En-32
The benefits of the microwave oven
For many foods, the microwave oven is the quickest and healthiest method of cooking.
Since the microwaves act directly on the food (the food container hardly becomes hot
and the inside of the microwave stays cool), the microwave oven is also very energy
efficient.
The microwaves prevent a burned crust from forming on the food. Most foods can be
cooked with very little water and oil, preserving more of the flavour, colour, vitamins
and minerals. You can practically do without salt.
You will avoid destroying the vitamins and minerals when the food is heated for any
length of time, since your microwave can reheat a meal in a matter of minutes, without
loss of flavour.
Similarly, defrosting with your microwave is fast and simple. You can surprise unex-
pected guests by serving frozen meals prepared in the blink of an eye.
Cooking food directly on the plates cuts down on the washing up.
Cooking times with the microwave oven
Cooking times are affected by a number of factors; firstly, the quantity of food used.
For example, it takes around 20 minutes to cook potatoes on the stove after they
come to the boil, whether there are two potatoes or two kilos of potatoes to cook.
Microwaves act directly on the food, i.e. without a hotplate for example, so it only takes
two minutes to cook a potato. If you want to cook two potatoes, you will need
4 minutes to cook them. The cooking time doubles, in direct proportion to the quantity.
Guideline
Furthermore, the composition of the food plays a part. Foods with a high fat and sugar
content absorb more microwaves so that they heat more quickly than foods with a high
water content. The packaging of the food also has a considerable impact on the cook-
ing time in a microwave oven. A large joint takes longer to cook than the same
amount of meat cut into cubes.
Small pieces cook more quickly than large pieces which is why food must always be
cut up, e.g. vegetables and potatoes into pieces of the same size. Since the initial
temperature also plays a part, dishes taken out of the refrigerator will take a little
longer to reheat than dishes at room temperature.
DOUBLE THE QUANTITY - NEARLY DOUBLE THE TIME
HALVE THE QUANTITY - HALF THE TIME
