Built-in Oven

In the realm of kitchen, built-in oven is not yet the king, it won a three households. But the craze for kitchens does not weaken, it keeps going. Despite its democratization, it remains an expensive electrical item. It should not be randomly selected.

Cooking methods

Natural convection or conventional cooking/heat

The air in the enclosure circulates vertically. It is heated by resistance at the top (arch [1]) and with base (sole [2]). The cooking is done on one level. The preheating is used to raise the temperature of air in the enclosure, the metal walls are heated to radiate at the time of cooking.

The convection (or forced convection)

Some ovens combine the convection with their traditional way of cooking. In this case, the air flows in all directions, stirred by a ventilator located on the rear wall. This mode allows simultaneous cooking on several levels (eg roast and pie). We distinguish those with pulsating heat and those with loading heat.

a) pulsed heat

A circular element (1) and a turbine (2) are located on the rear wall of oven. Only the circular resistance heats, those of arch and sole are not working.

b) loading heat

The turbine (2) is located on the rear wall of oven but this time, the vault (1) and sole (3) resistors operate simultaneously.

The cleaning modes

Catalysis: The chamber walls are made of a microporous enamel that destroys most fat during cooking.

Pyrolysis: In pyrolysis, the oven operates at very high temperatures (around 500°C) for 2-3 h. Before switching on the device, it must however, remove the fat deposits to decrease the risk of fire (fat ignites with effect at high temperature) and to emit less smoke. At the end of process, the waste is reduced to ashes, to eliminate with a wet blow sponge. Manufacturers now offer several programs (economic pyrolysis, average, intense) according to degree of the oven soiling.

The glass of oven is always manually cleaned with a nonabrasive product.

The little things that count

If all ovens cook very well today, the "more" little ergonomics can make a difference, as the noise level (to test rotating heat, noise mainly from the ventilator), the design of spits which handles are not always removable, the ability to easily remove the door (useful for cleaning the joint and hinges corner in case of overflow during cooking). To monitor your cooking, lighting is important, remember to clean the protective glass regularly. Know that there are devices with gate (s) anti-tip (sometimes even a trolley), which allows watering the roast without having to tilt the dish.

Some ovens also offer a defrost function (obviously slower than that of microwave, as it is a simple cold or warm air mixing) and an oven function (to let the dough rising for bread, pizza, a cake...).

The "cold" door, a real security

Most manufacturers now offer two versions of each oven (with or without "cold" door). Consists of three to four glass walls cooled by air circulation, it offers real security against contact burns. During cooking, the temperature of the door generally does not exceed 40°C (and at the pyrolytic cleaning, it is around 60 to 77°C, even when one is around 500°C to inside the unit). However, for greater security, better meet two basic rules when installing: Place the oven away from refrigerator and in a furniture that can withstand the heat. Because the oven walls are not "cool".

Installation and ergonomics

A built-in oven can be installed under a worktop that it is equipped with a cooling ventilator. The kitchen furniture coating and the glue fixing this coating must withstand the heat generated by the oven in operation. Height, direction and door opening angle are also important. The oven will be chosen depending on where it will be installed, but also its accessibility. Better set the oven away from refrigerator and in a furniture that can withstand the heat.

In the absence of standardized plug, electrical wiring must be done by a qualified professional technician in accordance with the regulations and instructions of manufacturer (nameplate and operating instructions). If the oven is not connected to the network via a plug socket, a manual cut is essential to meet safety requirements. The electrical installation must be grounded. After installation, the cable must not be in contact with the hot parts of oven or stuck underneath.