Casseroles
1. Arrange casseroles with larger pieces or bulk of food around the perimeter of the casserole; depress
in center.
2. Casseroles should be heated covered with a non-metallic cover or plastic wrap except casserole
with crusts. If tightly covered, puncture plastic wrap or loosen at one corner so steam can escape.
Be careful when removing plastic wrap; pull wrap away from you with the tines of a fork.
3. Cover casseroles evenly with sauce or gravy before refrigerating.
Vegetables
1. Arrange vegetables with larger pieces around the perimeter of the dish; depress in center.
2. Small uniform sized vegetables like peas, diced carrots and corn heat easily in the microwave oven.
A butter sauce will speed the process.
3. Heat vegetables covered with either a non-metallic cover or plastic wrap. If tightly covered, puncture
plastic wrap or loosen at one corner so steam can escape. Be careful when removing plastic wrap;
pull wrap away from you with the tines of a fork.
4. Most vegetables should be slightly undercooked when preparing for later reheating in the micro-
wave. Cool quickly and store covered.
5. Microwaved vegetables retain their bright color,
fl
avor and nutrients.
Defrosting
(For R-21LTF, R-21LVF)
1. See page 12 for EXPRESS DEFROST directions.
2. Avoid over-defrosting. Foods should be removed from the microwave when they are still slightly icy
in the center. Allow foods to stand covered for 1 to 2 minutes to complete defrosting.
3. (For R-21LTF) SELECTAPOWER allows you to defrost food at the power level and speed you choose.
Generally defrosting is done at 30% or lower. To use SELECTAPOWER for defrosting,
fi
rst program
time followed by touching the SELECTAPOWER pad and the number pad for percentage of power
level (for example, 3 represents 30% power). The microwave power will pulse on and off to defrost
frozen foods gently without heating.
(For R-21LCF, R-21LCFS)
See page 7 for DEFROSTING FROZEN FOODS CHART.
Since different foods heat at different rates of speed, there are several in
fl
uencing factors that should be
taken into consideration when heating foods with microwave energy.
1. The lower the initial temperature of a food, the longer it will take to heat in a microwave oven.
2. Since with a microwave oven you are heating with time rather than temperature, it is helpful to know
the starting temperatures of the foods. Foods held at room temperature will heat more quickly than
refrigerated foods.
3. The different chemical makeups of foods affect the heating times. Highly salted foods heat faster
than non-cured items. Animal fats heat more quickly than lean parts of meat. Fats in a colloidal state
heat faster than protein (egg yolk cooks before the white).
4. The density of a food is determined by how compact the molecules are arranged within the food. A
pound of roast beef is denser than a pound of bread. Even though they weigh the same, the bread
contains more air and is therefore less dense. Denser foods require longer heating times.
5. The thicker the food, the longer the heating time. If two foods have the same density, the thinner food
will heat before the thicker one.
6. The shape of the food also affects the heating time. Low round foods that are depressed in the center
heat faster than highly mounded scooped foods. This has to do again with the density. The denser
the mass to be heated, the longer the heating time.
7. The more food placed in the oven cavity at one time, the longer the heating time. This is because
there is a constant level of energy coming from the magnetron tube during the heating process. If
there are several food items in the oven, they will each absorb some of the energy thus making the
total heating time longer. The time required for heating is not directly proportional to the increased
amount of food. The heating time should be increased by about 80% for each additional like food
item.
Timing guide
18
