What Is A Convection Oven?
Ask yourself this question: is my oven a convection oven? The answer is probably not — convection ovens usually don't come standard in most home or apartment kitchens. But it would be rad if it were, because a convection oven's fan is the best thing to happen to food in an oven since the invention of the broiler.
The main difference between convection and conventional ovens is convection ovens have fans in the back that uniformly circulate the hot air around your food while it cooks or bakes. This results in faster, more even cooking (no hot spots, since the air's constantly moving around), as well as better browning which keeps meat juicier.
If you have a convection or dual oven, make sure you reduce a recipe's cooking time by 25% or lower the temperature by 25 degrees so the convection's magic doesn't end up overcooking your food. Be careful when baking with parchment paper, as the fan can blow it (and its contents) around. But if you are cooking convection-style, prepare to pull a lasagna out of the oven with a top so brown, crisp and bubbly you might burn yourself trying to pull out your phone to take a photo.
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