Advertisement
Glossary ofMicrowave T erm
!Vhenadaptingrecipesforthemicrowave, it is best
10 startwithafamiliarrecipe.Knowinghowthefood
shouldlookandtastewillh;lp whenad–apting recipes
formicrowaving. Foodsthatrequirebrowning or
crisp,drysurfaceswillcookbetterconventionally.
@
Moist foods,
suchasvegetables, f ruits,poultryand
seafood,microwave w ell.
~Richfoods,suchasbarcookies,moistcakesand
candies,aresuitableformicrowaving b ecauseoftheir
highfatandsugarcontent.
~Reduceconventional c ookingtimebyone-halfto
one-third.Checkfoodafierminimumtimeto avoid
overcooking.
@ Smallamountsofbutteror oilcanbeusedforflavoring,
butarenotneededtopreventsticking.
~Seasonings mayneedtobereduced.Saltmeatsand
vegetables a ftercooking.
Covering. I n bothconventional a ndmicrowave c ooking,
coversholdin moisture,allowformoreevenheatingand
reducecookingtime.Conventionally, partialcovering
allowsexcesssteamto escape.Venting plasticwrapor
covering withwaxpaperservesthesamepurposewhen
-
microwaving.
=
Venting. A fiercoveringa dishwithplasticwrap,you
venttheplasticwrapbyturningbackonecornerso
excesssteamcanescape.
Arranging FoodinOven.Inconventional baking,you
positionfoods,suchas cakelayersorpotatoes,sohotair
canflowaroundthem.Whenmicrowaving, youarrange
foodsin a ring, sothatallsidesareexposedto microwave
energy.
Stirring.In range-topcooking, y oustirfoodsup from
thebottomtoheatthemevenly. W henmicrowaving, you
stircookedportionsfromtheoutsidetothecenter.Foods
thatrequireconstantstirringconventionally w illneed
onlyoccasionalstirringwhenmicrowaving.
~rning Over.In range-topcooking,youturnoverfoods,
suchas hamburgers,sobothsidescandirectlycontact
thehotpan. Whenmicrowaving, turningisoftenneeded
duringdefrostingor whencookingcertainfoods,suchas
frozenhamburgers.
StandingTime.In conventional c ooking,foodssuchas
roastsor cakesareallowedto standtofinishcookingor to
set.Standing timeisespecially important i nmicrowave
cooking.Notethata microwaved cakeisnotplacedon
acoolingrack.
~
Shielding.In a conventional o ven,youshieldchicken
-
breastsor bakedfoodsto preventover-browning. When
inicrowaving, youusesmallstripsoffoilto shieldthin
parts,suchas thetipsofwingsandlegsonpoultry,which
~;~ould cookbeforelargerparts.
Arcing.Sparkscausedbytoomuchmetalin the
microwave o venor metaltouchingthesideoftheovenor
foilthatis notmoldedtofood.
PrickFoodstoReleasePressure.Steambuildsup
pressurein foodsthataretightlycovered bya skinor
membrane. P rickfoods,suchaspotatoes(asyoudo
conventionally), eggyolksandchickenlivers,toprevent
bursting.
Rotating. O ccasionally, r epositioning adishintheoven
helpsfoodcookmoreevenly. T orotate1/2turn, turnthe
dishuntilthesidethatwastothebackoftheovenistothe
front.Torotate1/4turn, turnthedishuntilthesidethat
wastothebackoftheovenistotheside.
BasicMicrowave G uidelines
Densityof Food.In bothconventional a ndmicrowave
cooking,densefoods,suchas potatoes,takelongerto
cookthanlight,porousfoods,suchas rolls,breador
piecesofcake.
RoundShapes.Sincemicrowaves p enetratefoods
to aboutoneinchfromtop,bottomandsides,round
shapesandringscookmoreevenly.Cornersreceive
moreenergyandmayovercook.Thismayalsohappen
whencookingconventionally.
Delicacy. F oodswith a delicatetexture,suchas
custards,are bestcookedat lowerpowersettingsto
avoidtoughening.
NaturalMoistureof foodaffectshowit cooks.Very
moistfoodscookevenlybecausemicrowave energyis
attractedto watermolecules.Foodthatis unevenin
moistureshouldbe coveredor allowedto standsoheat
candisperseevenly.
PieceSize. Smallpiecescookfasterthanlargeones.
Piecesthat are similarin sizeand shapecookmore
evenly. W ithlargepiecesof food, reducethe power
settingfor evencooking.
Shapeof Food.In bothtypesof cooking,thinareas
cookfasterthanthickareas. This can be controlledin
microwaving byplacingthickpiecesnearthe outside
edgeandthinpiecesin the center.
Stirting Temperature. F oodstakenfromthe freezer
or refrigeratortakelongerto cookthanfoodsat room
temperature.Timingsin our recipesarebasedon the
temperaturesat whichyounormallystorethe foods.
Quantityof Food.In bothtypesof cooking,small
amountsusuallytakeless timethan largeamounts.
Thisis mostapparentin microwave cooking,where
timeis directlyrelatedto the numberof servings.
Shelf(on modelsso equipped).Use the shelfto heat
morethan onedish at onetime. Takethe shelfoutwhen
youare not usingit.
Advertisement
