Leaving oven on over the three day yom tov.

For people who leave the oven on over the three day yom tov.
I am just wondering what temperature you leave it on, and why?

TIA

Silver Member Joined: Aug 30 2006 Posts: 767

I leave it on 350 because that is the temperature to bake most things. It really heats up the house and if I was not having company, I would not leave it on...I would just depend on the crock pot and hot plate.

You can change the temperature on some ovens which are not digital. You can change the temperature on my oven also but I don't know how to use "Shabbos Mode".

Also, if you are depending on your oven over yom tov, you had better be sure that you don't have the 12-hour shut off. I think all newer ovens have that unless you specifically have it disabled.

Silver Member Joined: Oct 13 2009 Posts: 555

I leave my oven somewhere between 235 and 250 for a 3 day YT, since I can't change the temperature on YT. That way, it's warm enough to reheat food (even if it takes a bit longer), and I can leave food in for Shabbos as well, without it burning. For RH, I put my chulent in the oven on Friday, and it cooked just as well as it would on my hot plate for Shabbos. (Last year I even baked a cake when my kids got desparate, but it took 3+ hours to bake at that low temp!)

When YT doesn't include Shabbos, I often leave it a little higher, somewhere in the 300 range. Leaving it any higher makes it way too hot in the house. But at 300, you can still cook most foods, even if it takes a little longer than the usual 350.

Silver Member Joined: Oct 13 2009 Posts: 555

BTW, even at the low temp, I reheat everything in the oven. I rarely leave a flame on my stove for Shabbos or YT.

So let's say I have kugels and chicken and meatballs in the freezer
do I just put it in the 250 oven to reheat. or should I defrost the food in the fridge over night or for 24 hours and then put it in the 250 oven?

Silver Member Joined: Oct 13 2009 Posts: 555

I usually try to defrost my food before reheating it in the oven, so I'll move it to the fridge ahead of time for a head-start on the defrosting process. But if necessary, frozen food can go straight into the oven at 250. It will just need much longer to thaw and heat through.

For Shabbos, for example, I often put a frozen kugel directly into the oven at 225, knowing it will have 3 or more hours until we need it. And by then it's very well warmed through. So if necessary, I know I can do the same on YT.