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CookMatey

Cooking guide

Understanding Oven Temperatures

Fan-forced vs conventional, what 'moderate' means, and why preheating matters.

  • 4 min read
  • 5 steps
  • Easy
Two people cooking together in a bright home kitchen

Recipes give oven temperatures in degrees Celsius, but ovens vary. Knowing whether your oven is fan-forced, and what common temperature words mean, helps your food cook the way the recipe intends.

CookMatey recipes give conventional (no fan) temperatures unless they say otherwise.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Check your oven type

    Fan-forced ovens circulate hot air, so they cook faster. For fan-forced, reduce the recipe temperature by about 20°C.

  2. Step 2: Learn the temperature words

    Slow is about 150°C, moderate is 180°C, moderately hot is 200°C and hot is 220°C (conventional).

  3. Step 3: Always preheat

    Turn the oven on 10–15 minutes before you need it, so food goes into a fully heated oven.

  4. Step 4: Use the right shelf

    The middle shelf gives the most even heat. The top is hotter, which is good for browning.

  5. Step 5: Check for doneness

    Cooking times are a guide. Check a few minutes early and use visual cues, a skewer or a thermometer.

    Tip: An inexpensive oven thermometer shows whether your oven runs hotter or cooler than its dial.

Put it into practice