Whirlpool MS1600XW manual Recipes and Tables, Introduction, Utensils

MICROWAVE COOKING

Introduction

Your microwave oven can be one of the most useful appliances in your home. If you follow a few basic instructions, this book will teach you how to make microwave cooking both enjoyable and safe. All of the recipes in this book have been tested and proven to provide many rewarding meals for you and your family. Before you begin trying the recipes, take a few moments to read these pages of instruc- tions and helpful hints.

How Your Microwave Oven Works: Microwaves are a form of energy, just as sunlight and radio waves. The only difference is in the shape and form of the energy wavelengths. When the magnetron tube in your oven is activated, electricity is con- verted into high frequency radiating energy in the form of very small (micro) waves. The microwaves are released into the oven compartment through an opening in the top of the appliance, and are dis- tributed evenly by a built-in stirrer. When micro- waves penetrate food, individual molecules in the food begin to vibrate, and the heat friction caused by this vibration passes from molecule to molecule by induction, cooking the food.

Power and Standing Time: Like any conventional oven, microwave appliances are affected by fluctua- tions in local energy supplies. The location of your house, weather, and time of day may all affect energy availability, and thereby vary the rate at which your microwave oven cooks. This book pro- vides you with minimum and maximum cooking times for each recipe to accommodate this possible variation in energy availability.

In order to avoid overcooking, you should always check your food as soon as it has cooked the mini- mum recommended time. Remember also that cooking continues after the food has been taken from the oven. This period of extra cooking occurs because the molecules continue to vibrate after the food has been removed from the source of cooking energy.

Standing times, which allow the extra cooking to take place, can vary from one to five minutes for vegetables, or five to ten minutes for a large roast. Experience will help you determine standing times for the various foods you prepare.

RECIPES AND TABLES

Utensils

Never use metal or metal-trimmed utensils in your microwave oven. Microwave cannot penetrate metal. They will bounce off may metal object in the oven-just as they bounce off the metal walls of the oven and cause “arcing”, a phenomenon that resembles lightning. Many of the containers which you already own are perfectly safe to use.

How to Test for Microwave Use: Here is a simple test to determine whether or not a utensil is compat- ible with your microwave oven. Measure one cup of water into a glass container and place it on or near the dish you wish to test. Microwave on HIGH Power -or one to two minutes, until water is hot, then test I le container in question. If the dish remains cool to ths touch, it is safe for microwave oven use.

Utensils to Use in a Microwave Oven: Containers made of glass, ceramics, and some forms of paper and plastic, allow microwaves to pass freely through them, making them ideal for microwave use. Boil- able pouches and oven baking bags are usually equally effective in your microwave oven.

Many utensils are made especially for use in a microwave oven. These heat-resistant plastics may go directly from freezer to microwave and vice versa without harming either food or container. To avoid problems, always read the instructions on these containers before using them.

Shape and Depth: Depth and shape of containers will affect cooking time. In a shallow casserole dish, for example, food cooks more rapidly than in a deep dish with the same volume, because more surface area of the food is exposed to microwave energy. Straight-sided containers are preferable to curved ones, because the more uniform food depth allows for even cooking. Round dishes allow the micro- waves to penetrate the food evenly from all sides. Square dishes allow excess exposure of the food to microwaves, often resulting in overcooking.

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