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Tips

SOME IMPORTANT TIPS FOR
MICROWAVING COOKING
To help equalize energy in the food so that it
cooks evenly follow these helpful tips.
1. Arrange foods with varying size ends, such
as chicken drumsticks and broccoli with
the thicker or tougher part positioned to the
outside of the dish. This ensures the parts
that require more cooking will receive more
energy, so the food will cook evenly.
2. Covering the dish during cooking holds
in the heat and steam to speed up cooking
time. Use a microwave safe lid or plastic
wrap that has been vented by turning back
one edge at the side of the dish to form a
narrow vent to release excess steam.
3. Choose cooking dishes that are shallow
and preferably have straight sides. Shallow
dishes enable the food to cook faster and
straight edges prevent the edges from
being overcooked.
4. Arrange individual items such as ramekins
or whole potatoes around the outside of
the turntable. Making sure to leave space
between items so the energy can penetrate
from all sides.
5. Use round shaped microwave dishes. Round
shapes cook more evenly than square or
rectangular dishes which absorb most of
the energy in the corners causing food to
overcook and toughen.
6. Shield areas which attract the most energy
such as wing tips of chickens and corners of
square dishes by covering them with small
pieces of foil. This will reflect microwaves
and prevent overcooking and food drying
out.
7. Heat breads, biscuits or oily food on paper
towel. This prevents the build-up of steam
between food and turntable, keeping
surfaces crisp and dry. Cover foods with
paper towel to prevent splatters.
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8. Stir foods from the outside to centre of
the dish once or twice during cooking to
equalize heat and speed microwaving.
9. Turn medium to large food items over once
during microwaving. This enables even
exposure to microwaves.
10. Elevating some types of food such as cakes,
roast vegetables and dough products can
be advantageous. It allows more energy
to penetrate the food from all sides, base
and top. Use a microwave safe plastic or
ceramic rack. If a rack is unavailable, use
an upturned bowl or cup may be used to
elevate plates of food.
11. Do not elevate any special browning dishes,
jugs of sauce or custard, small quantities of
food or mugs of beverages.
12. Internal temperatures of foods continue
to rise so that they continue cooking even
after they have been removed from the
microwave oven. It is better to undercook
food as it will continue to cook once
removed from the microwave.
MICROWAVE UTENSILS
• Containers, plates, dishes, etc. used in
the microwave oven should always be
microwave-safe. Check if stated on the
underside of the utensil or contact
the manufacturer.
• To test if a container, plate or dish is
microwave-safe, place it into the microwave
oven with 1 cup of cold water (in a
microwave-safe cup) and heat on High
(100%) Power for 1 minute. If the container
is hot and the water is cold, the container is
not suitable for microwave oven use. If the
container is cold and the water is hot, then
the container is suitable for microwave
oven use.
• Metal containers and utensils should not be
used in the microwave oven.

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