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Adapting
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icrolvaving
verhg. In bothconventional a ndmicrowave
cooking,coversholdin moistureandspeedheating.
Conventionally, partialcoveringallowsexcesssteamto
escape.Venting plasticwrapor coveringwith waxpaper
servesthe samepurposewhenmicrowaving.
Arranging Foodin Oven. In conventional b aking,you
positionfoods,suchas cakelayersor potatoes,so that
hotair can flowaroundthem.Whenmicro<vaving, you
arrangefoodsin a ring, so thatall sidesare exposedto
microwave energy.
Stirring. In rangetop cooking,youstir foodsup from
thebottomto helpthemheatevenly. W hen
microwaving, youstir cookedportionsfromthe outside
to the center.Foodswhichrequireconstantstirring
conventionally willneedonlyoccasionalstirring.
Turning Over. In rangetopcooking,youturn over
foodssuchas hamburgers,so bothsidescan directly
contactthe hotpan. Whenmicrowaving, turningis oflen
neededduringdefrosting,or whencookingfoodssuch
Mhamburgersfromthe frozenstate.
Standing Time. In conventional c ooking,foodssuchas
mastsor cakesare allowedto standto finishcookingor
set. Standingtimeis especiallyimportantin microwave
cooking.Notethatthe microwaved cakeis not placedon
coolingrack.
SMelding.In a conventional o ven,youshieldchicken
breastsor bakedfoodsto preventover-browning. W hen
defrosting,youuse smallstripsof foilto shieldthin
parts,suchas thetips of wingsand legson poultry,
}vhich wouldcookbeforelargerpartsweredefrosted.
Prick Foodsto ReleasePressure. Steambuildsup
pressurein foodswhichare tightlycoveredby a skinor
membrane.Prickpotatoes(asyoudo conventionally),
egg Yolks
and chickenliversto preventbursting.
Rotating. ~ccasionally,repositioning a dish in the oven
helpsfoodcookevenly.Torotate1/2turn, turn thedish
untilthe sidewhichwasto thebackofthe ovenis to the
front.Torotate1/4turn, turn the dishuntilthe side
whichwasto the backof the ovenis to the side.
~ If youuse a meatthermometerwhilecooking,make
] sure it is safefor use in microwave ovens.
Effeds
of
F ood
Chamcterktics
on
Microwaving
Densityof Food. In bothconventional a nd microwave
cooking,densefoods,suchas a potato,takelongerto
cookor heatthanlight,porousfoods,suchas a pieceof
cake,breador a roll.
Round Shapes. Sincemicrowaves p enetratefoodsto
aboutl-in. fromtop,bottomand sides,roundshapes
andringscookmoreevenly.Cornersreceivemore
energyandmayovercook.Thismayalsohappenwhen
cookingconventionally.
Delicacy. F oodswitha delicatetexturesuchas custards
arebestcookedat lowerpowersettingsto avoid
toughening.
Natural Moisture offoodaffectshowit cooks.Very
moistfoodscookevenlybecausemicrowave e nergyis
attractedto watermolecules.Foodunevenin moisture
shouldbe coveredor allowedto standso heatcan
disperseevenly.
PieceSize.Smallpiecescookfasterthanlargeones.
Pieceswhichare similarin sizeand shapecookmore
evenly. W ithlargepiecesof food,reducethe power
settingfor evencooking.
Shapeof Food.In bothtypesof cooking,thin areas
cookfasterthanthickones.Thiscanbe controlledin
microwaving b yplacingthickpiecesnearthe outside
edge,andthinpiecesin the center.
Starting Temperature. F oodstakenfromthe freezeror
refrigeratortakelongerto cookthan foodsat room
temperature. T imingsin ow recipesare basedon the
temperatures at whichyounormallystorethe foods.
Quantityof Food.In bothtypesof cooking,small
amountsusuallytakelesstimethan largeones.Thisis
mostapparentin microwave cooking,wheretimeis
directlyrelatedto the numberof servings.
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