Avoid This Aluminum Foil Mistake To Keep Your Convection Oven In Tip-Top Shape

With the dramatic rise in households that regularly use air fryers or convection ovens, knowing how to keep them in pristine condition so we can use them for years to come is valuable information. One of the easiest ways to do this is to line your pans and cover food when heating so you don't end up with an ugly mess inside the oven. Covering your food in a way that will keep your oven safe from damage is an important consideration. 

A favorite item for bakers and cooks everywhere is aluminum foil, especially as a liner or cover. We use it for everything from slow cookers to convection ovens and air fryers but knowing how to best use the versatile product when using kitchen devices is important to avoid expensive or messy problems.

A convection oven cooks by blowing hot air all around the food with a fan with a vent allowing the air to escape. If the foil blocks or gets too close to the fan or vent, the foil could get so hot that it ends up catching fire. Additionally, if the foil gets too close to the upper or lower heating elements, the convection oven can overheat and stop working. To prevent this, the foil needs to be securely tucked around your baking pan or plate. If that's not possible, you need to weigh it down so it doesn't fly up into the heating elements.

Now that you've taken steps to properly secure the aluminum foil in your convection oven, you can refresh your memory on other ways to use it properly in the kitchen. Most people know that you should never put aluminum foil in the microwave because of the risk of causing a fire or explosion but how many times have you seen a sheet of foil on the bottom of someone's conventional oven? How many times have you done it?

While it seems innocent, the foil reflects heat, potentially causing the oven to overheat. While this heat may cook your food faster, it could also cause the foil to melt in the oven or disrupt your oven's heating element so the temperature regulation is damaged permanently. Either result requires a time-consuming and expensive fix or the purchase of an entirely new oven. A better option is to put either a cookie sheet or foil on the lowest rack.

When it comes to baking, grilling, and roasting foods, aluminum foil can be an easy way to cook without making as much of a mess. Whether lining your pan with aluminum foil in the air fryer to help ensure even cooking or using it in place of a Thanksgiving roasting rack, it's one of the most useful and inexpensive items in our kitchen. Even with all the ways it's helpful, using it wrong can burn your food, or worse, cause permanent harm to your appliances.