Microwave cooking tips
Amount of food
l Themoratoodyouprepare,thebngerit takes. A rule of thumb is that a double amount of food requires almost doubfe the time. ff one potato takes four minutes to wok, you need about seven minutes to wok two potatoas.
Covering food
cover food to:
l Reduce splattering
l Shorten cuoking times
lRetain food moisture
All coverings that allow microwaves to pass through are suitable.
Starting temperature of food
l The iower the temperature of the food being put into the microwave oven, the bnger it takes to cook. Food at mm temperature will be reheated more quickly than food at refrigerator temperature.
Composition of food
lFood with a lot of fat and sugar will be heated faster than food containing a tot of water. Fat and sugar will also reach a higher temperature than water in the cooking process.
l Themoredensathefood,thebngeriI
takes to heat. “Veryden& food like meat takes bngar to reheat than lighter, more porous food like sponge cakes.
Size and shape
l Smaller pieces of food will cook faster than larger pieces and
l With uneveniy ahaped foods, the thinner parts will cuok faster than the thicker araas. Piace the thiir parts of chicken wings and fags in the center of the dish.
Stirring, turning foods
l Stirring and turning foods distributes heat quickly to the canter of the dii and avoids overcooking at the outer edges of the food.
Releasing pressure in foods
l Several foods (for example: baked potatoes, sausages, egg yolks, and some fruits) are tightly covered by a skin or membrane. Thii can cause the food to burst from steam building up in them during cooking. To relieve the pressure and to prevent bursting, prick these foods before cooking with a fork, cocktail pick, or toothpick
Using standing time
l Always allow food to stand for a while after cooking. Standing tima after defrost- ing, cooking, or reheating always improves the result since the temperature will then be ever@ diiributad throughout the food.
l When cooking in a microwave oven, food continues to cook even when the microwave energy is turned off. Food is no longer cooked by microwaves, but it is still being woked by the high heat left over from the microwave oven.
l The length of the standing time depends on the volume and density of the food. Sometimes it can be as short as the time it takes you to remove the food from the oven and take it to the serving table. However, with larger, denser food, the standing time may be as long as 10 minutes.
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