12
MICROWAVE COOKING TIPS
MICROWAVE COOkING TIPS
Amount of Food
•
If you increase or decrease
the amount of food
you prepare, the time it takes to cook that food will
also change. For example, if you double a recipe,
add a little more than half the original cooking time.
Check for doneness and, if necessary, add more
time in small increments.
Starting Temperature of Food
•
The lower the temperature
of the food being
put into the microwave oven, the longer it takes
to cook. Food at room temperature reheats more
quickly than food at refrigerator temperature.
Composition of Food
•
Food with a lot of fat and sugar
heats faster than
food containing a lot of water. Fat and sugar also
reach a higher temperature than water during the
cooking process.
•
The more dense the food
, the longer it takes to
heat. Very dense food like meat takes longer to
heat than lighter, more porous food like sponge
cakes.
Size and Shape
•
Smaller pieces of food
cook faster than larger
pieces. Also, same-shaped pieces cook more
evenly than different-shaped pieces.
•
With foods that have different thicknesses
,
the thinner parts cook faster than the thicker parts
Place the thinner parts of chicken wings and legs in
the center of the dish.
Stirring and Turning Foods
•
Stirring and turning foods
spreads heat quickly
to the center of the dish and avoids overcooking at
the outer edges of the food.
Covering Food
Cover food to:
•
reduce
splattering
•
shorten
cooking times
•
keep
food moist
Releasing Pressure in Foods
•
Several foods
(for example: baked potatoes,
sausages, egg yolks, and some fruits) are tightly
covered by a skin or membrane. Steam can build
up under the membrane during cooking, causing
the food to burst. To relieve the pressure and to
prevent bursting, pierce these foods before cooking
with a fork, cocktail pick, or toothpick.
Using Standing Time
•
Always allow food to stand
either in or out of the
oven after cooking power stops. Standing time after
defrosting and cooking allows the temperature to
evenly spread throughout the food, improving the
cooking results.
•
The length of the standing time
depends on how
much food you are cooking and how dense it is.
Sometimes it can be as short as the time it takes
you to remove the food from the oven and take it
to the serving table. However, with larger, denser
food items, the standing time may be as long as 10
minutes.
Arranging Food
For best results, place food evenly on the plate. You
can do this in several ways:
•
If you are cooking several items of the same
food
, such as baked potatoes, place them in a ring
pattern for uniform cooking.
•
When cooking foods of uneven shapes or
thickness, such as chicken breasts,
place the
smaller or thinner area of the food towards the
center of the dish where it will be heated last.
•
Layer thin slices of meat
on top of each other.
•
When you cook or reheat whole fish, score
the
skin to prevent cracking.
•
Do not
let food or a container touch the top or
sides of the oven. This will prevent possible arcing.
Summary of Contents for LMC2075 Series
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