Food characteristics, Microwave cooking

Food characteristics &

Microwave cooking

Keeping an eye on things

The recipes in the book have been formulated with great care, but your success in preparing them depends on how much attention you pay to the food as it cooks. Always watch your food while it cooks. Your microwave oven is equipped with a light that turns on automatically when the oven is in operation so that you can see inside and check the progress of your food. Directions given in recipes to elevate, stir, and the like should be thought of as the minimum steps recommended. If the food seems to be cooking unevenly, simply make the necessary adjustments you think appropriate to correct the problem.

Factors affecting microwave cooking times

Many factors affect cooking times. The temperature of ingredients used in a recipe makes a big difference in cooking times. For example, a cake made with ice-cold butter, milk, and eggs will take considerably longer to bake than one made with ingredients that are at room temperature. All of the recipes in this book give a range of cooking times. In general, you will find that the food remains under-cooked at the lower end of the time range, and you may sometimes want to cook your food beyond the maximum time given, according to personal preference. The governing philosophy of this book is that it is best for a recipe to be conservative in giving cooking times. While overcooked food is ruined for good. Some of the recipes, particularly those for bread, cake, and custards, recommend that food be removed from the oven when they are slightly undercooked. This is not a mistake. When allowed to stand, usually covered, these foods will continue to cook outside of the oven as the heat trapped within the outer portions of the food gradually travels inward. If the food is left in the oven until it is cooked all the way through, the outer portions will become overcooked or even burnt. You will become increasingly skilful in estimating both cooking and standing times for various foods.

Density of food

Light, porous food such as cakes and breads cook more quickly than heavy, dense foods such as roasts and casseroles. You must take care when microwaving porous food that the outer edges do not become dry and brittle.

Height of food

The upper portion of tall food, particularly roasts, will cook more quickly than the lower portion. Therefore, it is wise to turn tall food during cooking, sometimes several times.

Moisture content of food

Since the heat generated from microwaves tends to evaporate moisture, relatively dry food such as roasts and some vegetables should either be sprinkled with water prior to cooking or covered to retain moisture.

Bone and fat content of food

Bones conduct heat and fat cooks more quickly than meat. Care must be taken when cooking bony or fatty cuts of meat that they do not cook unevenly and do not become overcooked.

Quantity of food

The number of microwaves in your oven remains constant regardless of how much food is being cooked. Therefore, the more food you place in the oven, the longer the cooking time. Remember to decrease cooking times by at least one third when halving a recipe.

Shape of food

Microwaves penetrate only about 2.cm into food, the interior portion of thick foods are cooked as the heat generated on the outside travels inward. Only the outer edge of food in cooked by microwave energy; the rest is cooked by conduction. The worst possible shape for a food that is to be microwaved is a thick square. The corners will burn long before the centre is even warm . Round thin foods and ring shaped foods cook successfully in the microwave.

Covering

A cover traps heat and steam which causes food to cook more quickly. Use a lid or microwave cling film with a corner folded back to prevent splitting.

Browning

Meats and poultry that are cooked fifteen minutes or longer will brown lightly in their own fat. Food that are cooked for a shorter period of time may be brushed with a browning sauce such as worcestershire sauce, soy sauce or barbecue sauce to achieve an appetizing colour. Since relatively small amounts of browning sauces are added to food the original flavour of the recipe is not altered.

Covering with greaseproof paper

Greaseproofing effectively prevents spattering and helps food retain some heat. But because it makes a looser cover than a lid or clingfilm, it allows the food to dry out slightly.

Arranging and spacing

Individual foods such as baked potatoes, small cakes and hors d’oeuvres will heat more evenly if placed in the oven an equal distance apart, preferably in a circular pattern. Never stack foods on top of one another.