350 degrees fahrenheit.
This is the oven red line* for most women cooks of my generation. We seldom, if ever, cook anything above 350 degrees, except maybe to use the broil setting.
Men are out on the barbeque, flames towering 6 feet over their head, and they are having a glorious time. We sit in front of the oven and wait.
A rebel cook confided to me she dared to try 425 degrees to cook some cornish hens, on the recommendation of a chef (chefs are allowed to cook at high temps). Awesome secret revealed! Hens crisp and brown on outside, tender and moist inside! Now she frequents the no zone of 425 and up – even to 500! Go girl!
Despite the fact most ovens can heat up to 500 degrees, we are seldom comfortable in that zone. Perhaps it is the 451 fear, where paper spontaneously bursts into flames (though this ‘fact’ is not quite true). Or we are just, so, well, timid. You know, “It’s okay, I can wait an hour for dinner to cook”, while kids are screaming, husband is grumbling and cat meowing, loudly. Oh sure, I can waste the only 3 hours I have left at the end of the day preparing food. Where is that box of cookies? Fast, delicious and instant!
A microwave does not solve the problem. Red line is usually a minute. Then you keep resetting. 3 times, 6 times . . .
This is a harmless, somewhat interesting and useless observation.
But this is MY blog.
*A red line appears on some types of gauges (e.g. tachometer) that indicates a limit you should not surpass too often, even though you can, as it may result in damage to the device and/or you.