Tips & advice
Using a food thermometer to determine cooking time
The internal temperature of food and drink can be ascertained with a food thermometer. The most important temperatures are specified in the temperature table.
Drink / Food | Internal | Internal temp. |
| temperature | after 10 - 15 mins |
| once cooked | standing time |
|
|
|
Heating drinks |
| |
(Coffee, Water, Tea, etc.) |
|
|
Heating Milk |
| |
Heating soup |
| |
Heating stew |
| |
Poultry | ||
Lamb |
|
|
Pink | 70o C | |
Well done | ||
Roast beef |
|
|
Rare | ||
Medium | ||
Well done | ||
Pork, Veal |
Addition of water
Vegetables and other foods with a high water content can be cooked in their own juice or with the addition of a little water. This ensures that many vitamins and minerals are preserved.
Food in skin or shells
Foods such as sausages, chickens, chicken legs, baked potatoes, tomatoes, apples, egg yolks or such like should be pricked or pierced with a fork or small wooden skewer. This will enable the steam which forms to dissipate without splitting the skin or shell.
Fatty foods
Fatty meat and layers of fat cook better than lean portions of meat. Before cooking, cover the fatty portions with a piece of aluminium foil or place the food with the fat side down.
Blanching vegetables
Before freezing vegetables, they should be blanched. This preserves the quality and flavour at their best. Method: wash and chop the vegetables. Put 250g of vegetables in a dish with 275 ml water and cover. Heat for
immediately in cold water to prevent further cooking and then allow to drain. Pack vegetables in an airtight container and freeze.
Preserving fruit and vegetables
Using the microwave for preserving is quick and easy. There are preserving jars, rubber vacuum seals and suitable seals made of plastic available specially made for microwaves. The manufacturers will supply precise instructions for use.
Large & small quantities
Microwave times are directly dependent upon the amount of food which you would like to thaw, heat or cook. This means that small portions cook more quickly than larger ones. As a rule of thumb:
TWICE THE AMOUNT = ALMOST TWICE THE TIME HALF THE AMOUNT = HALF THE TIME
Deep & shallow containers
Both containers have the same capacity, but the cooking time is longer for the deeper one. You should therefore choose as flat a container as possible with a large surface area. Only use deep containers for dishes where there is a danger of overcooking, e.g. for noodles, rice, milk etc.
Round & oval containers
Food cooks more evenly in round or oval containers than in containers with corners, since the microwave energy concentrates in the corners and the food in these areas could become overcooked.
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