Please please can someone tell me if the oven temperatures in receipes are always for a standard oven or is it assumed these days that everyone has fan ovens? Should I be lowering the stated temperatures by 20 for my fan oven?

I think that unless it states it is for a fan oven you need to presume it is written for a standard oven (I still don't have a fan oven) and you need to adjust the temperature and cooking time according to your manufacturers instructions for your fan oven.

I've never heard of any agreed protocol on this - most shop-bought products state both, but a lot of recipes don't make any such distinction.

If unsure, I would suggest checking the item at minus 10% of the stated cooking time.

Just to complicate things a little further, there are different types of fan ovens: the basic fan oven has a fan that helps the hot air to circulate, others have a fan that also blows hot air into the oven, and some of the more expensive ovens have more that one fan and raise the temperature very quickly by created a hot air stream.

I always think an oven thermometer helps you to get to know your oven - it's not unusual for an oven to run at plus or minus 10% of the setting on the dial.

I also sometimes use a probe that has a metal braid which links to a thermometer that sits outside of the oven - which I find is really useful, especially when the item needs to reach a certain temperature, such as chicken, or when re-heating food that needs to reach a certain temperature to kill off bacteria.

Sorry I can't be of more help - I think the best answer is to keep a close eye on things in the latter stages of cooking, particularly with cakes and pastries.

Agree rosti, TV chefs have always said in the past when asked they use standard ovens so you need to adjust by the manufacturers manual

Thanks everyone, that was kinda what I though but I found it strange that nobody seemed to ever question this or even comment on it (when watching cookery programs or in books).

I have a 2 fancy new ovens and I'm not having the spectacular results I had hoped for yet. Enjoying the experimenting though.

thanks again.

Because ovens vary so much, the stated settings are just a guideline - as any professional chef will confirm.

Ask a good pastry chef to bake in a strange oven, and they will turn slightly pale. Marcus Wareing in the GBM, Cooking for the Queen, was a classic example of that.

Good luck with your new ovens - a simple sponge cake would be a very good test of how accurately it is performing, if you buy a good quality branded mix, you will be able to check out the timings and temperatures given on the pack with your oven's performance.