Oven temperatures

by John Pope

Our guide to converting °C and °F, what to do with a fan oven, and the mystery of ‘gas marks’.

Published August 27, 2012

Thermometer Just about every food website in the world, along with the majority of recipe or culinary training books have an oven temperature conversion table.

Well, here is another one. Not just because I so love typing out tables of data, but also because this site contains a number of recipes and it seems only right to provide all of the info that you need to cook them in the same place.

I’ve added a separate column for fan assisted ovens in °C, the general rule is that you subtract 20°C (about 36°F) when using a fan oven.

	°C	°F
Water freezes	0	32
Water boils	100	212

Oven Temperatures

	°C	°C (fan)	°F	Gas Mark
Very cool	110	90	225	¼
	130	110	250	½
Cool	140	120	275	1
	150	130	300	2
Moderate	170	150	325	3
	180	160	350	4
Moderately hot	190	170	375	5
	200	180	400	6
Hot	220	200	425	7
	230	210	450	8
Very hot	240	220	475	9

If you want to convert between any temps that aren’t listed here, don’t forget that you can always use Google for just about type of conversion, simply by typing the amount you want to convert and the from and to units into the search bar.

This article was moved from the authors former website, which is why some comments may predate the publication date.

Barry Williamson

Thank you! I wondered why everything was overcooked or burned in my new fan oven even though I followed the recipes.
http://johnonfood.com John

Glad it helped!

Every fan oven is slightly different, so you will need to experiment slightly, but the rule above is pretty reliable.
amme

this is so helpful thank you so much
judith

At last! I now have a proper conversion of gas regulos for my fan oven. I’ve been struggling for so long to get the correct temperature for my food. Many thanks judith
- http://johnonfood.com John
  
  Glad that it helped Judith – It seems that the majority of temp conversion charts don’t bother to mention the fact that fan ovens need to be much lower than conventional ovens.
cer1970

Thank you so much, No more burnt offerings!
barbara

hi john
Thankyou so very much, brilliant. No more guessing cooking with a fan oven, (need it perfect for simnel cake! )recipe book about 50 yrs old so no such thing as fan ovens!! love the tip for calculating quickly as well – subtract 20 for fan oven. no more shakey baking. thanks again. Barbara
Pat Amos

Thank you so much John. Now I should know there is no mopre guessing that I have it correct.

Regards Pat
Paula

Thanks for the temeratures. I have just purchased a new fan assisted/’normal’ oven. Do I also have to adjust the cooking time please, or do I just follow the instuctions, but knock the temperature down?
http://johnonfood.com John

Hi Paula,

The easiest thing is just to leave the cooking time as it in the recipe, and adjust the temperature downwards.
Shirley

Thank you so much for sharing this information with us. I had been used to a simple gas oven, then moved into a house with a fan-forced electric oven. There was no instruction manual available to teach me the intricacies of this, though! After several burnt offerings, I decided to search the web and was very grateful to come across this site. Shirley
sheila

Hi! thanks for the NEW chart, i had an OLD chart from a circafan oven from 17YRS ago and wondered why nothing cooked correctly! the oven was a fan but its chart is completely different in conversion to yours i would say it was out about 20percent, my fan chart said gas 5 was 150c yours says 170c, i wondered why everything took longer in my new one. thanks again sheila
Sophie-Ann

Thank you so very much. I looked into every cook book I have and found nothing. You have answered my father’s dream of my baking lots of cakes for him so he thanks you too! xxx
irene

thank you mum found it difficult converting tempratures,as an avid baker this information is invaluable as she couldnt get any information in all her cookery books so big thank you to your sight.xxx
http://johnonfood.com John

I am glad that you are all finding the chart useful.

It is such a simple thing, but if you don’t have the information it makes baking or roasting anything a complete guessing game.

If you are converting recipes from different countries, here is another chart that you might also find useful: http://johnonfood.com/ingredients/egg-sizes/
Rose

Hi I have always cooked by gas but moved to a new apartment and it has fan assisted electric. I would like to know how i can convert temperatures from gas to electric Thank You
http://johnonfood.com John

Hi Rose,

Just use the table above, the last column is the gas mark that you would normally use.

