Defrost
This main oven function defrosts most foods faster than more conventional methods. It is particularly suitable for delicate frozen foods which are to be served cold e.g. cream filled gateaux, cakes covered with icings or frostings, cheesecakes, biscuits, scones, etc.
Using defrost
Turn the main oven temperature control to the required setting.
Things to note
•The oven fan will come on.
Hints and tips
•Place the frozen food in a single layer where possible and turn it over half way through the defrosting process.
•The actual speed of defrosting is influenced by room temperature. On warm days defrosting will be faster than on cooler days.
•It is preferable to thaw fish, meat and poultry slowly in the fridge. However, this process can be accelerated by using the defrost function. Small or thin fish fillets, frozen peeled prawns, cubed or minced meat, liver, thin chops, steaks etc., can be thawed in 1 – 2 hours.
•A 1kg/2¼lb oven ready chicken will be thawed in approximately 5 hours. Remove the giblets as soon as possible during the thawing process.
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•Joints of meat up to 2kg/4½lb in weight can be thawed using the defrost function.
•All joints of meat and poultry must be thawed thoroughly before cooking.
•Always cook thoroughly immediately after thawing.
•Do not leave food at room temperature once it is defrosted. Cook raw food immediately or store cooked food in the fridge, once it has cooled.
•Care must always be taken when handling foods in the home. Always follow the basic rules of food hygiene to prevent bacterial growth and cross contamination when defrosting, preparing, cooking, cooling and freezing foods.