What temperature do I even roast this thing at?
How many times have you turned on your oven and put the temperature too low on what you’re cooking to have it not really cook at all and have zero colour? How many times have you turned on your oven thinking 450®F will be an okay temperature and check to see your parsnips are burnt? I have done both of those things so many times I can’t even count them. Every week I burn something. That is the total truth. Whether you look away for a second or forget about something you put in the oven, you burn stuff. Everyone burns stuff. Chef’s burn stuff all the friggin time
Don’t feel stupid just because you burned something. Yeah it’s a pain in the ass to start again, but what can you do right? It’s burnt. Get over it
To make you feel a bit more comfortable, I have put together a temperature list for a regular convection oven that will hopefully de-mystify the golden brown vegetables. Also guys sorry if anyone here uses Celsius for their ovens! Even though I’m Canadian, I have always used Fahrenheit when cooking
250F-275®F-This is a temp that is for cooking low and slow. What I mean by that is if you plan on leaving your oven on for a long period of time, and cooking something gently, this is the temp you are looking for. This is ideal for things like Braises, stews and sometimes roasts. It is also ideal if you want to dry something out fully and not just have the outside heated, but the inside as well
300-325®F- This is the temperature I would set when I want something to also cook for a longer amount of time and gain some nice browning colour to it. It might be good for a casserole or a pie, as well as breads and other baked goods. You can easily use this temp if you have time to spare and maybe are close to the oven to baste the meat inside of it
350-375®F-This is pretty much your go to oven temperature for cooking most things. This temperature will give you nice colour and in good time, without having burnt parts on any of the food. When you are unsure of a temperature to set an oven at I would go for 350®F. This temp is kind of like your middle ground for cooking and will always give you a nice product. Having it at 350®F, you can easily control the cooking time and if you need to increase the heat later. I usually put the oven at this heat if I’m making maybe let’s say a lasagna or vegetables and things that have been previously frozen.
400-425®F-For me this is the temperature I put most things in the oven at. This is a temperature that cooked stuff fast, so you have to keep your eye on the oven when you have things inside of it on this temperature. Cooking at this temperature will give you great colour, pretty fast. This is ideal for roasting vegetables and all proteins, as well as making pastries and cookies. If you need to make crackers or toast some nuts I would do it at this temperature, but like I said you have to keep an eye on it, or IT WILL BURN
450-500®F-This is hot. I don’t recommend setting your oven at this temp, unless you have prior experience cooking. This temp will give great colour, super-fast. If you literally stand next to it and watch it, then you will be okay. Please don’t take a bathroom break when you have stuff in the oven at this temp, because the fire alarms may go off. Maybe you want to toast some bread quickly or cook some veggie or meat kabobs. That is when I would cook at this temp, but it’s not something I would recommend doing at home. Most restaurants have their ovens at this temperature, only because they are reheating rapidly, however there is always a person right beside it constantly checking the food inside.
*Casual side note-If you are cooking something in your oven and it is winter time, leave the door open after you have turned it off. You paid for the energy to use the oven so you might as well get some of that heat to into the rest of your place right? If you do have small children or pets, you should probably not do that in case of accidents
Okayyyyy so that’s pretty much the low down on temperature settings for your oven. I hope this was helpful in some way for the next time you look at your oven in a confused way with a burning smell. If you have any questions, feel free to email or send me a message. Also if you have any kitchen fails, please let me know what happened, maybe we can figure it out together! Anyways happy cooking friends!
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