Find the gas mark and then just follow the row across and set your electric oven to that temperature.
sarah

I’ve just got a fan assisted oven and cooked a brisket of be with vegetables. Unfortunatley the veg didn’t cook through can you explain why this has happened?
dennis

atlast i might be abale to get some thing to eat,, thankyou dennis
Patricia

Hi,
I’ve just moved and there is a fan oven in the house. It’s Hygena turbo Model AHY3220.
I don’t understand the temp markings. They go up in 10s…starting at 0 and up tp 50.
Can you give me some help please?
Thanks in anticipation.
David

I can’t find a comparison for gas oven settings between natural gas and LPG. Can anyone help please?
Joan

Thankyou this helps alot. I have been used to gas for many years.
patricia

Im using an old Mary Berry book for her traditional christmas recipe. The first two turned out ok with me adjusting the fan oven temp to what I thought, but were a bit dry. I read somewhere that you should reduce the temp by 25% to get the correct temp for a fan oven. However, I wanted to get it absolutely correct and, having found this conversion table, it seems to confirm that the 25% less rule is about right. Thanks for making this easier for me. Many thanks.
Lola

I have recently moved house and don’t know how to convert gas mark to electric – I used to use a gas cooker but in my new house there is an electric one. The table above doesn’t help because the temperature dial goes up in ones, so 1 2 3 4 5 etc… I don’t think it is gas mark. The recipe I am using is for a tart base and I need to convert gas mark 7 to electric. Can anyone help?
http://johnonfood.com John

@ Lola – I have no idea how that works, maybe the best thing would be to use an oven thermometer to work out what the numbers on your dial mean. You can pick them up pretty cheaply from any kitchen shop.
Anne Keeling

Hi I have exactly the same problem as Lola, my electric oven dial is numbered 1 to 10, surely there is a guide for electric ovens that simply states what temperature each number represents WITHOUT giving GAS conversion charts, please help
http://johnonfood.com John

@ Lola and Anne – I wish I could help you, but I have never seen an oven marked like that, I would guess that the numbers are equivalent to gas marks, but if not then I have no idea. Sorry
Ann Ogden

We have recently had a new cooker the fan assisted oven has a rear fan but a top and bottom element I am experimenting at the moment the recommendation is bottom heat with fan for sponge cakes 180c but they burn at the bottom I am on my third cake mix any suggestions I am currently experimenting with each configuration top element Bot element both elements etc help!
- porkandgin
  
  You could try wrapping the bottom and sides of the cake tin with a couple of layers of tin foil – shiny side out.
  It will reflect some of the direct heat hitting those surfaces
Adrian Oakley

We have a new electric cooker which has the option of with or without fan. Without fan (conventional) set on, say 180, a portable oven thermometer in the middle of the oven reads 180. If the oven is now set to 160 with fan, (the equivalent) the portable thermometer still reads 180. Why is this?
- porkandgin
  
  I’m not sure of the science behind it, but it does prove that the temperature conversion table works perfectly.
Lucy Treacy

I have A Necht Electric Convection Oven and I have lost the instruction book can you please advise where I could get one or download one? Thanks

Lucy
Eileen

Dear John, I have a fan assisted gas oven, if my recipe says cook on gas mark 5, do I need to reduce the temperature to gas mark 4 or 3.

Thanks Eileen
- porkandgin
  
  Gas mark 3
http://medianolimit.com/unreleased-movies-albums-humor-news/ Free Movies

I am bookmarking this asap! Thank you very much
Neil

Just found this great site and was about to ask exactly the same as Eileen; if recipe says Gas Mk8 I reckon between 6 and 7 to allow for the fan?
- porkandgin
  
  Yes, 6 and a half would be perfect.
Joy

This site is fantastic! After a few disasters, last being apple crumble exploding all over the oven, I decided to check temps for fan ovens. I have never cooked with a fan oven before and this info is invaluable. Thank you very much John. Joy
Billy

