10
1.8 Essential rules for proper microwave cooking:
1) Cooking is closely linked to the size and uniformity of the foods to be cooked: a stew cooks quicker than a
roast as it is made up of smaller and uniform pieces of meat.
To set the times properly, bear in mind that making reference to the tables on the following pages, increasing
the amount of food, the cooking time must also be increased proportionately and vice versa. It is important
to respect the
“settling” times
: by settling time what is meant is the time in which the food must be left
to rest after cooking to allow a further temperature distribution inside it. For example, meats’ temperature
will increase by about 5 – 8°C during the resting time. Settling times can also be obtained out of the oven.
2) One of the main tasks to be performed is to
stir
a number of times during cooking: this is needed to make
the temperature more uniform and reduce cooking times.
3) It is also advisable to
turn
the food over during cooking: mainly for large pieces (roasts, whole chickens...)
and smaller pieces of meat (chicken breasts, stews...).
4)
Foods with skins, shells or peel (for example: apples, potatoes, tomatoes, würstel,
fi
sh) are pier-
ced all over with a fork so that the steam can escape and the skin or peel does not explode.
5) If cooking many portions of the same food, for example boiled potatoes,
place them in a ring
in an oven
dish for uniform cooking.
6) The lower the food’s temperature on entering the microwave oven, greater the time needed. Room tempe-
rature food will cook quicker than refrigerated food.
7) Always cook with the container in the centre of the turntable.
8)
Condensation
inside the oven and around the door and air vent is normal.
To reduce it, cover the food
with cling
fi
lm, greaseproof paper, glass covers or simply an overturned plate.
Furthermore, foods
high in water content (e.g. greens), cook better if covered. Covering the food also helps to keep the inside
of the oven clean. Use cling
fi
lm suitable for microwave ovens.
9)
Do not cook eggs in their shells in a microwave oven
: the pressure formed inside would make the egg
explode, even at the end of the cooking. Do not heat cooked eggs, unless scrambled.
10) Before heating or cooking foods in sealed containers in the oven, make sure you open them. The pressure
within the container would increase, making it explode even at the end of the cooking.
11) You are advised not to cook, defrost or heat vacuum packed foods. The rubber seal in the cover could be
damaged.
1. General