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JlHFOR1VIATION
YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT
MICROWAVE
COOKING
• Arrange food carefully. Place thickest areas towards
outside of dish.
° Watch cooking time. Cook for the shortest amount
of time indicated and add more as needed, Food
severely overcooked can smoke or ignite.
• Cover foods while cooking. Check recipe or cook-
book for suggestions:
paper towels, wax paper,
microwave
plastic wrap or a lid. Covers
prevent
spattering and help foods to cook evenly.
• Shield with small ftat pieces of aluminum
foil any
thin areas of meat or poultry to prevent overcooking
before dense, thick areas are cooked thoroughly-
• Stir foods from outside to center of dish once or twice
during cooking, if possible..
• Turn
foods
over
once
during
microwaving
to
speed cooking of such foods as chicken and ham-
burgers. Large items like roasts must be turned over
at least once_
Rearrange
foods
such
as meatballs
halfway
through cooking both from top to bottom and from
the center of the dish to the outside
Add standing
time. Remove food from oven and
stir, if possible_ Cover for standing time which allows
the food to finish cooking without overcooking
Check for aloneness. Look for signs indicating that
cooking temperatures
have been reached.
Doneness signs include:
- Food steams throughout, not just at edge.
Center bottom of dish is very hot to the touch
- Poultry thigh joints move easily.
- Meat and poultry show no pinkness
- Fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
ABOUT
SAFETY
-
Check
foods
to see that
they
are cooked
to
the United
States
Department
of Agriculture's
recommended
temperatures
To test for doneness, insert a meat thermometer
in a
thick or dense area away from fat or bone. NEVER
leave the thermometer
in the food during cooking,
unless it is approved for microwave oven use,
ALWAYS
use potholders
to prevent burns when
handling utensils that are in contact with hot food..
Enough
heat from the food can transfer
through
utensils to cause skin burns.
• Avoid steam burns by directing steam away from
the face and hands. Slowly lift the farthest edge of
a dish's covering and carefully open popcorn and
oven cooking bags away from the face.
o Stay near the oven while it's in use and check
cooking
progress
frequently
so that there is no
chance of overcooking food.
,, NEVER
use the cavity for storing cookbooks
or
other items.
Select, store and handle food carefully to preserve
its high
quality
and
minimize
the spread
of
foodborne bacteria°
*
Keep waveguide
cover
clean. Food residue can
cause arcing and/or fires°
o Use care when removing items from the oven so
that the utensil, your clothes or accessories
do not
touch the safety door latches.
6
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