On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 17:03:52 GMT
"Bob Giel" > wrote:

> How much can an oven's temperature vary and still give good results?
>
> If set at 350 degrees F., what is the most it should go above or below
> the set temperature?
> Is there actually a standard or "generally accepted range"?
> Is the acceptable range a percentage of the target temperature (e.g. up
> or down 5%) or is it an absolute (e.g. up or down 10 degrees F maximum?)


Maverick - people who made the oven thermometer i used until the
thermocouple died - said it's normal for the temperature to fluctuate up to
15% during use, and that their (reasonably good) digital oven thermometer
thus averages the temperature readings it gives you. Which is totally
valid.

Anecdotally - A good friend of mine was working for a semiconductor
company when they developed a laboratory grade electric oven controller
that was far cheaper than any that had come before - back in the early 80's
- so they decided to market it for use in high-end home ovens.

It was capable of regulating the temperature inside the oven to within
+/- 1 degree Celsius, and no oven made with it was ever worth a damn.

Nothing that came out of them was ever cooked properly. Every recipe had
to be adjusted. People hated them. It was a total flop.

The engineers determined that since baking methods have evolved over
time with these temperature fluctuations as a constant, they were actually
required for proper baking without reformulation.