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COOKING GUIDE
USE YOUR MICROWAVE OVEN SAFELY
Food
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Never use your microwave oven for home canning. The oven is not designed for proper
home canning. Improperly canned food may spoil and be dangerous to consume.
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Always use the minimum recipe cooking time. It is better to undercook rather than
overcook foods.
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Undercooked foods can be returned to the oven for more cooking. If food is overcooked,
nothing can be done.
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Heat small quantities of food or foods with low moisture carefully. These can quickly dry
out, burn or catch on fire.
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Potatoes, apples, egg yolks and sausages are examples of food with non-porous skins.
These must be pierced before cooking to prevent bursting.
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Do not attempt to deep fat fry in your microwave oven.
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Always allow a standing time of at least 20 seconds after the oven has been switched off
to allow the temperature to even out, stir during heating, if necessary, and ALWAYS stir
after heating. To prevent eruptive boiling and possible scalding, you should put a spoon
or glass stick into the beverages and stir before, during and after heating.
Arcing
If you see arcing, open the door and correct the problem.
Arcing is the microwave term for sparks in the oven.
Arcing is caused by:
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Metal or foil touching the side of the oven.
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Foil not molded to food (upturned edges act like antennas).
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Metal, such as twist-ties, poultry pins, or gold rimmed dishes, in the microwave.
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Recycled paper towels containing small metal pieces being used in the microwave.
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Dirt or grease on waveguide cover.
COOKING TECHNIQUES
Standing Time
Dense foods e.g., meat, jacket potatoes and cakes, require standing time (inside or outside
of the oven) after cooking, to allow heat to finish conducting to cook the center completely.
Wrap meat joints and jacket potatoes in aluminium foil while standing. Meat joints need
approx. 10-15 minutes, jacket potatoes 5 minutes. Other foods such as plated meals,
vegetables, fish etc require 2-5 minutes standing. After defrosting food, standing time
should also be allowed. If food is not cooked after standing time, return to the oven and
cook for additional time.
Moisture Content
Many fresh foods e.g., vegetables and fruit, vary in their moisture content throughout the
season, particularly jacket potatoes. For this reason cooking times may have to be adjusted.
Dry ingredients e.g., rice, pasta, can dry out during storage so cooking times may differ.
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