General Information On Cooking; Important Safety Measures When Preparing Food; Using Utensils When Preparing Food - Melissa 653-145 Manual

General information on cooking

• If the entire meal is to be cooked in a microwave
oven, it is recommended that you start with the most
compact foods, such as potatoes. Once these are
ready, cover them while the rest of the food cooks.
• Most food should be covered. A close-fitting cover
retains the steam and moisture, which shortens
the cooking time in the microwave oven. This is
particularly the case when cooking vegetables, fish
dishes and casseroles. Covering food also distributes
the heat better, thus ensuring rapid and excellent
results.
• In order to achieve the best possible results, it is
important to position the food correctly, as the
microwave rays are most powerful at the centre of the
oven compartment. If, for example, you are baking
potatoes, you should position them along the edge of
the glass turntable so that they cook evenly.
• In order to cook compact dishes such as meat and
poultry evenly, it is important to turn the meat a few
times.
• You can bake in a microwave oven, although not with
recipes that include yeast. Yeast dough can be baked
in the appliance but only using convection cooking.
• When preparing food with a thick skin, e.g. potatoes,
apples, whole squash or chestnuts, you should prick
holes in the skin to prevent the food from bursting
during cooking.
• When preparing food in a "traditional" oven, you
normally avoid opening the oven door as much as
possible. This is not the case with microwaves: no
energy or significant heat is lost. In other words, you
can open the oven door and look at the food as often
as you want.
Important safety measures when preparing
food
• If using the microwave oven to heat baby food or
liquids in a feeding bottle, you must always stir the
food/liquid and check the temperature thoroughly
before serving. This ensures that the heat is evenly
distributed and avoids scalding injuries.
The lid and/or teat must NOT be fitted on a feeding
bottle when it is placed in the appliance.
• If some foods are heated too long, they may burn and
give off smoke. If this happens, you should leave the
oven door closed and switch off the microwave oven
completely.
• Some foods with low water content, e.g. chocolate in
squares and pastries with a sweet filling, should be
heated carefully, If not, they or the container may be
ruined.

USING UTENSILS WHEN PREPARING FOOD

Before starting to prepare food in containers, you should
check that the containers you wish to use are made of a
suitable material, as some types of plastic may become
limp and deform, while some types of ceramics may crack
(particularly when heating small quantities of food).
In order to test if a container is suitable for
use in a microwave oven:
• Place the container in the appliance.
• At the same time, place a half-full glass of water in the
container.
• Start and run for 15-30 seconds on maximum power.
• If the container becomes very hot to the touch, do not
use it.
Suitable utensils and materials
When cooking food in a microwave oven, you should
PREFERABLY use the following utensils and materials:
• Glass and glass bowls
• Stoneware (glazed and unglazed). The food stays hot
longer in glazed stoneware than in other dishes.
• Plastic containers. Can be used for many heating
purposes. Caution! Plastic containers made from
melamine, polyethylene and phenol must NOT be
used.
• Porcelain. All porcelain can be used in microwave
ovens, although fireproof porcelain is preferable.
• Fireproof covered dishes. Glass dishes with lids
that fit so closely that steam cannot escape are
ideal for vegetables and fruit to which no liquid is
added (however, the cooking time must not exceed 5
minutes).
• Browning dishes. You must be very careful when
using this type of dish. Never heat the browning dish
for more than 5 minutes on the turntable. Suitable
insulation, such as a heat-tested plate, should be
placed between the browning dish and the turntable to
prevent the turntable from overheating.
• Appliance roasting film. Used particularly for soups,
sauces, stewed dishes or when defrosting food. Can
also be used as a loose covering to prevent fat, etc.
from spraying out into the oven compartment.
• Kitchen roll is ideal, as it absorbs moisture and fat.
For example, bacon can be placed in layers, with
kitchen roll between each layer. The bacon will then
be completely crispy, as it does not sit in its own fat.
Home-baked bread can be taken directly from the
freezer, wrapped in kitchen roll and heated in the
microwave oven.
• Wet kitchen roll can be used for fish or vegetables.
Covering the food prevents it from drying out.
• Greaseproof paper. Fish, large vegetables (such
as cauliflower, corn on the cob and similar) can be
wrapped in wet greaseproof paper.
• Roasting bags are ideal for meat, fish and vegetables.
However, they must never be closed using metal clips.
Cotton thread should be used instead. Prick the bag
with small holes, and place it in the microwave oven
on a plate or glass dish.
NOTE!
• When using the grill functions, use ONLY containers
suitable for use in conventional ovens.
• When using the combination functions, use ONLY
heat-resistant glass or ceramic dishes, which can also
be used in a microwave oven.
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