Zanussi Electrolux ZCM 531, Instruction Book

16

USING THE FAN OVEN

The Fan Oven  

The air inside the oven is heated by the element
around the fan situated behind the back panel.
The fan circulates hot air to maintain an even
temperature inside the oven.
The advantages of cooking with this function
are:

Faster Preheating

Because the fan oven quickly reaches
temperature, it is not usually necessary to
preheat the oven although you may find that you
need to allow an extra 5-7 minutes on cooking
times. For recipes, which require higher
temperatures, best results are achieved if the
oven is preheated first, e.g. bread, pastries,
scones, souffles, etc.

Lower Temperatures

Fan oven cooking generally requires lower
temperatures than conventional cooking.

Remember to reduce temperatures by about
20- 25

°

C for your own recipes, which use

conventional cooking.

Even Heating for Baking

The fan oven has uniform heating on all runner
positions. This means that batches of the same
food can be cooked in the oven at the same
time. However, the top shelf may brown slightly
quicker that the lower one.
This is quite usual. There is no mixing of
flavours between dishes .

How to Use the Fan Oven

1.  Turn the oven function control knob to 
2.  Turn the thermostat control knob to the

required temperature.

HINTS AND TIPS

Shelf positions are not critical, but make sure
the shelves are evenly spread.

When cooking more than one dish in the fan
oven, place dishes centrally on the shelves
rather than several dishes on one shelf.
When the oven is full, you may need to allow
slightly longer cooking times.
A shelf may be placed on the floor of the oven.
Place dishes on a shelf in this position rather
than on the oven base, to allow air circulation
around the food.

When the oven is full of the same food, e.g.
equal trays of small cakes or equal size victoria
sandwich cakes, then they will be cooked in the
same 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 not
necessarily be ready together.

The fan oven can be used to heat foods through
without thawing first, e.g. fruit tarts, mince pies,
sausage rolls, and other small pastry items. Use
a temperature of 190-200

°

C and allow 20-40

minutes (depending on the quantity of food in
the oven).

Only experience will enable you to determine
the correct settings for your personal cooking
needs. The temperatures are intended as a
guide only. It may be necessary to increase or
decrease the temperature to suit your individual
requirements.

The effects of dishes on cooking results

Dishes and tins vary in their thickness,
conductivity, colour, etc. which affects the way
they transmit heat to the food inside them:

A   

Aluminium, earthenware, oven glassware

and bright shiny utensils reduce cooking and
base browning.

B    

Enamelled cast iron, anodized aluminium,

aluminium with non-stick interior and coloured
exterior and dark, heavy utensils increase
cooking and base browning.

Defrosting  

The defrosting function allows you to defrost
frozen foods. The oven fan operates without
heat and circulates the air, at room temperature,
inside the oven. This increases the rate at which
defrosting takes place.
This function is particularly suitable for delicate
food 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 or

plastic film to prevent drying out during
defrosting.

•

  Small or thin pieces of fish fillet or peeled

prawns, mince, liver and thin chops will
defrost in 1-2 hours. Ensure that they are
cooked or refrigerated immediately after
defrosting to maintain good food hygiene.

•

  Place the frozen food a single layer where

possible, and turn it over half way through
the defrosting process.

•

  DO NOT leave food at room temperature

once it is defrosted. Cook raw food
immediately or store cooked food in the
fridge.

•

  Take care to follow the basic rules for

hygiene when handling fresh, frozen, raw
and cooked foods.

Main pilot light

This light will come on when the oven function
control knob is set.