Baked dishes are the most healthy and delicious, and cooking in the oven is very simple if you know which dishes to use. It can be specialized and universal. For example, clay pots, a cocotte maker, a goose mullet, tajine, a roasting pan, various tins and a familiar pan are specially designed for the oven. But also you can use any other utensils, with the exception of wood, plastic and some other types.
Special dishes
Many housewives limit themselves to using only one baking sheet and several baking tins. Meanwhile, cookware for the oven is a fairly large group of products. Special containers help unleash the full potential of the oven and give dishes a unique flavor.
Cocotte
A small cup with a handle is made of metal, glass or ceramic. It makes mushroom and chicken julienne, julienne with seafood, eggs, benedict. And in the cocotte you get delicious portioned casseroles.
Goose meat
Oval-shaped container, traditionally made of cast iron, less often - of glass and ceramics. A whole goose is placed in it. The meat is evenly stewed and baked. Goose meat is used not only for cooking poultry, but for other types of roast, as well as game.
Tazhin
It is a pan with a high conical lid. Tazhin came to us from Asia and won the hearts of Russian culinary specialists thanks to the possibility of cooking without a drop of oil and fat. Its feature is the accumulation of condensate at the top of the lid, and then the dripping of moisture drops back into the container. The taste of the dishes is very saturated and bright even when using a minimum amount of spices, which is not surprising, because they are prepared in their own juice.
Brazier
A round frying pan with two handles, sometimes a wire rack at the bottom. Roasters, casseroles, fish are cooked in roasters. They cook, fry, stew and bake in them. Due to the special form, the products are prepared in their own juice and are well baked.
Baking sheet
Familiar to every housewife. A baking sheet is standard on the oven. It makes cakes and pies, fish and meat, pizza, dried nuts and meringues. A baking tray with a thick bottom is ideal for baking, and for meat - with a wire rack and grooves for collecting juice.
Clay pots
Mostly made of ceramics. Dishes prepared in pots have a unique taste. The dishes retain heat well, so all products are perfectly baked. The first and second hot dishes are prepared in them. For example, everyone knows millet porridge with meat, pumpkin porridge with cream, rice soup with seafood.
Forms
Perhaps the most diverse type of dishes for the oven. Especially popular are 3 types of baking dishes:
- Silicone They withstand temperatures up to 250 degrees and make it easy to create curly cupcakes, cakes and biscuits. Dough does not stick to silicone. The only negative is that after 4–5 years the material becomes toxic. Forms need to be changed from time to time.
- Paper. Inexpensive and effective forms allow you to bake an even cupcake, Easter cake or biscuit. And they are disposable, so after cooking you don’t have to wash anything.
- Detachable. Ideal for baking cakes, pies, casseroles. The detachable form is easily removable, so the edges of the baking are always smooth.
Forms for the oven are round, oval, rectangular, square, large and small. They are made from different types of materials and are used for baking meat, pies, vegetables and other products.
Types of Materials - Pros and Cons
A few decades ago, mainly cast iron was used for cooking in the oven. But today, the choice of utensil materials is more than diverse. Great for baking:
- Thermoglass. Microwave utensils can also be used for the oven. It is put in a preheated oven, used in gas and electric ovens. If the glass is heat resistant, there are no restrictions. Relevant information can usually be found at the bottom of the dishes. Pros: through the transparent walls you can observe the cooking process, the glass does not smell, is easy to clean, does not enter into a chemical reaction with the products. Minus - a relatively high price.
- Ceramics. The walls of ceramic dishes let air through. It warms up well and retains heat for a long time. Thanks to this, the products retain the maximum benefit. Of the pluses, it is worth noting the exquisite taste of dishes and the beautiful appearance of the dishes. It can be used both for baking and serving. Cons - high price, difficult care and use. Ceramic containers must be washed immediately. Do not store them closed. And they do not tolerate temperature differences and are placed only in a cold oven.
- Cast iron. Long-lasting, high-quality dishes. She is not afraid of temperature extremes, no detergents, or mechanical stress. And cast iron holds the temperature for a long time, it heats up well and quickly. The food in it cooks faster. Minus - the dishes are very heavy.
- Steel. Lightweight, comfortable, durable, unpretentious. Stainless steel with non-stick coating is very popular. It is affordable, lasts a relatively long time. In steel dishes, dishes are quickly cooked and quickly cooled. Minus - the coating is scratched. Coated containers must not be washed with hard sponges and abrasive detergents.
What dishes should not be put in the oven?
Despite the high quality of modern dishes, it is undesirable to put some of its types in the oven. Prohibited:
- Aluminum cookware. With baking in such dishes you need to be extremely careful. Aluminum “does not make friends” with acidic products: fish and meat in sour marinade, dishes with lemon, pies with berry filling. Contact with acid provokes the release of toxic substances for the body. In addition, when heated, aluminum cookware can release metal ions. The exception is oven molds with non-stick coating.
- Enamelled. Enamel is able to withstand temperatures up to 250 degrees. Therefore, with its use in the oven you need to be extremely careful. Do not put dishes with enamel in a red-hot oven, otherwise the coating will crack due to rapid heating. It is also forbidden to use utensils with spoiled enamel - cracked, chipped. If you decide to bake in an enameled saucepan, pour a little water into it and heat it before putting it in the oven. Or put the dish in advance, in the still cold oven.
- Plastic and wooden dishes. Everything is simple here. These materials are not heat resistant. Plastic (most of its types) begins to melt already at 80 degrees. The process is accompanied by the release of toxic elements. Wooden utensils (bamboo) in the oven, although it does not light up, will darken and crack. It is definitely impossible to use it for baking.
- Glassware. If the glass is not heat-resistant, then the dishes in the oven may burst. To prevent this from happening, they put it in a cold oven, and after cooking it is allowed to cool naturally.
- Dishes with wood and plastic elements. It is important to carefully examine the dishes before putting them into the oven for the first time. The base itself may be suitable for baking. But the presence of wooden or plastic handles changes things.
The range of dishes for the oven is very wide. What to cook, each housewife decides independently. If the family loves baking, you should pay attention to silicone and demountable forms. Fans of meat can be advised dishes made of cast iron (contributes to the formation of a crisp). It will be useful for families with children to acquire ceramic and glass containers for cooking healthy food, as well as silicone molds in the form of cartoon characters.