Specifications

Ver SG 9/200 11 Sharp Electronics Corporation
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Browning
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The brown surface color of foods is due to a chemical reaction between food sugars and
amino acids, the building blocks of protein foods. This reaction proceeds slowly at low
temperatures and is accelerated by increasing the temperature. In microwave cooking the
surface temperature of foods rarely exceeds 212°F, the boiling point of water, and is
usually much lower. Because of this, most foods cooked in microwave ovens lack the
surface coloration expected of certain foods. A steak or a meat patty, for example, would
have a gray unappetizing surface appearance. Baked goods would not have a brown
crust. The appearance of such foods can be enhanced by placing them in a hot oven for a
few minutes, or in the case of the steak and meat patty, on a grill or under a broiler. A
number of restaurants which do a sizable steak business pre-sear a quantity of steaks in
advance and finish them in seconds in the microwave when ordered. Some foods, which
because of their size take longer to cook in a microwave oven, do take on an acceptable
surface appearance. The presence of surface fats as in beef roasts or roasting chickens
and turkeys aid this. These fats reach temperatures above 212°F. and act to accelerate the
browning reaction.
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Size Grading
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Since small items cook faster than large items, it is good practice to do all of one size at a
time. In baking potatoes, for example, if they are nearly alike in size they will all be
finished at the same time. The alternative to size grading is to remove the smaller items
as they are done and continue to cook the larger items. This requires considerably more
attention.