Cooking
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Place the food in a microwave-proof
dish and cover it.
When cooking, it is a good idea to
select a power level of 900 W to start
with, and when the food is hot reduce
the power level to 450 W for more
gentle continued cooking.
For dishes such as
rice pudding
or
semolina pudding
, first select a power
level of 900 W, and then reduce it to
150 W for simmering.
Tips on cooking
Vegetable cooking durations depend on
the texture of the vegetables. Fresh
vegetables contain more water than
vegetables which have been stored,
and usually cook more quickly. Add a
little water to vegetables which have
been kept stored.
Food taken straight from the refrigerator
takes longer to cook than food which
has been kept at room temperature.
Stir or turn food from time to time
during cooking. This helps it cook more
evenly.
Health risk due to cooking time
being too short.
It is very important to make sure that
food which goes off easily, such as
fish, is cooked for a sufficient time.
When cooking these types of food,
ensure that the stated cooking
durations are observed.
Food with a thick skin or peel
, such
as tomatoes, sausages, jacket potatoes
and aubergines, should be pierced or
the skin scored in several places before
cooking to allow steam to escape and
to prevent the food from bursting.
Risk of injury from eggs with
shells.
Eggs heated in their shells can burst,
even after they have been taken out
of the oven.
Eggs can only be cooked in their
shells in the microwave oven in a
specially designed egg-boiling
device available from specialist
shops.
Risk of burning from eggs
without shells.
If you cook eggs without their shells
using microwave power, the yolks
could explode due to the resulting
pressure.
Eggs can be cooked without their
shells in the microwave oven only if
the yolk membrane has been
punctured several times first.
After cooking
Be careful when removing the dish
from the oven. It may be hot.
Although heat is not normally produced
in the container itself by the
microwaves (apart from stoneware),
heat transfer from the food to the
container may be considerable, making
the container itself hot.
Allow food to stand for a few minutes at
room temperature at the end of
cooking. This enables the heat to
spread evenly through the food.
