Can you even imagine a world where a delicious roast is made without the oven? Apart from the skills and diligence of the cook, the performance of your oven will depend on; the age of the oven, how often you use it, and your maintenance routine. And as much as we want to blame wear and tear for a less than impressive oven, most of the time, it is our own fault. If we listened to our appliances and showed them a little more love, we could get our money's worth and more. If ovens could talk, what would your oven say to you?
Clean Me Please
Did you know cleaning the oven made it to the top 10 most hated jobs in the world?
If you take some time out to clean your oven properly, it will thank you for it. You may find that your oven is taking longer to heat up, the food might not taste the same because all the flavours from the crusty dried up leftovers are interfering and this is your oven's way of crying out to you to clean it. Your cleaning schedule will depend on how often you use the oven, most people have a weekly cleaning routine but let's be honest, it is not always that easy. So, maybe just wipe down the oven door once a week and then do a proper clean once a month to loosen some of the dried on grease.
It doesn't have to be a complicated clean, all it might require is, what I call, The Super-Awesome Grease Destroying Threesome, or oven maintenance kit which includes; a descaler, an oven detergent, and a cleaning cloth.
Repair Me Please
What the descaler and detergent can't fix, can be replaced, easily. If you have successfully ignored the 'cry for attention' from the oven, by now some of its parts will be beyond cleaning. So you ignored your oven's "Clean Me Please" and this has nasty consequences. Your appliance may take a very long time to heat up or may not heat up at all anymore. The oven is saying fix me. This could mean the oven has reached a certain respectable age, but it can also just be some parts that have suffered damage. Often you can find the cause of the problem quite easily. A good place to start is consulting the manufacturer's user guide, check the heating element, the motor, the selector switch. As soon as you figure out what's ailing your oven, many of these parts are easy to replace by yourself.
Accessorize Me Please
Let's be honest, it has served you well, so getting a few accessories to upgrade your oven is only fair. You will only appreciate the oven grid and the oven trays when you have family and friends coming over and you have to make a four-course meal in the span of 5 hours. And to get more use out of your oven, have you considered a pizza stone plate? These bad boys will allow you to cook more while leaving you with enough time to socialise.
Listen to your oven!
With the way technology is advancing these days, the idea of a talking oven is not very strange. However, until we hear of actually talking ovens, it’s up to you to listen closely to what your oven is saying. Always keep a close eye on when to give your oven a good clean, more accessories or even much-needed repairs. Do your best to get the most out of your appliance!
