"Heat oven 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4" is a baking instruction commonly found in recipes. It indicates the specific temperature settings you should set your oven to before placing the dish inside for baking. Let's break down each part of the instruction:
"Heat oven": This simply tells you to turn on your oven and allow it to preheat before putting the food inside.
"180°C": This is the temperature setting you should choose for a conventional oven. The "°C" symbol represents degrees Celsius. In this case, you would set your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
"160°C fan": This temperature setting is for ovens with a convection or fan feature. The fan helps to circulate the hot air, providing more even heat distribution. The temperature of 160 degrees Celsius is generally used in fan ovens.
"Gas 4": This is an alternative temperature setting used for gas ovens. Gas ovens are numbered, and "Gas 4" refers to the specific setting you should use on your oven's dial or knob.
When using a conventional oven, set it to 180°C. If you have a fan oven, set it to 160°C. If you're using a gas oven, adjust it to Gas Mark 4.
It's important to preheat your oven to the specified temperature before baking to ensure that the food cooks properly and evenly. Different recipes require different oven temperatures to achieve the best results, so always follow the given instructions carefully.