Microwave Adapting - Hotpoint E1450G Use And Care Manual

@Microwave Adapting
I@K!s for
conventional a ndmicrowave
cooking,covershold in moistureand speedheating.
Conventionally, partialcoveringallowsexcesssteamto
escape.Venting plasticwrapor coveringwithwaxpaper
servesthe samepurposewhenmicrowaving.
ArrangingFoodin Oven.In conventional b aking,you
positionfoods,suchas cakelayersor potatoes,sothat
hotair can flowaroundthem.Whenmicrowaving, you
arrangefoodsin a ring, sothatall sidesare exposedto
microwave energy.
Stirring.In rangetopcooking,youstir foodsup from
thebottomto helpthemheatevenly. W hen
microwaving, youstir cookedportionsfromthe outside
to the center.Foodswhichrequireconstantstirring
conventionally willneedonlyoccasionalstirring.
TurningOver.In rangetopcooking,youturn over
foodssuchas hamburgers,sobothsidescan directly
contactthe hotpan. Whenmicrowaving, turningis often
neededduringdefrosting,or whencookingfoodssuch
e
s hamburgersfromthe frozenstate.
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Standing Time.In conventional c ooking,foodssuchas
_ roasts
or cakes are allowed
to standto finishcookingor
_
set.
Standingtimeis especiallyimportantin microwave
cooking.Notethatthe microwaved cakeis notplacedon
Shielding.In a conventional o ven,youshieldchicken
breastsor bakedfoodsto preventover-browning. When
defrosting,youuse smallstripsof foilto shieldthin
parts,suchas the tips of wingsand legson poultry,
whichwouldcookbeforelargerpartsweredefrosted.
PrickFoodsto ReleasePressure.Steambuildsup
pressurein foodswhicharetightlycoveredby a sl& or
membrane.Prick potatoes(asyoudo conventionally),
eggyolksand chickenliversto preventbursting.
Effects
ofl?ood Characteristics On
Microwaving
Densityof Food.In bothconventional a nd microwave
cooking,densefoods,suchas a potato,takelongerto
cookor heatthan light,porousfoods,suchas a pieceof
cake,breador a roll.
RoundShapes.Sincemicrowaves p enetratefoodsto
aboutl-in. fromtop, bottomand sides,roundshapes
andringscookmoreevenly. C ornersreceivemore
energyand mayovercook.Thismayalsohappenwhen
cookingconventionally.
Delicacy. F oodswitha delicatetexturesuchas custards
arebest cookedat lowerpowersettingsto avoid
toughening.
NaturalMoistureof foodaffectshowit cooks.Very
moistfoodscookevenlybecausemicrowave energyis
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. Thiscan be controlledin
microwaving byplacingthickpiecesnearthe outside
edge,and thin piecesin thecenter.
StartingTemperature. F oodstakenfromthe freezeror
refrigeratortakelongerto cookthan foodsat room
temperature.Timingsin our recipesare basedon the
temperaturesat whichyounormallystorethe foods.
Quantityof Food.In bothtypesof cooking,small
amountsusuallytakelesstimethan largeones. This is
mostapparentin microwave cooking,wheretime is
directlyrelatedto the numberof servings.
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Rotating.Occasionally, r epositioning a dish in theoven
helpsfoodcookevenly.Torotate1/2turn, turn the dish
untilthe sidewhichwasto thebackof the ovenis to the
front. Torotate1/4turn, turnthe dish untilthe side
whichwasto the backof theovenis to the side.
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