AIBU to not understand (cooking-related and probably a very stupid question)

[ncagain222]

I moved into a new place with an oven that’s about 15 years old. It has a small fan at the back that whirs around when I switch it on. Is it therefore a fan oven or fan-assisted? I’m just wondering whether I should be cooking oven meals at “normal” oven temperature or fan oven temperature.

TIA!

[cardibach]

It is fan assisted, but I’ve never found that it made any differences to temperature or time required, despite the hype.

[MikeUniformMike]

I would use the fan oven temperature.

[Theimpossiblegirl]

I'd go for the fan temperature, or somewhere between the two, but all ovens are different so it can take a while to get used to. It also depends on how old it is, an older oven may not heat up as quickly or be even throughout.

[alittlesnow]

Yep, that's fan assisted.

A fan assisted oven has the fans circulate the air around the food. ... This means you can reduce the cooking temperature by 25 degrees when compared to a conventional oven, as the circulating air transfers heat faster than still air at the same temperature.

If it's 15 y.o. it may be past its best though, so you may find reducing the cooking temps doesn't cook the food through properly. So you would have to experiment.

[SabineUndine]

I would bake a cake at fan temperature and see if it needs longer than the recipe says. Also, my oven is allegedly fan-assisted but it is much hotter on one side than the other and a cake will show you clearly if there's a hot spot.

[alittlesnow]

I mean the FAN, not 'fans.' There is only one.

[ncagain222]

Thanks! So “fan-assisted” and “fan oven” are the same thing and “fan temperatures” on oven meals apply to both? I’ve been cooking my food at normal temps and only just noticed the fan..! I’ve been wondering why everything’s been cooking so quickly Oh dear...