I have found this information very helpful but still can’t for the life of me understand why supermarkets don’t just print the extra temperatures for fan assisted ovens on the cooking instructions. Surely this would be easier as most ovens (intergral or freestanding) nowadays come fan assisted. The oven I have recently bought has a double oven with the lower being fan assisted and the smaller upper one being conventional type.
Mary

Hi John , I would like to ask you if I did understand well what your saying. When the recipe calls for 180c/160c fan/gas 4, it means that I have to put my fan assisted oven on 160c., and 160c means gas 3. Thanks for your help very appreciated.
lynda

thanks John, now hopefully I can cook without burning everything. It has taken me a long time to figure out
George

Very good article, thank you John. I am interested to know what is a good temperature for slow cooking for long periods in a fan assisted oven. Lots of articles for slow cookers and likewise recipe books, but nothing for ovens.
Harry

What is the difference between a fan assisted oven and a fan oven? And are the temperatures/timings different?
TIA
- porkandgin
  
  They are the same thing.
http://johnonfood.com John

@ Harry – They are two terms for the same thing.
http://bakedwithkindness.blogspot.com Ryan Carr

Great tip, I was always told to reduce temp by 20%, but that was usually around 20°C anyway haha

Thanks for sharing :O)
Brenda

Is it correct that oven temps. in a fan oven are the same over the whole oven?>
Brenda

Is it correct that oven temps. in a fan oven are the same over the whole oven?>
- Sharon
  
  yes – that is the theory. However if the fan oven is old it can vary slightly between the middle and the edges.
suzi

When only one temp is given for electric oven is it for fan assisted or conventional?
- Sharon
  
  it is for conventional – if the temp is for fan assistance it always states that.
Powelly

and how about halagon ovens? When cooking food do we take the “fan” assisted temperature. I was told to reduce temp by about 20oC but then I not sure if that is -20oc from the conventional oven temp or the fan assisted temp??

Any advice greatly appreciated. As yet I dont see any temps on packaging for halogen ovens.
- porkandgin
  
  As a rough guide you should reduce the cooking temperature down by about 10% from the normal oven temperature.
  You will need to shorten the cooking time as well, you should probably start checking things after about 3/4 of the listed time is up.
- porkandgin
  
  As a rough guide, for halogen ovens, you should reduce the cooking temperature down by about 10% from the normal oven temperature.
  You will need to shorten the cooking time as well, you should probably start checking things after about 3/4 of the listed time is up.
Sue

Many thanks for fan conversion. At last no more burnt offerings when we go and stay in our holiday cottage.
poppy

thank you so much nice and straight forward just deducted 20 degrees or else bara brith would of burnt.
- porkandgin
  
  Ooh, bara brith! Wouldn’t care to share your recipe with us all would you Poppy?
Jan

Thank you for this information, was always guessing on what temp to reduce too with fan assist oven. Very helpful
i hate mondays

my electric oven doesnt show a brand or model and the oven temp. and has the numbers 1-5, do you think i should follow the gas mark conversion?
Tel

What’s the time difference between fan and standard oven in cooking time for a Christmas cake
- porkandgin
  
  The easiest thing is to reduce the temperature by 20 degrees and leave the cooking time the same.
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rackroo

I have a an option of normal oven and fan. I have an oven thermometor inside the oven and it reads exactaly what the dial suggests example. dials says 200 degrees so does the the inside thermometer. When using the fan oven and set the dial to 180 the inside temp says 210. does this mean if something on the packing says cook in fan at 180 and mine is typically 30 degrees hotter inside as the inside oven thermometor suggests should i set the dial to 150 to get the desired temperature the packaging suggests? I
- porkandgin
  
  That is really quite odd.
  
  The temperature inside the fan oven should be the same as the temperature on the dial .
  
  The reason that things cook faster at a lower heat in a fan oven is not that it is actually hotter in there, just that the heat is more evenly distributed, and due to the effect of convection currents.
  
  We really aren’t sure, but are going to do some tests with a thermometer in a fan oven or two and see what results we come up with!

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19 December 2012 at 8:12am

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Oven temperatures

Oven Temperatures

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