About Microwave Cooking
*Arrange food carefully. Place thickest areas toward outside of dish.
*Watch cooking time. Cook for the shortest amount of time indicated and add more as needed. Foods severely overcooked can smoke or ignite.
*Cover foods while cooking. Check recipe or cookbook for suggestions: paper towels, wax paper, microwave plastic wrap or a lid. Covers prevent spattering and help foods to cook evenly.
*Shield with small flat pieces of aluminum foil any thin areas of meats or poultry to prevent overcooking before dense, thick areas are cooked thoroughly.
*Stir foods from outside to center of dish once or twice during cooking, if possible.
*Turn foods over once during microwaving to speed cooking of such foods as chicken and hamburgers. Large items like roasts must be turned over at least once.
About Safety
*Check foods to see that they are cooked to the United States Department of Agriculture’s recommended temperatures:
TEMP |
| FOOD |
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160°F | ... for fresh pork, ground meat, | |||
| boneless | white | poultry, | fish, |
| seafood, | egg | dishes | and |
| frozen prepared food. |
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165°F | ... for leftover, | |||
| refrigerated, and deli | and | ||
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170°F | ... white meat of poultry. |
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180°F | ... dark meat of poultry. |
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To test for doneness, insert a meat thermometer in a thick or dense area away from fat or bone. NEVER leave the thermometer in food during cooking, unless it is approved for microwave oven use.
*Always use potholders to prevent burns when handling utensils that are in contact with hot food. Enough heat from the food can transfer through utensils to cause skin burns.
*Rearrange foods like meatballs halfway through cooking both from top to bottom and from the center of the dish to the outside.
*Add standing time. Remove food from oven and stir, if possible. Cover for standing time which allows the food to finish cooking without overcooking.
*Check for doneness. Look for signs indicating that cooking temperatures have been reached.
Doneness signs include:
-Food steams throughout, not just at edge.
-Center bottom of dish is very hot to the touch.
-Poultry thigh joints move easily.
-Meat and poultry show no pinkness.
-Fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
*Avoid steam burns by directing steam away from the face and hands. Slowly lift the farthest edge of a dish’s covering and carefully open popcorn and oven cooking bags away from the face.
*Stay near the oven while it’s in use and check cooking progress frequently so that there is no chance of overcooking food.
*NEVER use the cavity for storing cookbooks or other items.
*Select, store and handle food carefully to preserve its high quality and minimize the spread of foodborne bacteria.
*Keep wave guide cover clean. Food residue can cause arcing and/or fires.
*Use care when removing items from the oven so that the utensil, your clothes or accessories do not touch the safety door latches.
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