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26
Microwaving Principles
Transmission
Then they pass through the cooking
containers to be absorbed by the
water molecules in the food, all
foods contain water to a more or
lesser extent.
Reflection
The microwaves bounce off the
metal walls and the metal door
screen.
The dish used to cook or
reheat the food will get warm
during cooking, as the heat
conducts from the food. Even
in microwaving, oven gloves
are required! Microwaves
can not pass through metal
and therefore metal cooking
utensils can never be used in
a microwave, for cooking on
microwave only.
Important Notes
How Microwaves Cook Food
The microwaves cause the water
molecules to vibrate which causes
friction, i.e. heat. This heat then
cooks the food.
Microwaves are also attracted
to fat and sugar particles, and
Do not boil eggs in your
microwave. Raw eggs boiled
in their shells can explode and
cause serious injury.
Boiled eggs
foods high in these will cook more
quickly. Microwaves can only
penetrate to a depth of 4-5 cm
and as heat spreads through the
food by conduction, just as in a
traditional oven, the food cooks
from the outside inwards.
Foods Not Suitable for Cook-
ing by Microwave Only
Yorkshire pudding and souffles.
This is because these foods
rely on dry external heat to cook
correctly, do not attempt to cook
by microwave.
Foods that require deep fat frying
cannot be cooked either.
Standing Time
When a microwave oven is
switched off, the food will continue
to cook by conduction – not
by microwave energy. Hence
standing time is very important
in microwaving, particularly for
dense foods i.e. meat, cakes and
reheated meals (refer to page 29).
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