Manual

MICROWAVE COOKING TIPS
Amount of food
• If you increase or decrease theamountoffood
you prepare, the time it takes to cook that food will
also change. For example, if you double a recipe,
add a little more than half the original cooking time.
Check for doneness and, if necessary, add more
time in small increments.
Starting temperature of food
• The lower the temperature ofthe food beingput
into the microwave oven, the longer it takes to cook.
Food at room temperature will be re-heated more
quickly than food at refrigeratortemperature.
Composition of food
• Food with a lot of fat and sugar will be heated
faster than food containing a lot of water. Fat and
sugar will also reach a higher temperature than
water inthe cooking process.
• The more dense the food, the longer it takes to
heat. "Very dense"food likemeat takes longer to
heat than lighter, more porous food likesponge
cakes.
Size and shape
• Smaller pieces of food willcookfaster than larger
pieces. Also, same shaped pieces cook more
evenly than different-shaped pieces.
•With foods that have differentthicknesses, the
thinner partswill cook faster than the thicker parts.
Place the thinner parts of chickenwings and legs in
the canter of the dish.
Stirring, turning foods
• Stirring and turning foods spreadsheatquickly to
the canter of the dish and avoids overcooking at the
outer edges of the food.
Covering food
Coverfood to:
• Reduce splattering
• Shorten cooking times
• Keep food moist
You can use any covering that lets microwaves pass
through. See "Getting to Mow Your Microwave
Oven" for materials that microwaves will pass
through. If you are using the Sensorfunction, be sure
to vent,
Releasing pressure in foods
• Several foods (forexample:baked potatoes,
sausages, eggyolks,andsome fruits) are tightly
coveredby a skin ormembrane. Steam can build up
under the membrane during cooking, causing the
food to burst. To relieve the pressure and to prevent
bursting, pierce these foods before cooking with a
fork, cocktail pick, or toothpick.
Using standingtime
• Always allow food to stand aftercooking insideas
well as outside the oven. Standing time after
defrosting and cooking allows the temperature to
evenly spread throughout the food, improvingthe
cooking results.
• The length of the standing time depends on how
much food you are cooking and how dense it is.
Sometimes itcan be as short as the time it takes
you to remove the food from the ovenand take it to
the serving table. However, with larger, denser food,
the standing time may be as long as 10 minutes.
Arranging food
For best results, place food evenly on the plate.You
can do this in several ways:
• If you are cooking several items of the same
food, such as baked potatoes, place them ina ring
pattern for uniform cooking.
• When cooking foods of uneven shapes or
thickness, such as chicken breasts, place the
smaller or thinner areaof thefood towards the
center of the dish where it will be heated last.
• Layer thin slices of meat on top of each other.
• When you cook or reheat whole fish, score the
skin - this prevents cracking.
• Do not let food or a container touch the top or sides
of the oven. This will prevent possiblearcing.
Using aluminum foil
Metal containers should not be used in a microwave
oven. There are, however, some exceptions. Ifyou
have purchased food which isprepackaged in an
aluminum foil container, refer to the instructionson
the package. When using aluminum foil containers,
cooking times may be longer because microwaves
will only penetrate the top of the food. Ifyou use
aluminum containers without package instructions,
follow these guidelines:
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