OVEN TEMPERATURE ACCURACY:


Check your oven for temperature accuracy. Place an oven
thermometer on a pan and set the pan in the middle of the
middle shelf. Turn the oven to 350° and wait about 30 minutes.
heck the thermometer and see if it reads 350 degrees. Make a
note of the thermometer's reading. Set your oven to 400 degrees
and follow the time procedure. Check the thermometer and make
a note of its reading. Set your oven to 300 degrees and follow
the time procedure. Check the thermometer and make a note of its reading.

Adjust your baking times in accordance with the real temperatures
shown on your notes. If the thermometer's reading were less
than your oven's dial setting...Bake for a longer time. If the
thermometer's reading were more than your oven's dial settings...
ake for a shorter time. You can also change the outside settings
to be a little higher or a little lower instead of changing the
baking times. Do whatever works best for you. "Make notes of your settings".

Sometime your oven's temperature setting device will match its
real inside temperature on some setting and not on others. It's
good to know what the real inside temperatures are for high
and low settings.

sandy wrote:

> OVEN TEMPERATURE ACCURACY:
>
> Check your oven for temperature accuracy. Place an oven
> thermometer on a pan and set the pan in the middle of the
> middle shelf. Turn the oven to 350=B0 and wait about 30 minutes.
> heck the thermometer and see if it reads 350 degrees. Make a
> note of the thermometer's reading. Set your oven to 400 degrees
> and follow the time procedure. Check the thermometer and make
> a note of its reading. Set your oven to 300 degrees and follow
> the time procedure. Check the thermometer and make a note of its readin=
g.
>
> Adjust your baking times in accordance with the real temperatures
> shown on your notes. If the thermometer's reading were less
> than your oven's dial setting...Bake for a longer time. If the
> thermometer's reading were more than your oven's dial settings...
> ake for a shorter time. You can also change the outside settings
> to be a little higher or a little lower instead of changing the
> baking times. Do whatever works best for you. "Make notes of your setti=
ngs".
>
> Sometime your oven's temperature setting device will match its
> real inside temperature on some setting and not on others. It's
> good to know what the real inside temperatures are for high
> and low settings.

How about matching your oven settings to the actual temperature. If you s=
et your
oven to 350 and it is actually 340, try setting the oven 10 degrees highe=
r and
try to match your settings to the actual temperature rather than messing =
with
cooking times.

Dave Smith wrote:

> sandy wrote:
>
<snip>
>>Adjust your baking times in accordance with the real temperatures
>>shown on your notes. If the thermometer's reading were less
>>than your oven's dial setting...Bake for a longer time. If the
>>thermometer's reading were more than your oven's dial settings...
>>ake for a shorter time. You can also change the outside settings
>>to be a little higher or a little lower instead of changing the
>>baking times. Do whatever works best for you. "Make notes of your settings".
>>
>>Sometime your oven's temperature setting device will match its
>>real inside temperature on some setting and not on others. It's
>>good to know what the real inside temperatures are for high
>>and low settings.
>
>
> How about matching your oven settings to the actual temperature. If you set your
> oven to 350 and it is actually 340, try setting the oven 10 degrees higher and
> try to match your settings to the actual temperature rather than messing with
> cooking times.
>
>
>

Most all of the newer units with electronic controls allow you to
modify the actual oven temperature so that if the oven thinks that
it's at 350 and it's actually at 340 you can increase the oven temp by
10 degrees.

--
Steve

Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it.

> Dave Smith says:
>
>sandy wrote:
>
>> OVEN TEMPERATURE ACCURACY:
>>
>> Check your oven for temperature accuracy. Place an oven
>> thermometer on a pan and set the pan in the middle of the
>> middle shelf. Turn the oven to 350=B0 and wait about 30 minutes.
>> heck the thermometer and see if it reads 350 degrees. Make a
>> note of the thermometer's reading. Set your oven to 400 degrees
>> and follow the time procedure. Check the thermometer and make
>> a note of its reading. Set your oven to 300 degrees and follow
>> the time procedure. Check the thermometer and make a note of its readin=
>g.
>>
>> Adjust your baking times in accordance with the real temperatures
>> shown on your notes. If the thermometer's reading were less
>> than your oven's dial setting...Bake for a longer time. If the
>> thermometer's reading were more than your oven's dial settings...
>> ake for a shorter time. You can also change the outside settings
>> to be a little higher or a little lower instead of changing the
>> baking times. Do whatever works best for you. "Make notes of your setti=
>ngs".
>>
>> Sometime your oven's temperature setting device will match its
>> real inside temperature on some setting and not on others. It's
>> good to know what the real inside temperatures are for high
>> and low settings.
>
>How about matching your oven settings to the actual temperature. If you s=
>et your
>oven to 350 and it is actually 340, try setting the oven 10 degrees highe=
>r and
>try to match your settings to the actual temperature rather than messing =
>with
>cooking times.

