Are electric ovens better than gas? They should be due to their drier, more consistent temperature. But how much better?
For that, we compared the Jenn-Air V1 electric convection wall oven versus BlueStar’s all gas true convection range in a food test. We baked pizza, turnovers, and apple pies in both.
Almost all electric convection ovens are true convection with the heat blown in through the rear. Only BlueStar and LG have true convection in gas. The others heat with an element below and then the fan will blow the heat off the bottom.
I made several different food items in each oven and checked the results against each other. The first item was a mini apple pie (frozen), the second was an individual pizza (frozen), and third was raspberry turnovers (frozen).
The first major difference I noticed here was the preheat time. The BlueStar gas convection oven took around 11 min vs 20 minutes in the Jenn Air to get to 350 F.
However, with the electric convection, you are able to track the progress of the preheat time in the LCD Touchscreen, that option is not available in the gas convection oven. The BlueStar’s indicator light and the gas turn off once the desired temperature is achieved.
The first item I cooked was the mini apple pie. It took around 30 minutes to achieve an internal temperature of 165 F in the Jenn- Air, while in the BlueStar took around 35 minutes.
The biggest difference here was the color difference. The Jenn-Air wall oven had more consistent coloring all the way around the edges and over the top of the pie crust. The BlueStar had some significantly darker spots which clearly indicated the force of heat distribution to the front of the oven.
This type of heat distribution impacts pastries a lot more visibly then savory roasts and meats.
The next item cooked was the pizza, which went onto a preheated pan on the bottom rack of the oven. They both took around 16 minutes to cook, but again I got some darker spots on the pizza from the BlueStar oven.
The pizza that came out of the Jenn-Air had consistent color all the way around. The bottom crusts on both were crispy and had nice color.
I have noticed that anything such as a delicate pastry or leavened baked goods will not do as well in the All Gas Convection because of the force of the hot air in this type of oven.
In a previous test, I used the BlueStar All Gas convection versus Miele Dual Side-by-Side, Wolf Verti-cross, and Jenn-Air Dual Stacked Convection ovens.
Take a look at the photo below of all the items we cooked in these ovens. You will notice the biggest difference in the round golden cake which looks burnt and lopsided from the BlueStar versus all the other convection systems.
On the flipside, the Cornish Game hen cooked in the BlueStar had a richer color when compared to some of the others, because gas is better for roasting due to its moister heat.
The third item I baked in the ovens were the raspberry turnovers. Because this was a delicate puff pastry, it does require a gentler more even heat to cook correctly. Notice the difference between the two below. There is a better rise and more consistent color in the pastries that came out of the Jenn-Air.
Here are the final results of the Jenn-Air vs BlueStar convection tests:
In conclusion, both ovens are powerful and have their own unique benefits. If you like to bake and cook more pastries and baked goods, then an electric convection system is going to be a better option for you.
If savory cooking is more up your alley, then I would recommend the gas convection system.
Additional Resources
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