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It is important to follow a guideline for using microwave oven since it is one of the most important appliances in a modern kitchen. It enables us to cook, defrost and reheat food faster than using a normal stove or oven. It is also cleaner and uses less utensil and makes full use of disposable containers often found being used for serving and storing fast food. We can argue that this is not eco-friendly or healthy but in the real world, more and more people use these containers to reheat their food.Here is a guideline using microwave oven, including regarding safety and also some useful tips you can employ. Guideline for using microwave oven - General Guidelines- Always use the glass turntable provided with your microwave oven when cooking, reheating or defrosting.
- Do not use any metal accessory, including the small disposable aluminum foil pie dish you normally get when you buy prepared chicken pie or apple pie. Remove the aluminum foil pie dish before putting the pie on the glass turntable. Metal containers in a microwave will cause arcing and will damage your oven's magnetron.
- The dish being reheated will get hot, therefore always use oven gloves when you remove the dish. Do not assume the heated dish is not as hot as when you reheat using a conventional oven.
- Use the correct power setting when you are reheating whether high, medium or low according to the recipe. It is always better to undercook than overcook and thus ruining the dish you are making. If it is undercook, you can always add the cooking time.
- Add in salt at the end of your cooking. Salt mixed inside the dish in traditional ways will cause your meat or fish to be dry when cooked with microwave.
- Do not use a dish that is disproportionately larger than the quantity of food being cooked.
- Always ensure the cover of the dish is not tight. We cover the dish to avoid splatter and also to prevent the food being dried up. However, a tight cover will cause an explosion when the hot air in the container cannot escape.
- Microwave reheating, defrosting or cooking always involve "standing time". When the power is turned off, food is still being cooked from the heat inside itself, thus eliminating cold spots. Therefore, standing time is a factor you must always consider.
- Always pierce egg yolks when cooking them in the microwave oven.
- Foods not suitable for cooking by microwave : Yorkshire puddings, souffles and double crust pastry pies.
Guideline for using microwave oven - DefrostingGuideline for using microwave oven - Reheating - Follow the food manufacturer's instructions for long-life foods, regarding transferring food to another container. Some are suitable for reheating in their packaging once the lid is removed
.- Take care when reheating items with high sugar content fillings like mince pies. Even if the pastry is cold to the touch, the filling will be piping hot. So, always underheat and return to the oven if necessary to avoid burnt lips and tongue. Do not cover.
- When reheating baby's milk in the bottle, CHECK the temperature by squirting the milk at the back of your hand before feeding. The bottle must be shaken thoroughly because the liquid at the top of the bottle and in the center may be hotter than temperature felt when holding. Before reheating, remove the top and the teat. For 3 fl oz, heat on HIGH power for 20 seconds, for 7 fl oz, heat on HIGH for 30-40 seconds. Replace teat and top, shake thoroughly and test.
- Check that food is piping hot before serving and if it is not hot enough, return to oven for further reheating.
- Transfer canned foods from cans to a suitable microwave safe container. Stir halfway during heating and again at the end of heating. If the food cannot be stirred, use a knife to cut through the food to see the steam escape, making sure it is piping hot.
- It takes longer to reheat cold food taken from the fridge than to reheat cold food at room temperature.
- A quantity of food spread in a bigger dish cooks faster.
- Small quantities cook faster than large quantities, also small meals will reheat quicker than large portions.
- Porous airy food like bread heats quicker than dense heavy food like potatoes.
Guideline for using microwave oven - Positioning of certain shapes of food - Place round meat balls at equal spacing on the outer edge of the turntable.
- Chicken thighs should be arranged so that the thicker part is on the outer edge of the turntable.
- It is advisable to rearrange the position of the food halfway throughout cooking or reheating if the food size is big.
- Vegetables like whole cauliflower should be placed inside a bowl with the florets at the bottom of the bowl.
- If the florets are cut, they are placed on the inside of the turntable with their stalks on the outside, which require more heat to cook.
Guideline for using microwave oven - Microwave safe containers- Styrofoam is not suitable for microwave use for its low burning point.
- Always check that the container is microwave safe before using it.
- Cling film can be used as a cover replacement but pierce the plastic before reheating. Always use cling film marked for microwave use only
- Pyrex, ceramic and glass containers are good for microwaving.
- If the container has no indication of it is microwave safe or not, place half the container with water, heat on HIGH for 30 seconds, if the container is not hot to the touch, it is safe for microwaving.
Guideline for using microwave oven stated above must be used with a lot of common sense. Sometimes you have to familiarize yourself with all the features in the oven manual and also do practical work with your oven. The more you do, the better you will be and the guideline for using microwave oven is simply to guide you to be a better operator for this kitchen appliance. Back to the top of Guideline for Using Microwave Oven Back to the page of Making Pickles Using a Microwave Oven Back to the home page of Pickles and Spices
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