INTRODUCTION
1. HOW MICROWAVE OVENS
WORK
Microwaves are a form of energy similar to radio and
television waves and to ordinary daylight.
But ordinarily, microwaves spread outwards as they
travel through the atmosphere and disappear without
effect.
Our
microwave oven, however, is constructed
in such a way as to take advantage of microwave
energy.
Electricity is converted into microwave energy by the
magnetron tube, and microwaves are then sent into
the cooking, area through openings at the side of the
oven. A turntable or tray is located at the bottom of
the oven.
Microwaves cannot pass through metal walls of the
oven, but they can penetrate such materials as glass,
porcelain and paper, the materials out of which
microwave-safe cooking dishes are constructed.
Microwaves do not heat the cookware, though cook-
ing vessels will eventually get hot from the heat gen-
erated by the food.
A very safe appliance. Your microwave oven is one
of the safest of all home appliances. When the door is
opened, the oven automatically stops producing
microwaves. By the time the microwave energy has
been converted into heat in the process of making
your food hot, the microwaves are completely spent.
Thus, there in NO ‘residue’ of any kind in food that
has been cooked by microwaves.
2. GETTING THE BEST RESULTS
FROM YOUR MICROWAVE OVEN
Keep an eye on things. The recipes in this book
have been formulated with great care, but your suc-
cess in preparing them depends, of course, on how
much attention you pay to the food as it cooks.
Always watch your food as it cooks. Your microwave
oven is equipped with a light that turns on automati-
cally when the oven is in operation so that you can
see inside and check the progress of your recipe.
Directions given in recipes to ‘elevate’, ‘stir’, and the
like should be thought of as the minimum steps rec-
ommended. If the food seems to be cooking uneven-
ly, simply make the necessary adjustments you think
appropriate to correct the problem.
Factors affecting cooking times.
To check the
wattage of your oven, refer to the specifications on
the previous page. Many factors affect cooking times.
The temperature of ingredients used in a recipe
makes a big difference in cooking times. For exam-
ple, a cake made with ice-cold butter, milk and eggs
will take considerably longer to bake than one made
with ingredients that are at room temperature. All of
the recipes in this book give a range of cooking times.
In general, you will find that the food remains under-
cooked at the lower end of the time range, and you
may sometimes want to wok
your
food beyond the
maximum time given according to personal prefer-
ence. The governing philosophy of this book is that it
is best for a recipe to be conservative in giving cook-
ing times, for while undercooked food may always be
cooked a bit more, overcooked food is ruined for
good. However, some of the recipes, particularly
those for bread, cakes and custards, recommend that
food be removed from the oven when they are slightly
undercooked. This is not a mistake. When allowed to
stand, usually covered, these foods will continue to
cook outside of the oven as the heat trapped within
the outer portions of the foods gradually travels
inward. If the foods are left in the oven until they are
cooked all the way through, the outer protions will
become overcooked or even burnt. As you gain expe-
rience in using your microwave oven, you will become
increasingly skillful in estimating both cooking and
standing times for various foods.
3. HOW FOOD CHARACTERISTICS
AFFECT MICROWAVE COOKING
Density of foods: Light, porous food such as cakes
and breads cook more quickly than heavy, dense
foods such as roasts and casseroles.
You must take care when microwaving porous foods
that the outer edges do not become dry and brittle.
Shield edge with foil or microwave at a low power
level.
Height of foods: The upper portion of tall foods, par-
ticularly roasts, will cook more quickly than the lower
portion. Therefore, it is wise to turn tall foods during
cooking, sometimes several times.
-8-
