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5 answers

It's not a "universal" number, so much as an "average". And because a great many recipes fall into the "average" category, 350 is a very popular number.

The oven setting for a given recipe (traditionally) is really just a range of temperature. This refers back to the "Old Days" (before cell phones) when home ovens didn't have a precise temperature setting.

Baking/roasting recipes would call for a "cool oven" (usually less than 225 degrees, for keeping food warm, or for softening butter or shortening), a "warm oven" (250-325 degrees, for cooking food slowly), a "moderate oven" (350-425), a "hot oven" (450-500 or so) and a "very hot oven" (500+ degrees). These increments were intended to give the chef a general idea of how hot the oven should be; ie how fast the food should cook.

350 degrees is "average" because it happens to fall in the middle.

2006-10-28 16:47:11 · answer #1 · answered by jvsconsulting 4 · 0 0

Probably because it's in the middle of the temperature range and most things will cook at that temperature, just takes different amounts of time. Also, it seems that on the newer ovens, the starting temp, without adjustments, is 350. Now whether the oven manufacturers came up with that as a standard temp or the recipes are being written to use that temp, I have no clue. This is a very interesting question.

2006-10-28 23:27:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Universal testing of time and temp for optimum quality of the cooked product. From inside and out.

2006-10-28 23:26:52 · answer #3 · answered by Steve G 7 · 0 0

Interesting question. But some recipes, although not many, use a different temp.

2006-10-28 23:35:30 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

cuz that's he temp most things cook at. hot enough to cook at a decent speed, not so hot that it will burn right away

2006-10-28 23:28:19 · answer #5 · answered by momoftrl 4 · 0 0

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