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MICROWAVE COOKING TIPS
Amount of Food
If you increase or decrease
the amount of food
you prepare, the time it takes to cook that food
will also change. For example, if you double a
recipe, add a little more than half the original
cooking time. Check for readiness and , if
necessary, add more time in small increments.
Starting Temperature of Food
The lower the temperature
of the food being
put into the microwave oven, the longer it takes
to cook. Food at room temperature will reheat
quicker than food at refrigerator temperature.
Composition of Food
Food with a lot of fat and sugar
will heat faster
than food containing a lot of water. Fat and
sugar will also reach a highter temperature than
water in the cooking process.
The more dense the food,
the longer it takes to
heat. “Very dense” food, like meat, takes longer
to heat than lighter, more porous food, like
sponge cakes.
Size and Shape
Smaller pieces of food
will cook faster than
larger pieces. Also, same shaped pieces cook
more evenly than differently shaped pieces.
With foods that have different thicknesses,
the thinner parts will cook faster than the thicker
parts. Place the thinner parts of chicken wings
and legs in the center of the dish.
Stirring and Turning Foods
Stirring and turning foods
spreads heat
quickly to the center of the dish and avoids
overcooking at the outer edges of the food.
Covering Food
Cover food to
reduce splattering, shorten
cooking times, and keep food moist.
You can use any covering that lets microwaves
pass through. See “Getting to Know Your
Microwave Oven” for materials that microwaves
will pass through.
Releasing Pressure in Foods
Several foods
(for example: baked potatoes,
sausages, egg yolks, and some fruits)are tightly
covered by a skin or membrane. Steam can
build up under the membrane during cooking,
causing the food to burst. To relieve the
pressure and to prevent bursting, pierce these
foods before cooking with a fork, cocktail pick, or
toothpick.
Using Standing Time
Always allow food to stand,
either in or out of
the oven, after cooking power stops. Standing
time after defrosting and cooking allows the
temperature to evenly spread throughout the
food, improving the cooking results. For inside
oven standing time, you can program a “0”
power second stage of the cooking cycle. See
Two-Stage Cooking.
The length of the standing time
depends
on how much food you are cooking and how
dense it is. Sometimes it can be as short as the
time it takes to remove the food from the oven
and take it to the serving table. However, with a
larger, denser food item, the standing time may
be as long as 10 minutes.
Arranging Food
For best results, place food evenly on the plate.
You can do this in several ways:
If you are cooking several items of the same
food,
such as baked potatoes, place them in a
ring pattern for uniform cooking.
When cooking foods of uneven shapes or
thickness
, such as chicken breasts, place the
smaller or thinner area of the food towards the
center of the dish where it will be heated last.
Layer thin slices of meat
on top of each other.
When you cook or reheat whole fish
, score
the skin - this prevents cracking.
Do not
let food or a container touch the top or
sides of the oven. This will prevent possible
arcing. Arcing is a spark that can cause damage
to the oven interior.
