Zanussi ZCE 531 GB Instruction Book

Contents

11USING THE FAN OVENThe Fan OvenThe air inside the oven is heated by the elementaround the fan situated behind the back panel.The fan circulates hot air to maintain an eventemperature inside the oven.The advantages of cooking with this functionare:Faster PreheatingBecause the fan oven quickly reachestemperature, it is not usually necessary topreheat the oven although you may find that youneed to allow an extra 5-7 minutes on cookingtimes. For recipes, which require highertemperatures, best results are achieved if theoven is preheated first, e.g. bread, pastries,scones, souffles, etc.Lower TemperaturesFan oven cooking generally requires lowertemperatures than conventional cooking.Remember to reduce temperatures by about20- 25°C for your own recipes, which useconventional cooking.Even Heating for BakingThe fan oven has uniform heating on all runnerpositions. This means that batches of the samefood can be cooked in the oven at the sametime. However, the top shelf may brown slightlyquicker that the lower one.This is quite usual. There is no mixing offlavours between dishes.How to Use the Fan Oven1. Turn the oven function control knob to2. Turn the thermostat control knob to therequired temperature.HINTS AND TIPSShelf positions are not critical, but make surethe shelves are evenly spread.When cooking more than one dish in the fanoven, place dishes centrally on the shelvesrather than several dishes on one shelf.When the oven is full, you may need to allowslightly longer cooking times.A shelf may be placed on the floor of the oven.Place dishes on a shelf in this position ratherthan on the oven base, to allow air circulationaround the food.When the oven is full of the same food, e.g.equal trays of small cakes or equal size victoriasandwich cakes, then they will be cooked in thesame time and removed from the oven together.When different sizes of trays or types of food,e.g. biscuits and cakes are cooked, they will notnecessarily be ready together.The fan oven can be used to heat foods throughwithout thawing first, e.g. fruit tarts, mince pies,sausage rolls, and other small pastry items. Usea temperature of 190-200°C and allow 20-40minutes (depending on the quantity of food inthe oven).Only experience will enable you to determinethe correct settings for your personal cookingneeds. The temperatures are intended as aguide only. It may be necessary to increase ordecrease the temperature to suit your individualrequirements.The effects of dishes on cooking resultsDishes and tins vary in their thickness,conductivity, colour, etc. which affects the waythey transmit heat to the food inside them:A Aluminium, earthenware, oven glasswareand bright shiny utensils reduce cooking andbase browning.B Enamelled cast iron, anodized aluminium,aluminium with non-stick interior and colouredexterior and dark, heavy utensils increasecooking and base browning.DefrostingThe defrosting function allows you to defrostfrozen foods. The oven fan operates withoutheat and circulates the air, at room temperature,inside the oven. This increases the rate at whichdefrosting takes place.This function is particularly suitable for delicatefood which could be damaged by heat, e.g.cream filled gateaux, iced cakes, pastries,bread and other yeast products.HINTS AND TIPS• Cover food with a lid, aluminium foil orplastic film to prevent drying out duringdefrosting.• Small or thin pieces of fish fillet or peeledprawns, mince, liver and thin chops willdefrost in 1-2 hours. Ensure that they arecooked or refrigerated immediately afterdefrosting to maintain good food hygiene.• Place the frozen food a single layer wherepossible, and turn it over half way throughthe defrosting process.• DO NOT leave food at room temperature onceit is defrosted. Cook raw food immediately orstore cooked food in the fridge.• Take care to follow the basic rules forhygiene when handling fresh, frozen, rawand cooked foods.Main pilot lightThis light will illuminate when the oven functioncontrol knob or any of the hotplate knobs areturned on and remains lit while these are inuse.