14
COOKING MODES AND INSTRUCTIONS
4.
COOKING MODES AND INSTRUCTIONS
4.1
Roasting Hints and General Guide
When roasting or baking, position food near the centre of the oven. This will vary on the size of the food to be
cooked or if other foods are to be cooked at the same time. Cooking times may vary slightly depending on, for
example, the size and thickness of meat or the presence of bone or stuffing.
The temperature for roasting meats and poultry will usually range between 170
°
C and 200
°
C. These temperatures
will normally prevent excessive shrinkage and moisture loss. An exception is roast pork which is placed in a hot
oven (around 220
°
C to 230
°
C) for the first 15-25 minutes to obtain a crisp crackling, after which the temperature
is reduced to 180
°
C to 200
°
C for the remaining cooking time. Of course these temperatures and times will vary
according to your own personal taste.
Bake meat and vegetables in baking dishes that allow the heat to circulate evenly and brown the food to your own
taste. When cooking more than one dish of food at the same time place the cooking utensils so that they do not
touch each other or the sides of the oven. To allow free circulation of heat, do not arrange pans directly above
each other, stagger their positions if possible.
When using the oven to bake a complete meal at one time, for example meat, vegetables and dessert, place the
meat in the lower part of the oven and place the vegetables and dessert above. Note that the cooking times and
temperatures when cooking this way should be similar for each of the dishes. The oven temperature may also
need to be increased slightly to account for the larger volume of food being cooked. Please note that not all types
of food are suitable for cooking together. (e.g. some desserts are not suitable to be cooked with meat)
Make use of retained heat whenever possible. For example, after baking a dinner there should be sufficient
retained heat to dry herbs, breadcrumbs and biscuits or fruit.
