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MICROWAVE COOKING TIPS
Amount of food
• If you increaseor decrease the amount offood
you prepare,the time it takes tocook thatfood will
also change. Forexample, if you double a recipe,
add a little more than halfthe original cooking time.
Checkfor doneness and, ifnecessary, add more
time in small increments.
Starting temperature of food
• The lower the temperature of thefood being put
intothe microwave oven, the longer ittakes to cook.
Foodat room temperature will be re-heated more
quickly than food at refrigeratortemperature.
Composition of food
• Food with a lot of fat and sugarwill be heated
faster thanfood containing a lot ofwater. Fat and
sugar will also reacha higher temperaturethan
water in the cooking process.
• The more dense the food, the longer it takes to
heat."Very dense" food like meat takes longer to
heatthan lighter, more porousfood likesponge
cakes.
Size and shape
• Smaller pieces of food will cook faster than larger
pieces.Also, same shaped pieces cook more
evenly thandifferent-shaped pieces.
•With foods that have different thicknesses, the
thinner parts will cook faster thanthe thicker parts.
Place the thinner parts of chickenwings and legsin
the center of the dish.
Stirring, turning foods
• Stirring and turning foods spreads heatquickly to
the center of the dish and avoids overcooking at the
outer edges of thefood.
Covering food
Cover food to:
• Reduce splattering
• Shorten cooking times
• Keep food moist
You can useany covering that lets microwaves pass
through. See "Gettingto Know Your Microwave
Oven" for materialsthat microwaveswill pass
through. Ifyou are usingthe Sensor function,besure
to vent.
Releasing pressure in foods
•Several foods (forexample: baked potatoes,
sausages, egg yolks, and some fruits)are tightly
covered bya skin or membrane. Steam can build up
under the membrane during cooking, causing the
food to burst. To relievethe pressure and to prevent
bursting,pierce these foods before cooking with a
fork, cocktail pick,or toothpick.
Using standing time
•Always allow food tostand after cooking.
Standingtime after defrosting and cooking allows
the temperature to evenly spread throughout the
food, improvingthe cooking results.
•The length of the standing timedepends on how
much food youare cooking and how dense itis.
Sometimes it can be as short as thetime ittakes
you to remove the food from the oven and take itto
the serving table. However,with larger,denser food,
the standing time may be as long as 10 minutes.
Arranging food
For best results, placefood evenly on the plate. You
can do this in severalways:
• Ifyou arecooking several items of the same
food, such as baked potatoes, place them in a ring
patternfor uniform cooking.
•When cooking foods of uneven shapes or
thickness, such as chicken breasts, place the
smaller or thinnerarea ofthe food towards the
center of the dish where itwill be heatedlast.
• Layer thin slices of meat on top of each other.
•When you cook or reheat whole fish, score the
skin - this prevents cracking.
• Do not let food or a container touch thetop or sides
of the oven. This will prevent possiblearcing.
Using aluminum foil
Metal containers should not be used in a microwave
oven. There are, however, some exceptions. If you
have purchased food which is prepackaged in an
aluminum foil container, referto the instructionson
the package.When using aluminum foil containers,
cooking times may be longer because microwaves
will only penetratethe top of thefood. If you use
aluminum containers without package instructions,
follow these guidelines:
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