Oven Temperatures

Trust no one.

Especially your oven.  Your average electric and many modern gas ovens have a thermostat to control heating and attempt to keep a uniform internal heat.  Many times, they are wrong.  What happens is that the controller tries to add heat or back off adding heat as it detects temperature changes inside.  So the heat is going like a yo-yo while the food cooks.  Better ovens keep the fluctuations narrow but if the detector is off to begin with then the temperature you think you are using isn't what you are using and you have crossed over into the realm of going up against a Sicilian when death is on the line.

Many cooks will use a dial oven thermometer in their ovens to get independent verification of the temperatures they are using.  Now these, can go wrong or are off as well (and often are) but at that point you could simply toss it and get a new one.  If you are truly wanting accurate temperatures, you can look into quality remote reading thermometers but look for the kind that range in the warmer temperatures enough for an oven.  An added benefit of these is to be able to at a glance see the current temperature which can help with determining cooking times overall and even overcooking as discussed a few days ago.   If you have been wondering why your casserole is soupy or the brownies rock hard, you may be dealing with an off oven.  I have also added not One but Two handy links to helpful site s that deal with repairing and adjusting your thermostat but just keep in mind that an oven is not something that you can simply fire and forget.

One more thing, I would say the refrigerator temperature is suspect to.