Kitchen Essential

Don’t use these in the microwave

Metal or anything with metal trim or decoration. This includes pie tins and your dinner service if it’s got any silver or gold bits. Metal causes sparks in the microwave.

Hard plastic (melamine) and some Tupperware - these may absorb microwaves so food doesn’t cook properly in them.

Glued containers - dishes or containers that have been repaired with glue, or have handles glued on should not be used as the glue will melt and leave a huge mess.

Microwave Cooking Hints

Knowing how your microwave cooks food and using this knowledge when you cook, can mean the difference between a tough chicken breast that you chew with your back teeth and a tasty, juicy meal that could even give the Colonel a run for his money. Follow these easy hints to qualify as a microwave genius.

Stirring and turning

Microwaves cook from the outside in. So when cooking a dish of sliced carrots, for instance, you have to stir them during the cooking process to ensure that they cook evenly. You want to move the carrots in the centre to the side and vice versa. When you are cooking a whole cauliflower or a joint of meat, you have to turn it over halfway during cooking time. For the best result, potatoes baked in the skin should also be turned over halfway during the cooking process.

Standing time

Microwaved foods continue to cook after being removed from the microwave — by the conduction of heat towards the centre. This raises the internal temperature of the food which finishes the cooking or heating process. Therefore it is important to allow food to stand for a while after removing it from the microwave. The standing time will vary depending on the density and volume of the food. Test food for readiness after the standing time and return to the microwave for a few more minutes if necessary.

Another tip when cooking meat is to cover it with tinfoil when you remove it from the microwave. This helps to retain the moisture while the cooking process completes during the standing time.

Arrangement of food

The way in which food is arranged plays a very important role when defrosting, heating or cooking in a microwave. The thicker or denser part of the food should be placed towards the outside of the dish or the walls of the microwave, and the thinner or more porous parts towards the centre of the dish or the microwave. So when you are cooking chicken drumsticks, place the thicker meatier parts towards the outside of the dish with the thinner boned ends towards the centre. Microwave cooking is actually most successful when you leave an empty space in the middle of your dish or container. Arrange individual food items in a circle and space them out.

Covered cooking

Cooking is faster and more even if you use a container with a lid on, as the steam does not escape.

Vegetables covered with cling wrap which forms a tight seal will cook faster and more evenly than with a less efficient covering. Remember to prick the cling wrap once or twice to prevent the steam from inflating it. Be careful of steam burns — remove the covering carefully to allow the steam to escape slowly.

Wrapping food

When heating rolls, pastries or dough items you will get the best results if you wrap them loosely in a paper napkin or kitchen paper-towel. Porous items such as bread and pastry heat rapidly in a microwave and you should be careful of overheating, Pastry does not microwave well, as the steam makes it soggy.

If you’re going to microwave meat like a joint of lamb or a chicken, you can wrap the thinner part of the meat (closest to the bone) with tinfoil to avoid overcooking that part of the meat. Remove the tinfoil for the last few minutes of cooking time.

Small single item

When cooking or heating a single item such as one potato, all the microwave energy is concentrated on it. Cooking time is short, and some turning and manipulation is necessary to ensure even cooking results.

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