When you use your oven and cook something you made a hundred times before, you expect your food to come out the same way. If your food is suddenly not cooking right, there could be a few simple reasons for your oven not performing right.
#1 Get Rid of the Aluminum Foil
It is common to put aluminum foil on the bottom rack of an oven or even directly on the bottom of the oven to protect the oven from falling and dripping food. Aluminum foil is a common strategy for keeping the inside of your oven clean. However, that aluminum foil may be messing up the heat distribution in your oven. Get rid of it and see if that fixes your cooking issues.
#2 Change the Position of Your Oven Racks
Next, if you recently changed the position of your oven racks, you may need to change them back again. When your oven racks are located too close to the heating rack, your food may come out overcooked as they are getting too much heat all at once. This can simply be fixed by adjusting where your racks are inside of your oven. If your food is getting overcooked, this is a good solution to try.
#3 Check Out the Vent
Your oven has a vent. The vent is responsible for pulling in fresh air and for expelling hot air from your oven as well. The vent helps your oven correctly regulate its temperature. If the vent is blocked, the right temperature may not be maintained. If you recently moved your oven, make sure that you are not accidentally blocking the vent. Even if you didn't recently move your oven, you should still check and make sure nothing is obstructing the vent. Something may have fallen behind your oven and blocked the ventilation.
#4 Check Out the Door
The seal on your oven door plays an important role in controlling the temperature in your oven. When the gasket, or seal, gets worn out and is not able to properly seal the heat inside of your oven, you may be ending up with undercooked food. Just take a quick look at the gasket on your oven door, and if it feels brittle or you notice any cracks, it is time to change it out. A professional can change out the seal around your oven.
#5 More Advanced Problems
The problem may be more advanced than a quick fix. By paying attention, you can let the technician who comes out to fix your oven know the root issue at play.
Next, pay attention to the heating elements in your oven. Are they actually getting hot and lighting up? If you are using the bake function, the heating elements on the bottom of your oven should heat up. If you are using the broil function, the heating elements on the top of your oven should heat up. If you don't see the heating element light up, it needs to be replaced by a professional. If you still have cooking issues once the heating element is replaced, the electrical wiring may need to be fixed. Perhaps the thermostat isn't working either. Your oven may just need to be recalibrated. A professional can handle these issues for you.
If your oven is not cooking food as it has in the past, try out the four quick fixes above to see if they fix the issue. If none of the four quick fixes above can remedy the issue, you may need to call in an expert for professional appliance repair services.
