Guide to common oven symbols, settings and functions

The symbol for conventional heating is two lines – one at the top and one at the bottom. This means that both the top and bottom heating elements will radiate heat. The bottom heating element provides the primary source of heat, while the upper element delivers intense top-down heat to brown and grill your food.

Ideal for:

Roasting meat and vegetables or single shelf cooking.

The lower heating element oven symbol is represented by a single line at the bottom. This indicates that the lower heating element is in use.

Ideal for:

Slow cooking, casserole baking or for food that requires a crispy base such as pizza or a pastry case.

The upper heating element symbol is represented by a single line at the top. This indicates that the upper heating element is in use.

Ideal for:

Baking pies with a pie crust.

Fan forced symbols feature a fan inside a circle. A fan forced oven has a heating element around the fan to circulate and distribute heat evenly. This allows for a faster cooking time, even temperature and a decrease in energy consumption. This will likely be your most used setting.

Ideal for:

Batch cooking, cakes, cookies.

This symbol features a fan with a zig zag line above it. When this is switched on, the grill and fan will operate at the same time. The fan’s function is to spread the grill’s heat. Unlike the standalone grill, your oven door should be closed when using this function.

Ideal for:

Cooking through thicker meats or fish.

The grill icon features a zig zag line on the top. It is also sometimes represented with a double zig zag line. This grill setting uses the entire grill of the oven.

Ideal for:

Vegetables, crisping and browning food.

Some ovens offer a partial grill setting, represented by a smaller zig zag line. This indicates that only part of the grill is in use. You will need to place your food in the right spot (usually in the centre of your oven).

Ideal for:

Grilling smaller portions/amounts.

The defrost function can reduce your defrosting time. The oven does not use heat on this function, instead it circulates room temperature air (30°C) around the food to give it an even and fast defrosting result.

Ideal for:

Defrosting food when you are in a hurry.

The plate warming symbol shows three lines stacked on top of each other. This keeps your dinner plates safely warm.

Ideal for:

Keeping your dinner guests happy.

Often depicted as a dish with rising steam, this function keeps your food warm, without cooking it.

Ideal for:

Warming food or plates so they do not cool too quickly.

Your oven cooks with the light on so you can view your cooking progress. Also handy when cleaning your oven so you can take a better look.

A small key symbol indicates that the child lock feature is activated.

Ideal for:

Keeping children safe when the appliance is on or when the self-clean function is in operation.

The self cleaning function shows a series of black dots or diamonds decreasing size from top to bottom. It can also be represented by the letter P.  High temperature pyrolytic cleaning heats your oven to approx. 500°C. The intense heat will incinerate any built up grime and then the remaining ash can be wiped away.