Customer Reviews

Cooking with Convection: Everything You Need to Know to Get the Most from Your Convection Oven

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Our new home has a convection oven which I had heard is the best thing since sliced bread but I had never used one. I read the manufacturer directions and was no more clear on how to use the darn thing with my own recipes. So, I purchased this book because of all the great reviews and boy, they weren't lying. This book is great. Not only does it give you some super recipes (The Banana Bread recipe in this book is the best I have ever made!) but it gives you approximate times and cooking temps for many items so you can adjust your own recipes. This book is a MUST for any convection oven owner in my opinion

We looked around and thumbed through several other convection cookbooks in our local bookstores and ordered this one before it came out. It not only arrived 2 days early, but was the most complete convection cookbook we have seen. From telling us what works best to what doesn't, to the many tables and information provided (many recipes), this was by far the most detailed. Having worked in food service for a number of years during and after college, when we remodeled our home kitchen, we bought double convection ovens to replace the one oven we previously had. It has been a wonderful experience for my wife as she has never cooked with convection before. One thing to note, most of your old pans that you used in a conventional oven will not work as well or not at all in a convection option oven. But it is well worth the additional expense of a few new pans for the rewards you will get from this cookbook.

This book, though probably not perfect, deserves 5 stars in my opinion, because there is nothing else that comes close to covering the subject as well. If you have a convection oven, obviously you've read through the manual and chased down some recipes, so you know basically what a convection oven offers. My problem was figuring out how to cook food from conventional recipes. This book/author does an excellent job of explaining the key elements of convection cooking, and associating them with various food types. As a result, I now understand which food categories benefit from lower temperatures, which food categories can use shorter cooking times, and when I can take advantage of putting more dishes in the oven at the same time. She covers the various oven settings found on most home convection ovens, and when each can benefit a class of food. Pan types are discussed, and it's clear why they make a difference. Finally, there are enough recipes in each food class to give a very good understanding of the convection qualities that benefit that particular type of food, making it very easy to extend the knowledge to other similar foods. It's rare that you find a book done so well (puns intended)!

I found this book to be extremely informative. It helped me to learn more about my convection products, including the pans and skillets that work the best in the ovens.

The only thing missing is pictures, which I actually like because it gives you ideas for presentation.

Recipes are short and to the point with lots of hints and most of all,.............They taste good too!!!!!

I shopped around for a good resource on convection cooking and I'm really glad I chose this one. After reading through it, scanning the charts, and making a couple of the recipes I now use all three of my oven's convection modes with total confidence. And the recipes are quite good: the whole roast chicken was by far the best I've ever made. Recommended reading for everyone who has a convection oven.

Ojakangas is an experienced cookbook author, as well as a specialist in baking, and these abilities stand her in good stead in this Convection Cookbook.

In addition to being well-organized, recipes are easy to understand. They are written so that you can easily take any of your old favorites and figure out how to adapt them so you'll know what timing to expect with convection.
There also are numerous hints and suggestions so you can get the most of your newest - and expensive - appliance.

After receiving the book and finding the email address for the author, I emailed her with the question about these recipes for the counter top oven. Her reply was that her first book (1980, which I just ordered from Amazon) is best for the countertop type convection oven. There are recipes is this latest book but not all can be done as well with the countertop.

As a single man with little experience in cooking this book was easy to understand. The ingridents for each recipe were few and basic;the preperation was simple and the outcome was very good.
The author Beatrice A. Ojakangas has saved me a lot of money. The owner of the restaurant where I regualarly went too; now addresses me as "Hello Stranger! Where have you been?"
Thank You.
Tyrone R.

I am glad I purchased the book. It is very helpful with cooking times/ temps for everything from meats to cakes (different pan sizes) and more. The recipies are good, simple, with a nice array of ideas- appetizers, pizza, soups, many desserts, breads, all meats. Simple ways to "kick it up a notch!" Really helpful for 1st time convection owners/

I want to heartily recommend this cookbook to anyone even remotely thinking about buying it. I know food all too well, being a good cook, an even better eater, and having previously been in the food business myself. Beatrice is clearly an outstanding chef, and while I bought this only because I had a new convection oven whose usefulness I really wanted to maximize, her recipes are really top notch. I especially recommend the Lasagna, which has a great and easy pasta sauce recipe in it which has changed forever the way I approach this staple. The lasagna is to die for and my previous recipe was no slouch either, so trust me - this is a must - though I use fresh and not frozen spinach in mine. The banana nut bread is also just great. She has many little tricks, tips, ideas about cooking. Get it - it's not expensive, and you won't be sorry.