Cooking Advice - Smeg Cortina SF4750VC User Manual

3.7 Cooking advice

General advice
• It is not possible to shorten cooking times
by increasing the temperature (the food
could be overcooked on the outside and
undercooked on the inside).
• Cooking times vary according to the
thickness and quality of the food and to
consumer taste.
• The first few times you use the appliance,
until acquiring sufficient confidence and
knowledge of the required cooking
times, we suggest setting slightly longer
cooking times and testing the food
quickly a little before cooking ends. If it is
not ready, it is anyway possible to
continue to cook it using the remaining
cooking time and without having to add
more water to the reservoir. If, however,
the food is already cooked, it will be
possible to immediately stop cooking
and drain the residual water from the
reservoir.
Advice for cooking desserts/pastries and
biscuits
• Use dark metal moulds: They help to
absorb the heat better.
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Use
Advice for steam cooking
• Cooking times depend on the density of
foods and not their quantity. For
example, one piece of broccoli will take
the same time as 20 florets. Increasing
the quantity of a casserole also increases
its density, and so the cooking time will
also increase.
• Where possible, use a perforated
container to allow the steam to circulate
around the food from all sides.
• Steam cooking significantly reduces the
migration of flavours between different
foodstuffs. Nevertheless, always ensure
foods like fish cooked in a perforated
tray are placed at the bottom of the
oven.
• If the steam is likely to change the
consistency of the foods being cooked
(e.g. casseroles, puddings) always cover
them with aluminium foil.
To save energy
• Reduce any opening of the door to a
minimum to avoid heat dispersal.
• Keep the inside of the appliance clean
at all times.