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Amount of Food
• If you increase or decrease the amount of food
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 readiness and, if
necessary, add more time in small increments.
Starting Temperature of Food
• The lower the temperature of the food being
put into the microwave oven, the longer it takes
to cook. Food at room temperature will reheat
quicker than food at refrigerator temperature.
Composition of Food
• Food with a lot of fat and sugar will heat 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 dierently shaped pieces.
• With foods that have dierent 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 and 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, and 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.
Releasing Pressure in Foods
• Several foods (for example: baked potatoes,
sausages, egg yolks, and some fruits) are tightly
covered by a skin or membrane. Steam can build
up under the membrane during cooking, causing
the food to burst. To relieve the pressure and
to prevent bursting, pierce these foods before
cooking with a fork, cocktail pick, or toothpick.
Using Standing Time
• Always allow food to stand, either in or out of
the oven, after cooking power stops. Standing
time after defrosting and cooking allows the
temperature to evenly spread throughout the
food, improving the cooking results. For inside
oven standing time, you can program a “0” power
second stage of the cooking cycle. See Two-Stage
Cooking.
• The length of the standing time depends on how
much food you are cooking and how dense it is.
Sometimes it can be as short as the time it takes
to remove the food from the oven and take it to
the serving table. However, with a larger, denser
food item, the standing time may be as long as 10
minutes.
Arranging Food
For best results, place food evenly on the plate. You
can do this in several ways:
• If you are cooking several items of the same
food, such as baked potatoes, place them in a
ring pattern for uniform cooking.
• When cooking foods of uneven shapes or
thickness, such as chicken breasts, place the
smaller or thinner area of the food towards the
center of the dish where it will be heated last.
• Layer thin slices of meat on top of each other.
• When you cook or reheat whole sh, score the
skin – this prevents cracking.
• Do not let food or a container touch the top or
sides of the oven. This will prevent possible arcing.
Arcing is a spark that can cause damage to the
oven interior.
Microwave Cooking Tips