Ovens

The truly crap oven I got last year with a discount as part of our new kitchen, has turned out to be the worst bargain ever.  First the induction hob never worked properly and had to be replaced with a gas one, and then the oven, having managed six months of service as an indifferent appliance (no proper temperature gauge, no consistent heat, far too small) gave up the ghost altogether.  Or at least the large (I use the word in the loosest possible sense) fan oven did.

So while I am waiting to get a new one, I tried using the small top oven for Yorkshire puddings.  It did not altogether surprise me that they turned out quite well.

I am going to express a heretical opinion here and say that for a number of dishes, conventional ovens (in other words ones without a fan) are better.  Yorkshires, scones and some cakes both need rapid constant heat and don’t appreciate being blown about.  Provided you are aware that the conventional oven has to be set to a higher temperature than the fan one, and that there is a temperature difference between shelves, they are just as good, and in fact in my opinion better than cheap fan ovens.

Certainly for Yorkshires I have never had much luck with fan ovens.

Now it remains to be seen whether I can actually get a new oven to my rather exacting requirements without having to tear half our kitchen out.