Difference Between Oven and Grill

Oven vs Grill

Both oven and grill are extremely popular appliances to cook food using dry heat without a medium such as oil. Of the two, grilling is one process that is perhaps older as the man started to grill his catch as soon as he learnt how to make fire using stone. An oven is a later invention, but perhaps more versatile method of cooking today. There are differences in these two dry heat cooking methods that will be discussed in this article.

Before the advent of the present day microwave oven, earthen ovens were used extensively for heating and thus, cooking foods. These were chambers that produced intense heat and cooked food in a short time. They were called Tandoor in Asian cultures, and were used to make different types of breads and roasted chicken. Grill is just a variation of application of dry heat as it involves putting food item over a heat source, usually charcoal though, modern grill make use of gas to provide direct heat in the form of flame.

If we look at differences, there are many, right from shape and size to location as well as a variety of foods that can be cooked using these two cooking methods. Grills, whether they use charcoal or are gas based are bigger in size than ovens, and are usually kept in the backyard or any other outdoor place so that the smoke produced by grilling goes up in the atmosphere. On the other hand, ovens, that are mostly microwave ovens, are smaller in size, and kept inside kitchens.

Whereas, grilling requires food to be placed on wired mesh made of a metal just above the heat source, oven provides heat from all sides to the food item thus, heating it evenly. In some ovens, there is a provision for grilling the food item through a distinct process called broiling, where heat is provided from the top instead of below, which is characteristic of grilling otherwise.

In grilling, dry heat is intense and chars the food which is not the case in an oven. In ovens, heat is just sufficient to brown the surface of the food item which is why oven is mostly used to prepare breads, cakes, biscuits, and some vegetables. Meats can also be baked or broiled in an oven. However, there is a lot of difference between meats that are grilled and meats that are baked in an oven as grilled meat is full of flavors and aroma it soaks from the smoke of the fire from below. The high heat the meat gets from below locks the juices inside and develops flavors that are not there in an oven. Charring is one feature that takes place only in a grill and not in the oven but this charring is what makes meats delicious.