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Cooking ' llxhniqws for
Microwaving
Covering. I nbothconventional andmicrowave
cooking, c overs holdinmoisture a ndspeedheating.
Conventionally, partial c overing a llows e xcess steam to
escape. V enting p lastic wraporcovering withwaxpaper
serves thesamepurpose whenmicrowaving.
Arranging F ood inOven, I nconventional bating,you
position foods, s uchascakelayers orpotatoes, s othat
hotaircanflowaround them.Whenmicrowaving, you
arrange foods ina ring,sothatailsidesareexposed to
microwave energy.
Stirring.
En
range tc3p c ooking, y oustirfoodsupfrom
thebottom tohelpthemheatevenly. When
microwaving, youstircooked portions fromtheoutside
tothecenter. F oods whichrequire constant s tirring
conventiomdly wiilneedonlyoccasional stirring.
Turning O ver. I nrange topcooking, y outurnover
foodssuchashamburgers, sobothsidescandirectly
contact t hehotpan.Whenmicrowaving, turningisoften
needed during defrosting, orwhencooking foodssuch
ashamburgers fromthefrozen state.
Standing T ime. I nconventional cooking, f ds suchas
roastsorcakesareallowed tostandtofinishcooking or
set,Standing t imeisespecially important inmicrowave
caoking. N otethatthemicrowaved cakeisnotplaced on
a cooling rack.
Shielding.
Ina
conventional oven,youshieldchicken
breasts orbakedfoods toprevent o ver-browning. When
defrosting, youusesmallstripsoffoiltoshieldthin
parts,suchasthetipsof'wings andlegsonpoukry,
whichwould MWk b efore largerpartsweredefrosted.
PrickFoods toRelease Pressure. l!%em buikls u p
pressure i nhods
whicharctightly covexdbya skha or
membrane. Prickpotatoes ( myoudocomwntionally),
eggyolks aridchicken liverstoprevent b ursting.
Rotating. O ccasionally,
a dishintheoven
helpsfood~ookevenly. T' rotate1/2turn,turnthedish
untilthesidewhichwastothebackoflheovenistothe
front.Torotate1/4turn,turnthedishuntiltheside
which wastothebackoftheovenistotheside,
I
Hyouusea meatthermometer whilecooking, m ake
sureit issafeforuseinmicrowave ovens,
I
Effe@
ofl?ood Characteristics
m
Microwaving
Density ofFood. I nbothconventional andmicrowave
cooking, densefoods, s uchasa potato, t akelonger to
cookorheatthanlight,porous foods, s uchasa pieceof
cake,breadora roll.
Round $hapw
Since
microwaves penetrate f oods to
aboutl-in.fromtop,bottom andsides,roundshapes
andringscookmoreevenly. C orners receive more
energy andmayovercook. Thismayalsohappen when
cooking conventionally.
Delicacy. Foods w itha delicate texture suchascustards
arebestcooked atlower power s ettings t oavoid
toughening.
Natural M oisture o ffoodaffeets howitcooks. V ery
moistfoodscookevenly because microwave energy is
attracted towater molecules. Fooduneven inmoisture
should becovered orallowed tostandsoheatcan
disperse evenly.
PieceSize.Small p ieces cookfaster thanlargeones.
Mewswhicharesimilarinsizeandshapecookmore
evenly, Withlargepieces offood,reduce thepower
settin~ foreven Ztiking.
Shapeufl?ood. I nbothtypesofcooking, t hinareas
cookfhster t hanthickones.Thiscanbecontrolled in
microwaving byplacing thickpieces neartheoutside
edge,andthinpiees inthecenter.
Starting Temperature. Foods t akenfromthefreezer o r
refrigerator takelonger tocookthanfindsatroom
temperature. Timings i nourrecipes arebasedonthe
temperatures atwhich younormally storethefbods.
Quantity c d'l?ood. Inboth typesofcooking, s mall
amounts u sually takelessfimethanlargeones.Thisis
mostapparent i nmicrowave cooking, w heretimeis
directly related tothenumber o fservings.
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