What Does The Fan Symbol On The Oven Mean?

The U.S. accounts for over 25% of the global household oven market, with consumers replacing their appliances every 10 to 14 years (per Dataintelo). Ovens are big business, with the ability to cook everything from full roast dinners to delicate fluffy cakes, and it's fair to say that they're one of the kitchen appliances people couldn't live without. In order to get the most out of it, you need to understand what your oven settings and symbols mean, and the most important is undoubtedly the oven fan symbol.

You'll find the oven fan symbol on all electric and induction ovens, as well as some gas stoves, and it's the first symbol you should learn to recognize. Why is the oven fan setting so useful? Also known as the convection setting, using the fan means that air will circulate evenly around the whole oven, giving you a consistent cooking temperature and making sure that you avoid any spots getting hotter than others. 

The key here is that the oven fan setting means that the temperature will be the same on the bottom shelf as it is on the top, and this will allow you to get far more precise cooking temperatures, which also makes it far easier to produce evenly cooked food. It's also worth noting that some oven manufacturers in other countries use different terms for the oven fan, such as Zanussi's True Fan and NEFF's CircoTherm. 

As you've probably realized, the main difference between a conventional and convection oven is that the latter has the aforementioned fan setting. That's not all that sets them apart, as on many ovens, the fan setting can be combined with other oven settings and elements to add even more options to your cooking. You'll find two other symbols using the oven fan element on most modern ovens — the fan and grill symbol and the fan with bottom heat symbol.

The fan and grill symbol is represented by the fan icon with a jagged line above it, which represents the grill. When you use this setting, you're switching over to using the grill rather than the oven, but it's combined with the hot air circulation of the fan. This again prevents hot spots from building up and allows you to get crisp and even browned or golden finishes on items such as pies. 

The fan with bottom heat symbol again has the fan icon, but this time combined with a straight line underneath it. You'll still have hot air circulating thanks to the fan, but the oven also provides concentrated heat from below. It essentially allows you to avoid soggy bottoms on items such as pizzas (important if you're turning your home into a DIY pizzeria) and pastries, while still ensuring that any toppings or fillings remain moist and succulent.