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Hints & Tips
SOME IMPORTANT TIPS
FOR MICROWAVE COOKING
To help equalize energy in the food so that it
cooks evenly follow these helpful tips.
•
Arrange foods with varying size ends, such
as chicken drumsticks and broccoli with
the thicker or tougher part positioned to the
outside of the dish. This ensures the parts
that require more cooking will receive more
energy, so the food will cook evenly.
•
Covering the dish during cooking holds in
the heat and steam to speed up cooking time.
Use a microwave safe lid or plastic wrap that
has been vented by turning back one edge at
the side of the dish to form a narrow vent to
release excess steam.
•
Choose cooking dishes that are shallow
and preferably have straight sides. Shallow
dishes enable the food to cook faster and
straight sides prevent the edges from being
overcooked.
•
Arrange individual items such as ramekins
or whole potatoes around the outside of the
turntable. Make sure to leave space between
items so the energy can penetrate from all
sides.
•
Use round shaped microwave dishes. Round
shapes cook more evenly than square or
rectangle dishes which absorb most of the
energy in the corners causing food
to overcook and toughen.
•
Stir foods from the outside to centre of the
dish once or twice during cooking to equalize
heat and speed up microwaving.
•
Turn medium to large food items over twice
during microwaving. This enables even
exposure to microwaves.
•
Elevating some types of food such as cakes,
roast vegetables and dough products can
be advantageous. It allows more energy to
penetrate the food from all sides, base and
top. Use a microwave safe plastic or ceramic
rack. If a rack is unavailable, use an upturned
bowl or cup to elevate plates of food.
•
Do not elevate any special browning dishes,
jugs of sauce or custard, small quantities of
food or mugs of beverages.
•
Internal temperatures of foods continue to
rise so that they continue cooking even after
they have been removed from the microwave
oven. It is better to undercook food as it will
continue to cook once removed from the
microwave.
MICROWAVE USTENSILS
•
Containers, plates, dishes, etc. used in
the microwave oven should always be
microwave–safe. Check if stated on the
underside of the utensil or contact the
manufacturer.
•
To test if a container, plate or dish is
microwave–safe, place it into the microwave
oven with 1 cup of cold water (in a
microwave–safe cup) and heat on High
(100%) Power for 1 minute. If the container
is hot and the water is cold, the container is
not suitable for microwave oven use. If the
container is cold and the water is hot, then the
container is suitable for microwave oven use.
•
Microwave-safe cookware will not become
hot by the microwave energy, but it will
become hot from contact with hot food.
When the food becomes hot, some of this
heat is transferred to the dish. Always use
oven mitts to remove hot dishes from the
microwave.
•
Metal containers and utensils should not be
used in the microwave oven.
