Microwave Cooking Tips - Kenmore 721.80402 Use & Care Manual

MICROWAVE COOKING TIPS
Amount of food
• If you increase or decrease the amountoffood
you prepare, the time it takes to cook that food will
also change. For example, if you double a recipe,
add a little more than half the original cooking time.
Check for doneness and, if necessary, add more
time in small increments.
Starting temperature of food
• The lower the temperature of the food beingput
into the microwave oven, the longer it takes to cook.
Food at room temperature will be re-heated more
quickly than food at refrigerator temperature.
Composition of food
• Food with a lot of fat and sugar will be heated
faster than food containing a lot of water. Fat and
sugar will also reach a higher temperature than
water in the cooking process.
• The more dense the food, the longer it takes to
heat. "Very dense" food like meat takes longer to
heat than lighter, more porous food like sponge
cakes.
Size and shape
• Smaller pieces of food will cook faster than larger
pieces. Also, same-shaped pieces cook more
evenly than different-shaped pieces.
• With foods that have different thicknesses, the
thinner parts will cook faster than the thicker parts.
Place the thinner parts of chicken wings and legs in
the center of the dish.
Stirring, turning foods
• Stirring and turning foods spreads heat quickly to
the center of the dish and avoids overcooking at the
outer edges of the food.
Covering food
Cover food to:
• Reduce splattering
• Shorten cooking times
• Keep food moist
You can use any covering that lets microwaves pass
through. See "Getting to Know Your Microwave
Oven" for materials that microwaves will pass
through. If you are using the Sensor function, be sure
to vent.
Releasing pressure in foods
•Severalfoods(forexample:bakedpotatoes, s ausages,
egg yolks,and somefruits)are tightlycovered by a skinor
membrane.Steamcanbuildup underthemembrane
duringcooking,causing the foodto burst.To relievethe
pressureandto preventbursting,pierce thesefoods
beforecookingwitha fork,cocktailpick,or toothpick.
Using standing time
•Alwaysallowfoodto standeitherinor outofthe oven
aftercookingpowerstops.Standingtimeafterdefrosting
and cookingallowsthetemperature to evenlyspread
throughout t hefood,improving thecookingresults. F or
insideovenstanding time, youcanprograma" 0" power
secondstageof thecookingcycle.SeeTwo-Stage
Cooking.
•The length of thestandingtimedependson howmuch
foodyouare cookingand howdenseit is. Sometimes it
canbe asshortas thetime ittakesyouto removethe
foodfromtheovenand takeit to theservingtable.
However, w ith larger,denserfood item,thestanding time
may be as longas 10 minutes.
Arranging food
Forbestresults,placefoodevenlyon the plate.You cando
this in severalways:
•If you arecookingseveralitemsof thesamefood,
suchas bakedpotatoes, p lacethem in a ringpatternfor
uniformcooking.
•When cooking foods of uneven shapesor thickness,
such as chickenbreasts, placethesmalleror thinner
areaof thefoodtowardsthecenterof thedishwhereitwill
be heatedlast.
• Layerthin slices of meat on top ofeachother.
•Whenyou cookor reheatwhole fish, score the skin-
this preventscracking.
•Do not letfoodor a container touchthetop or sidesofthe
oven.Thiswill preventpossible arcing.
Using aluminum foil
Metalcontainers shouldnotbe usedin a microwave oven.
Thereare,however,someexceptions.Ifyou have
purchased foodwhichis prepackaged in an aluminum foil
container, r eferto the instructions on thepackage.When
usingaluminum foilcontainers, c ooking timesmaybe
longerbecausemicrowaves willonlypenetrate the exposed
top ofthefood andnotthe bottomor thesides.Ifyou use
aluminum containers withoutpackage instructions, follow
theseguidelines:
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