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Translation error in a cookbook

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Recently, I received a wonderful cookbook.  In an appendix, it shows a table that converts oven temperatures between Celsius and Fahrenheit.  (Side remark: Approximate oven temperatures are actually really simple to convert in your head–just double the number of degrees Celsius to get the number of degrees Fahrenheit.  For oven temperatures, this will be within 10 F of the exact answer.)

The table has a footnote that says “If your oven has a fan, reduce the recipe temperature by 68 F”.  I have a strong hunch that this footnote suffers from a translation error.  How many degrees Fahrenheit should it have said to reduce the temperature by?  (No knowledge of convection ovens required.)

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ronret45 Expert Asked on 1st August 2015 in Microsoft Interview Puzzles.
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    • 1 Answer(s)

    You are correct that there seems to be an error in the footnote. Typically, when a recipe is designed for a conventional oven and you want to use a convection oven instead, you should reduce the temperature by about 25 to 30 percent, rather than a fixed amount of degrees Fahrenheit.

    To illustrate, let’s say you have a recipe that calls for an oven temperature of 350°F. To convert it to a convection oven temperature, you would reduce it by 25 to 30 percent. Here’s how you can do that:

    • 25% reduction: 350°F – (0.25 x 350°F) = 262.5°F
    • 30% reduction: 350°F – (0.3 x 350°F) = 245°F

    So, for a convection oven, you would typically reduce the temperature by 87.5°F to 105°F, depending on how much of a reduction you want to make.

    Therefore, it is likely that the footnote in your cookbook should have said to reduce the temperature by 86°F if using a convection oven

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    Moshe Expert Answered on 27th March 2023.
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