasted in a
smaller meat pan / tin - or they may be 'pot roasted'
- a small joint in a large meat pan causes
unnecessary oven splashing and evaporation of
meat juices.
d. Additional fat should not be added, except for veal,
very lean meat or poultry which can be 'larded' with
bacon fat or brushed very sparingly with cooking
oil or melted fat.
e. Beef, lamb, mutton and poultry may be dusted
lightly with seasoned flour to give a crisp outer
surface. The skin of duck and goose should be
pricked to release excess fat during cooking and
the rind of pork should be scored, brushed lightly
with oil and rubbed with salt to give crisp crackling.
f. Meat and poultry wrapped in, or covered with a
tent of aluminium foil will be juicy and tender.
Roasting bags offer the same advantage. Always
follow the manufacturer's packing instructions and
remember to reduce the temperatures given for
conventional ovens by approximately 25°C and the
time by approxi mately 10 minutes per hour.
g. Potatoes for roasting only require to be brushed
with cooking oil or melted fat.
h. It is not necessary to baste when roasting in an
electric oven and stock or liquid should not be
added to the meat pan since this only causes
unnecessary soiling, steam and condensation.
FROZEN MEAT AND POULTRY
Joints of meat and whole birds should be defrosted
slowly, preferably in a domestic refrigerator (allowing
5-6 hours per 450g, 1lb), or at room temperature
(allowing 2-3 hours per 450g, 1lb). Frozen meat or
poultry must be completely defrosted before placing
in the oven. It is essential to wash thoroughly and
cook meat and poultry immediately after defrosting.