Breville BMO300 Hints & tips, Some important tips for Microwave cooking, Microwave Utensils

Hints & tips

Some important tips for MICROWAVE cooking

To help equalize energy in the food so that it cooks evenly follow these helpful tips.

1.Arrange foods with varying size ends, such as chicken drumsticks and broccoli with the thicker or tougher part positioned to the outside of the dish. This ensures the parts that require more cooking will receive more energy, so the food will cook evenly.

2.Covering the dish during cooking holds in the heat and steam to speed up cooking time. Use a microwave safe lid or plastic wrap that has been vented by turning back one edge at the side of the dish to form a narrow vent to release excess steam.

3.Choose cooking dishes that are shallow and preferably have straight sides. Shallow dishes enable the food to cook faster and straight edges prevent the edges from being overcooked.

4.Arrange individual items such as ramekins or whole potatoes around the outside of the turntable. Making sure to leave space between items so the energy can penetrate from all sides.

5.Use round shaped microwave dishes. Round shapes cook more evenly than square or rectangle dishes which absorb most of the energy in the corners causing food to overcook and toughen.

6.Shield areas which attract the most energy such as wing tips of chickens and corners of square dishes by covering them with small pieces of foil. This will reflect microwaves and prevent overcooking and food drying out.

7.Heat breads, biscuits or oily food on paper towel. This prevents the build up of steam between food and carousel, keeping surfaces crisp and dry.

Cover foods with paper toweling to prevent splatters.

8.Stir foods from the outside to centre of the dish once or twice during cooking to equalize heat and speed microwaving.

9.Turn medium to large food items over once during microwaving. This enables even exposure to microwaves.

10.Elevating some types of food such as cakes, roast vegetables and dough products can be advantageous. It allows more energy to penetrate the food from all sides, base and top. Use a microwave safe plastic or ceramic rack. If a rack is unavailable, use an upturned bowl or cup may be used to elevate plates

of food.

11.Do not elevate any special browning dishes, jugs of sauce or custard, small quantities of food or mugs of beverages.

12.Internal temperatures of foods continue to rise so that they continue cooking even after they have been removed from the microwave oven. It is better to undercook food as it will continue to cook once removed from the microwave.

MICROWAVE UTENSILS

•Containers, plates, dishes, etc. used in the microwave oven should always be microwave-safe. Check if stated on the underside of the utensil or contact the manufacturer.

•To test if a container, plate or dish is microwave-safe, place it into the microwave oven with 1 cup of cold water (in a microwave-safe cup) and heat on High (100%) Power for 1 minute. If the container is hot and the water is cold, the container is not suitable for microwave oven use. If the container is cold and the water is hot, then the container is suitable for microwave oven use.

•Metal containers and utensils should not be used in the microwave oven.

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