Using a Halogen oven to heat up pasties

whitesatin

Just wondered if anyone knows the answer to my problem.

For some unavoidable reasons, my fridge is next to my main oven. The fridge is being replaced today as it no longer works.

I often run the oven at lunch time to heat up something like Cornish pasties and I wonder if it is possible to heat these up in my, very underused, Halogen oven. In the past, I have found that things burn quite easily in it so would welcome any advice possible please as I want to try to make more use of it and, in the process, save electricity and using my oven next to the fridge (unavoidable sometimes).

Thanks.

pelo_2

Why is using the oven next to the fridge an issue?

PasturesNew

Yes. If you've tried it in the past and it burns, that's down to the usual type of reasons:

1] you need it on the low rack, not the high one
2] temperature's too high

If anything burns before the middle's hot these are the usual suspects: shelf height and temperature.

Knock the degrees back by 10 degrees, or use the lower rack.

whitesatin

pelo wrote: »

Why is using the oven next to the fridge an issue?

This is what I'm told, the fridge has to work harder to compensate for the heat of the oven. Sounds logical to me but who knows?

I do know that we were having to clear out the ice from the freezer on a too regular basis and then the fridge packed up. As it is quite old (spent half of its life in this house next to the main oven, the other half in a cold utility room), I figured replacing it would be the best option but I'm going to try to look after it better.

whitesatin

New fridge in place though not switched on yet. It does say, if placed next to an electric oven, there should be at least 3cm between.


Anyway, the halogen did a reasonable job of heating the Cornish Pasties. I think maybe I left them in a bit too long as they were a tad dry but still edible. I will certainly be using it a bit more than I have been.

SailorSam

If you're only heating up pasties that are already cooked, isn't it better to use the microwave ?

London50

I have found if you follow PasturesNew advise plus shorten cooking time by 2/3 mins most food items cook very well in a halogen oven.
We would not be without ours now for speed/ease and money saving, these days other than a toad in the hole or around Xmas time our oven is used more as a storage for pans ect than for cooking. The plus side as well is cleaning the halogen only takes moments no matter what we ok in it, to me a Godsend :0)

Jamiesmum

I miss my halogen so much. You probably had it up too high as previous poster said. My kitchen is too small for a halogen now, I didn't have an oven when I moved into my first flat for near on a year it was used daily. Only ended up buying an oven to fill the gap and shortly after I moved!

whitesatin

SailorSam wrote: »

If you're only heating up pasties that are already cooked, isn't it better to use the microwave ?

I only have a basic microwave so the pastry doesn't go crispy in the microwave. I find it makes that sort of thing a bit soggy.

Ectophile

SailorSam wrote: »

If you're only heating up pasties that are already cooked, isn't it better to use the microwave ?

Microwaved pasties are horrid. They go soggy and greasy. I'd rather eat them cold.