Why not simply re-calibrate so that the oven temperature matches the indicator
setting... most all ovens can be easily calibrated by turning a small screw
located inside the hole of the oven control dial stem. For recalibrating the
newer electronic touch pad controlled ovens read the owners manual or contact
the manufacturers helpline, often such info is at their website.


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

> Adjust your baking times in accordance with the real temperatures
> shown on your notes. If the thermometer's reading were less
> than your oven's dial setting...Bake for a longer time. If the
> thermometer's reading were more than your oven's dial settings...
> ake for a shorter time.


And we all know that those cheezy little oven thermometers sold in the
supermarket are all precisely accurate...


--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

sandy wrote:
> Adjust your baking times in accordance with the real temperatures
> shown on your notes. If the thermometer's reading were less

But how do you know that the cook book being followed had their oven set
right to give you the right temperature anyway? Sounds like using
experience with a particular oven is the best way of setting the temperature.

I have wondered about the challah recipe I usually follow which has them
baking at 375F for about 45 minutes. The first time I baked I followed
everything to the letter. I didn't even check them in the oven - just took
them out after 45 minutes and they were so over done that they were pretty
much ruined. I now bake them for 25 minutes at 350F. I have no idea what
kind of oven the cook book writer had, but it sure was different than mine.

regards,
Ben


--
"What passes for wisdom may only be eloquent foolishness"

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wrote:

>>Adjust your baking times in accordance with the real temperatures
>>shown on your notes. If the thermometer's reading were less
>>than your oven's dial setting...Bake for a longer time. If the
>>thermometer's reading were more than your oven's dial settings...
>>ake for a shorter time.
>
> And we all know that those cheezy little oven thermometers sold in the
> supermarket are all precisely accurate...

You have to test the thermometer and adjust for it when you stick it in the
oven :-)

regards,
Ben

--
"What passes for wisdom may only be eloquent foolishness"

Cheap long distance calling using Onesuite (http://www.onesuite.com).
2.5 cents/min anywhere in the U.S., to Canada or the U.K. No monthly or
connection fees! Use promotional code 038664643 for 20 free minutes.

>ben abc writes:
>
>
>sandy wrote:
>> Adjust your baking times in accordance with the real temperatures
>> shown on your notes. If the thermometer's reading were less
>
>But how do you know that the cook book being followed had their oven set
>right to give you the right temperature anyway?

Someone who'd take the trouble to write a cookbook would very likely use an
oven thermometer... I know, now you'll ask about the oven thermometer's
accuracy. Simple, cooking ain't rocket science... BAM!


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

In rec.food.cooking, ben > wrote:

> You have to test the thermometer and adjust for it when you stick it in the
> oven :-)

Do you do that by setting the oven to 350 and seeing if the thermometer
reads accurately?

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

Do y'all find that getting the oven temperature that exact is helpful or
necessary? I have an ancient electric oven that gets pretty close to
the right temperature, but who knows if it would do for a test kitchen?
Probably not. 400 degrees is hotter than 350 on that thing, but 350
(on the dial) could easily be 325 or 375 (in reality). I'm not sure.


I have a meat thermometer for checking the doneness of roasts, the sort
you poke into the meat itself. That works for me. I don't go so much
by the estimated time it should take to cook that's listed in the
cookbook. I go by when the meat thermometer says it is done.


For baked goods, I check for browning around the edges and put a clean
fork in the center to see if it comes out clean. I don't bother with
the estimated time the recipe says it should take to bake. This works
for me.


--Lia

> wrote in message
...
> In rec.food.cooking, ben > wrote:
>
> > You have to test the thermometer and adjust for it when you stick it in
the
> > oven :-)
>
> Do you do that by setting the oven to 350 and seeing if the thermometer
> reads accurately?

Ha ha ha :-]

Boiling water would test one point on the thermometer, at least.
Electronics grade silver solder (put a piece in a nonperforated disposable
aluminum pie pan in the oven) melts in the high 300's to mid 400's
Fahrenheit - the manufacturer (or their website) of that particular brand
and formulation number should be able to tell you exactly what temperature.

PENMART01 wrote:

>>ben abc writes:
>>
>>
>>sandy wrote:
>>
>>>Adjust your baking times in accordance with the real temperatures
>>>shown on your notes. If the thermometer's reading were less
>>
>>But how do you know that the cook book being followed had their oven set
>>right to give you the right temperature anyway?
>
>
> Someone who'd take the trouble to write a cookbook would very likely use an
> oven thermometer... I know, now you'll ask about the oven thermometer's
> accuracy. Simple, cooking ain't rocket science... BAM!

Oh yes cooking IS rocket science - have you heard of:

SMOKED BACON AND EGG ICE CREAM, Tomato jam, tea jelly
MINCE MEAT TOFFEE , Butternut ice cream, pumpkin seed oil
DÉLICE OF CHOCOLATE, Chocolate sorbet, cumin caramel

All from the menu of The Fat Duck: http://www.fatduck.co.uk/menu.html

Read about all these from:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0218/p11s02-lifo.html
(Don't say anything about the website, I was led to the article by the Arts and
Letters Daily.)