The best type of ovens to be a Masterchef: Gas, Electric, Multifunction or fan ovens
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Choose the right oven and you'll be on the track to becoming a Masterchef in no time!
Your choice of oven can make or break your budding career as a Masterchef. Knowing the ins and outs of each type of oven helps you to compensate for the quirks when using someone else's oven, but also helps you pick the best type for you!
I've always wondered how they manage this in the Masterchef kitchen - I've never heard one complaint about how they don't know the oven, or they've always cooked with gas before, or how one oven they use on one show differs from another. I'm guessing that the Masterchef set has electric multifunction ovens, with gas hobs (although the gas hobs aren't a guess!).
Still, whatever you've got or whatever you will purchase will have quirks, but here are a few tips on how to work with the quirks and be a Masterchef every time! One oven item that is fundamentally essential is an internal temperature gauge - the thermostat will give you an indication of the temperature but is often not quite fast enough for a chef.
Electric ovens
The thermostat usually controls the heat in the middle and the oven will be slightly hotter at the top and slightly cooler at the bottom. This means that to compensate you'll need to make sure cakes are in the middle, or when cooking more than one pizza at a time you need to move them around in order to ensure they're all 'done' at the same time.
The inconsistent heat can be both a downfall and a useful quirk depending on what kind of meal you're cooking. For example, if you tend to make roasts separately from roast potatoes you can cook your potatoes at the top and the meat at the bottom.
Electric ovens have one major downfall that they take time to heat up - so if you're under pressure for time like you are in a Masterchef final, you need to plan well ahead!
Fan ovens
Fan ovens heat up quickly and the temperature is even throughout the oven. Some top-end fan ovens help you cook foods with strong flavours together, without worrying about the flavours being transferred.
Fan ovens don’t start cooking immediately, so you'll need to adjust the cooking times your Masterchef recipe calls for. If the total cooking time a cooking time is less than 25 minutes don't compensate but if over 25 minutes take approximately 10% off the time dictated by the recipe.
Multifunction ovens
If you're a flexible cook with flexible styles, a multifunction oven is the way to go. They'll have a combination of different heating elements and a fan, as well as a grill function, and settings to combine more than one kind (eg grill + fan).
Sometimes these ovens have useful features like bottom heat only (great for crisping pizza bases) and top heat only (for crisping tops) or both. Rotisseries are also a popular feature, and some ovens have a defrost setting too.
Gas ovens
The top of a gas oven will always be hotter, but some gas ovens are shaped to assist the air to circulate (encourages even cooking temperature). Gas works best for cakes as the air is more moist in a gas oven. Gas ovens also heat fairly quickly and the grill setting can be better for browning the tops of pies or making creme brulee because the heat is more concentrated.
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