Panasonic NN-H264 important safety instructions Food Characteristics, Cooking Techniques

Food Characteristics

Bone and Fat

Both bone and fat affect cooking. Bones may cause irregular cooking. Meat next to the tips of bones may overcook while meat positioned under a large bone, such as a ham bone, may

be undercooked. Large amounts of fat absorb microwave ener- gy and the meat next to these areas may overcook.

Density

Porous, airy foods such as breads, cakes or rolls take less time to cook than heavy, dense foods such as potatoes and roasts. When reheating donuts or other foods with different centers be very careful. Certain foods have centers made with sugar, water, or fat and

these centers attract microwaves (For example, jelly donuts). When a jelly donut is heated, the jelly can become extremely hot while the exterior remains warm to the touch. This could result in a burn if the food is not allowed to cool properly in the center.

Quantity

Two potatoes take longer to cook than one potato. As the quantity of the food decreases so does the cook- ing time. Overcooking will cause the moisture content in the food to decrease and a fire could result. Never leave microwave unattended while in use.

Shape

Uniform sizes heat more evenly. The thin end of a drumstick will cook more quickly than the meaty end. To compensate for irregular shapes, place thin parts toward the center of the dish and thick pieces toward the edge.

Cooking Techniques

Piercing

Foods with skins or membranes must be pierced scored or have a strip of skin peeled before cooking to allow steam to escape. Pierce clams, oysters, chicken liv- ers, whole potatoes and whole vegetables. Whole apples or new potatoes should have

a 1-inch strip of skin peeled before cooking. Score sausages and frankfurters. Do not Cook/Reheat whole eggs with or with- out the shell. Steam build up in whole eggs may cause them to explode, and possibly damage the oven or cause injury. Reheating SLICED hard-boiled eggs and cooking SCRAMBLED eggs is safe.

Browning

Foods will not have the same brown appearance as conventionally cooked foods or those foods which are cooked utilizing a browning feature. Meats and poultry may be coated with browning sauce, Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce or shake-on browning sauce. To use, combine

browning sauce with melted butter or margarine and brush on before cooking.

For quick breads or muffins, brown sugar can be used in the recipe in place of granulated sugar, or the surface can be sprinkled with dark spices before baking.

Spacing

Individual foods, such as baked potatoes, cup- cakes and appetizers, will cook more evenly if placed in the oven equal distances apart.

When possible, arrange foods in a circular pat- tern.

Size

Thin pieces cook more quickly than thick pieces.

Starting Temperature

Foods that are at room temperature take less time to cook than if they are chilled, refrigerated, or frozen.

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