SUITABLE COOKWARE
To cook/defrost food in a microwave oven, the microwave energy must be able to pass through the container to penetrate the food. Therefore it is important to choose suitable cookware.
Round/oval dishes are preferable to square/oblong ones, as the food in the corners tends to overcook. A variety of cookware can be used as listed below.
Cookware | Microwave Safe | Comments |
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|
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Aluminium foil | ✔ / ✘ | Small pieces of aluminium foil can be used to shield |
Foil Containers |
| food from overheating. Keep foil at least 2cm from |
|
| the oven walls, as arcing may occur. |
|
| Foil containers are not recommended unless |
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| specified by the manufacturer, e.g. Microfoil ®, |
|
| follow instructions carefully. |
Browning dishes | ✔ | Always follow the manufacturers instructions. |
|
| Do not exceed heating times given. |
|
| Be very careful as these dishes become very hot. |
China and ceramics | ✔ / ✘ | Porcelain, pottery, glazed earthenware and bone |
|
| china are usually suitable, except for those with |
|
| metallic decoration. |
Glassware | ✔ | Care should be taken if using fine glassware as it |
e.g. Pyrex ® |
| can break or crack if heated suddenly. |
Metal | ✘ | It is not recommended to use metal cookware as it |
|
| will arc, which can lead to fire. |
Plastic/Polystyrene | ✔ | Care must be taken as some containers warp, melt |
e.g fast food containers |
| or discolour at high temperatures. |
Cling film | ✔ | It should not touch the food and must be pierced |
|
| to let the steam escape. |
Freezer/Roasting | ✔ | Must be pierced to let steam escape. Ensure bags |
bags |
| are suitable for microwave use. |
|
| Do not use plastic or metal ties, as they may melt |
|
| or catch fire due to the metal ‘arcing’. |
Paper - Plates, cups | ✔ | Only use for warming or to absorb moisture. |
and kitchen paper |
| Care must be taken as overheating may cause fire. |
Straw and wooden | ✔ | Always attend the oven when using these materials |
containers |
| as overheating may cause fire. |
Recycled paper | ✘ | May contain extracts of metal which will cause |
and newspaper |
| ‘arcing’ and may lead to fire. |
|
|
|
NOTE: When heating food in plastic or paper containers, monitor the oven due to the possibility of ignition.
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