Food Characteristics - Panasonic NN-CS896S Operating Instructions Manual

Food Characteristics

Bone and Fat
Both bone and fat affect cooking. Bones may
cause irregular cooking. Meat next to the tips
of bones may overcook while meat positioned
under a large bone, such as a ham bone, may
be undercooked. Large amounts of fat absorb microwave
energy and the meat next to these areas may overcook.
Density
Porous, airy foods such as breads, cakes or
rolls take less time to cook than heavy, dense
foods such as potatoes and roasts. When re-
heating donuts or other foods with different cen-
ters be very careful. Certain foods have centers
made with sugar, water, or fat and these centers attract
microwaves (For example, jelly donuts). When a jelly donut
is heated, the jelly can become extremely hot while the ex-
terior remains warm to the touch. This could result in a burn
if the food is not allowed to cool properly in the center.
Quantity
Two potatoes take longer to cook than one potato.
As the quantity of the food decreases so does the
cooking time. Overcooking will cause the moisture
content in the food to decrease and a fi re could
result. Never leave microwave unattended while in use.
Shape
Uniform sizes heat more evenly. The thin
end of a drumstick will cook more quickly
than the meaty end. To compensate for ir-
regular shapes, place thin parts toward the
center of the dish and thick pieces toward the edge.
Size
Thin pieces cook more quickly than thick
pieces.
Starting Temperature
Foods that are at room temperature take less time to
cook than if they are chilled, refrigerated, or frozen.
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Cooking Techniques
Piercing
Foods with skins or membranes must be
pierced scored or have a strip of skin peeled
before cooking to allow steam to escape.
Pierce clams, oysters, chicken livers, whole
potatoes and whole vegetables. Whole
apples or new potatoes should have a 1-inch strip of skin
peeled before cooking. Score sausages and frankfurters.
Do not Cook/Reheat whole eggs with or without the shell.
Steam build up in whole eggs may cause them to explode,
and possibly damage the oven or cause injury. Reheating
SLICED hard-boiled eggs and cooking SCRAMBLED eggs
is safe.
Browning
Foods will not have the same brown appear-
ance as conventionally cooked foods or those
foods which are cooked utilizing a browning
feature. Meats and poultry may be coated
with browning sauce, Worcestershire sauce,
barbecue sauce or shake-on browning sauce. To use,
combine browning sauce with melted butter or margarine
and brush on before cooking. For quick breads or muffi ns,
brown sugar can be used in the recipe in place of granu-
lated sugar, or the surface can be sprinkled with dark spices
before baking.
Spacing
Individual foods, such as baked potatoes,
cupcakes and appetizers, will cook more
evenly if placed in the oven equal distances
apart. When possible, arrange foods in a circular pattern.
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