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HOW FOOD CHARACTERISTICS AFFECT
MICROWAVE COOKING
Density of foods: Light, porous food like cakes and breads
cook more quickly than heavy, dense foods such as roasts
and casseroles. You must take care when microwaving
porous foods that the outer edges do not become dry and
brittle.
Height of foods: The upper portion of tall foods,
particularly roasts, will cook more quickly than the lower
portion. Therefore, it is wise to turn tall foods during
cooking, sometimes several times.
Moisture content of foods: Since the heat generated from
microwaves tends to evaporate moisture, relatively dry
foods such as roasts and some vegetables should either be
sprinkled with water prior to cooking or covered to retain
moisture.
Bone and fat content of foods: Bones conduct heat and
fat cooks more quickly than meat. Therefore, care must be
taken when cooking bony or fatty cuts of meat that the
meats do not cook unevenly and do not become
overcooked.
NOTE: It is a common misconception that micro-waves
cook food from the inside out. This comes from heating
filled pastries with a high sugar content, like jelly doughnuts.
The pastry is cool but the filling is very hot! If you cook a
chicken or a roast, you’ll see the outside is cooked first.
Shape of foods: Microwaves penetrate only about 1 inch
(2.5cm) into foods; the interior portion of thick foods is
cooked as the heat generated on the outside travels inward.
In other words, only the outer edge of any food is actually
cooked by microwave energy; the rest is cooked by
convection.
It follows then that the worst possible shape for a food that
is to be microwaved is a thick cube. The corners will burn
long before the center is even warm. Round, thin, and ring
shaped foods cook most successfully in the microwave.
Quantity of foods: The number of microwaves in your
oven remains constant regardless of how much food is
being cooked. Therefore, the more food you place in the
oven, the longer the cooking time. Remember to decrease
cooking times by at least one-third when halving a recipe.
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Other Helpful Information
Cooking Utensils
MICROWAVE-SAFE UTENSILS
SOME ITEMS ARE NOT INTENDED FOR MICROWAVE
COOKING, INCLUDING SOME STONEWARE AND
ITEMS WITH HIGH IRON OR LEAD CONTENTS.
Never use metal or metal-trimmed utensils in your
microwave oven: Microwaves cannot penetrate metal.
They will bounce off any metal object in the oven and cause
arcing, an alarming phenomenon that resembles lightning.
Most heat-resistant non-metallic cooking utensils are safe
for use in your microwave oven. However, some may
contain materials that render them unsuitable as microwave
cookware. If you have any doubts about a particular utensil,
there is a simple way to find out if it can be used in your
microwave oven.
Testing utensils for microwave use: Place the utensil in
question next to a glass bowl filled with water in the
microwave oven. Microwave at power HIGH for 1 minute. If
the water heats up but the utensil remains cool to the touch,
the utensil is microwave-safe. However, if the water does
not change temperature but the utensil becomes warm,
microwaves are being absorbed by the utensil and it is not
safe for use in the microwave oven. You probably have
many items on hand in your kitchen that can be used as
cooking equipment in your microwave oven. Just read
through the following checklist.
1. Dinner plates: Many kinds of dinner-ware are
microwave-safe. If in doubt, consult the manu-facturer's
literature or perform the microwave test, above.
2. Glassware: Glassware that is heat-resistant is
microwave-safe. This includes all brands of oven-tempered
glass cookware. However, do not use delicate glassware,
such as tumblers or wine glasses, as these might shatter as
the food warms.
3. Paper: Paper plates and containers are convenient
and safe to use in your microwave oven, provided the
cooking time is short and foods to be cooked are low in
fat and moisture. Paper towels are also very useful for
wrapping foods and for lining baking trays in which greasy
foods, such as bacon, are cooked. In general, avoid colored
paper products as the color may run.
4. Plastic storage containers: These can be used to hold
foods that are to be quickly reheated. However, they should
not be used to hold foods that will need considerable time in
the oven as hot foods will eventually warp or melt plastic
containers.
5. Plastic cooking bags: These are microwave-safe
provided they are specially made for cooking. However, be
sure to make a slit in the bag so that steam can escape.
Never use ordinary plastic bags for cooking in your
microwave oven, as they will melt and rupture.
6. Plastic microwave cookware: A variety of shapes and
sizes of microwave cookware is available. For the most
part, you can probably cook with items you already have on
hand rather than investing in new kitchen equipment.
7. Pottery, stoneware, and ceramic:
Containers made of these materials are usually fine for use
in your microwave oven, but they should be tested to be
sure.
CAUTION
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