7
SEC R220KW/K,230KW/K,209KK
ABOUT MICROWAVE COOKING
• Arrange food carefully. Place thickest areas to-
wards outside of dish.
• Watch cooking time. Cook for the shortest amount
of time indicated and add more as needed. Food
severely overcooked can smoke or ignite.
• Cover foods while cooking. Check recipe or cook-
book for suggestions: paper towels, wax paper,
microwave plastic wrap or a lid. Covers prevent
spattering and help foods to cook evenly.
• Shield with small flat pieces of aluminum foil any
thin areas of meat or poultry to prevent overcook-
ing before dense, thick areas are cooked thor-
oughly.
• Stir foods from outside to center of dish once or
twice during cooking, if possible.
• Turn foods over once during microwaving to
speed cooking of such foods as chicken and ham-
burgers. Large items like roasts must be turned
over at least once.
• Rearrange foods such as meatballs halfway
through cooking both from top to bottom and from
the center of the dish to the outside.
• Add standing time. Remove food from oven and
stir, if possible. Cover for standing time which al-
lows the food to finish cooking without overcook-
ing.
• Check for doneness. Look for signs indicating that
cooking temperatures have been reached.
Doneness signs include:
- Food steams throughout, not just at edge.
- Center bottom of dish is very hot to the
touch.
- Poultry thigh joints move easily.
- Meat and poultry show no pinkness.
- Fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
• Check foods to see that they are cooked to the
United States Department of Agriculture's recom-
mended temperatures.
To test for doneness, insert a meat thermometer
in a thick or dense area away from fat or bone.
NEVER leave the thermometer in the food during
cooking, unless it is approved for microwave oven
use.
• ALWAYS use potholders to prevent burns when
handling utensils that are in contact with hot food.
Enough heat from the food can transfer through
utensils to cause skin burns.
• Avoid steam burns by directing steam away from
the face and hands. Slowly lift the farthest edge
of a dish's covering and carefully open popcorn
and oven cooking bags away from the face.
• Stay near the oven while it's in use and check
cooking progress frequently so that there is no
chance of overcooking food.
• NEVER use the cavity for storing cookbooks or
other items.
• Select, store and handle food carefully to pre-
serve its high quality and minimize the spread of
foodborne bacteria.
• Keep waveguide cover clean. Food residue can
cause arcing and/or fires.
• Use care when removing items from the oven so
that the utensil, your clothes or accessories do
not touch the safety door latches.
ABOUT SAFETY
... for fresh pork, ground meat, bone-
less white poultry, fish, seafood,
egg dishes and frozen prepared
food.
... for leftover, ready-to-reheat refrig-
erated, and deli and carry-out
“fresh” food.
... white meat of poultry.
... dark meat of poultry.
160°F
(71°C)
165°F
(74°C)
170°F
(77°C)
180°F
(82°C)
T E M P
F O O D
I N F O R M A T I O N Y O U N E E D T O K N O W
SEC R220_230_209K,P04-11
05.1.18, 8:52 AM
7
