Microwave Cooking Techniques
Dish Size
Follow the dish sizes given in the recipes, as these affect the cooking times. A quantity of food spread in a bigger dish cooks more quickly.
English Cookbook
Quantity | Density |
Small quantities cook faster than | Porous airy foods heat quicker than |
large quantities, also small meals will | dense heavy foods. |
reheat quicker than large portions. |
|
Standing Time
Dense foods e.g. meat, jacket potatoes and cakes, require STANDING TIME (inside or outside of the oven) after cooking, to allow heat to finish conducting to cook the centre completely.
Meat Joints
Stand 15 mins. wrapped in tin foil.
Jacket Potatoes
Stand 10 mins. wrapped in tin foil.
Light Cakes
Stand 5 mins. before removing from dish.
Rich dense Cakes
Stand
If food is not cooked after STANDING TIME, return to oven and cook for additional time.
Fish
Stand
Egg Dishes
Stand
Precooked Convenience Food
Stand for 5 mins.
Plated Meals
Stand for
Vegetables
Boiled potatoes benefit from standing
Cling Film
Cling film helps keep the food moist and the trapped steam assists in speeding up cooking times. However, it should be pierced before cooking, to allow excess steam to escape. Always take care when removing cling film from a dish as the
Moisture Content
Many fresh foods e.g. vegetables and fruit, vary in their moisture content throughout the season- jacket potatoes are a particular example of this. For this reason cooking times may have to be adjusted throughout the year. Dry ingredients e.g. rice, pasta, can dry out further during storage and cooking times may differ from ingredients freshly purchased.
Piercing
The skin or membrane on some foods will cause steam to build up during cooking. These foods must be pierced or a strip of skin should be peeled before cooking to allow the steam to escape. Eggs, potatoes, apples, sausages etc, will all need to be pierced before cooking. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BOIL EGGS IN THEIR SHELLS.
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