Glossary of Terms, Dish Test, If Arcing Occurs

Glossary of Terms

Arranging

Positioning the food correctly on the plate to obtain even heating.

Cavity

The interior of the oven where the food is placed for heating.

Ceramic Insulating Tray

Accessory supplied with oven specifically to place between a metal container and Wire Rack Shelf when cooking by COMBINATION.

Combination

Combining Microwave energy with either Grill, Fan Grill or Convection, or with both Grill and Convection

Commercially prepared foods

Foods prepared and cooked at the manufacturers and supplied, usually in a frozen from, to caterers.

Conduction

Transfer of heat through the food, giving even temperature distribution.

Cooking/Prime cooking

The process of heating raw foods.

Defrosting

The processing of taking cooked or raw food from a frozen to thawed state.

Density

The compactness of foods: of open or close texture.

Home-made foods

Foods prepared “in house” from raw ingredients.

Magnetron

The component responsible for changing electrical energy to microwave energy.

Reheating

The process of heating previously cooked foods to a specific temperature.

Salmonella/Lysteria

Food poisoning bacteria.

Sequential/Multi-stage heating

A series (maximum 3) of separate heating settings with times entered before START pad is pressed. The oven then automatically operates the different settings in sequence.

Shielding

Covering areas of food already defrosted or cooked, with aluminium foil.

Standing Time

Non-heating time after defrosting or heating to allow conduction of heat to centre of foods.

Watts/Kilowatts

The measured unit of power; there are 1000 watts

(W)in one kilowatt (kW).

Waveguide

A rotating metal plate which disperses the microwave energy into the cavity.

Wire Rack Shelf

Accessory supplied with oven to use as shelf when heating by COMBINATION, CONVECTION, FAN GRILL, GRILL CONVECTION or GRILL.

Dish Test

To check if a container is suitable for use on MICROWAVE, follow instructions below:

1.Check on the base of a container to see if it is microwave safe. If you are uncertain, check a piece of china using the simple dish test.

2.Place a microwave safe container with 1/2pint (300ml) of cold water on base of microwave. Alongside, place container to be tested. Heat on HIGH power for 1 minute.

Result: A suitable container for microwave will remain fairly cool but the water will feel warm.

If the container is warm or hot then it is absorbing some microwave energy and SHOULD NOT be used. China which absorbs energy will not harm the oven but will slow down the heating of the food.

If Arcing Occurs

Arcing is the static discharge during microwave heating which occurs between any two metals eg the side of the cavity and a metal container: characterised by a blue flash.

If arcing occurs, stop oven immediately. Check that, if a metal container is being used, it is not touching sides or door of oven. Transfer food to a suitable container if necessary.

Arcing may also occur if foil is incorrectly used to shield during DEFROSTING and COOKING. Use SMOOTH pieces of foil and make sure they do not touch roof or walls of oven.

Arcing may also occur if food splashes are not cleaned off and become carbonised. KEEP OVEN AND ACCESSORIES CLEAN.