32
TROUBLESHOOTING
Questions and Answers
(continued)
Food
Question
What is wrong when baked foods have a
hard, dry, brown spot?
Why do eggs sometimes pop?
Why are scrambled eggs sometimes a
little dry after cooking?
Why do baked apples sometimes burst
during cooking?
Why do baked potatoes sometimes
burn during cooking?
Why is a standing time recommended
after microwave cooking time is over?
Why is additional time required for
cooking food stored in the refrigerator?
A hard, dry, brown spot indicates overcooking. Shorten the
cooking or reheating time.
When baking, frying, or poaching eggs, the yolk may pop due to
steam buildup inside the yolk membrane. To prevent this,
simply pierce the yolk with a wooden toothpick before cooking.
CAUTION:
Never microwave eggs in the shell.
Eggs will dry out when they are overcooked, even if the same
recipe is used each time. The cooking time may need to be varied
for one of these reasons:
•
Eggs vary in size.
•
Eggs are at room temperature one time and at refrigerator
temperature another time.
•
Eggs continue cooking during standing time.
The peel has not been removed from the top half of each apple
to allow for expansion of the interior of the apple during cooking.
As in conventional cooking methods, the interior of the apple
expands during the cooking process.
If the cooking time is too long, fire could result. At the end of the
recommended cooking time, potatoes should be slightly firm.
CAUTION: Do not overcook.
Standing time allows foods to continue cooking evenly for a few
minutes after the actual microwave oven cooking cycle ends. The
amount of standing time depends upon the density of the foods.
As in conventional cooking, the initial temperature of food affects
total cooking time. You need more time to cook food taken out of
a refrigerator than for food at room temperature.
Answer
