10
Microwave Utensils
Neveruse cooking containers or coverswith any metal
content. This includes all metal and enameled metal-
coreware, foil and metal-trimmed containers.Suitable
heatingcontainers include those made ofpaper
products, glass, china, cloth, and wicker baskets.
Recommended Not Recommended
Glass/ceramic Aluminum foil
Natural fiber cloth Grocery bags
Non-recycled paper Recycled paper
Plastic Lead crystal
Wood Newspapers
Metal
Metallic trimmed china
Utensil Check Test
Use the following test to check utensils for microwave
safeness.
1. Place glass measuring cup of water next to
empty dish to be tested in microwave oven.
2. Heatonfull power for one minute.
3. Checktemperatureof dish and water.
• If dish remains cool and water is hot, dish is
microwavesafe.
• If dish is slightly warm, use for short term cooking.
• If dish is hot and water is cool, do not use. Dish
remainscoolifnotabsorbingmicrowavesand
microwavesarebeingabsorbedbywater. Dish
becomeshotifabsorbingmicrowaves.
Cooking Hints
Cover foods for faster, more even heating. Glass lids,
plasticwrap, plate covers or other paper productsmaybe
used.Do not seal. Instead, allow for steam-ventingatall
times.
Pierce pouches, plastic wrap covers and all foods
with a thin skin or membrane, such as potatoes, squash,
tomatoes, eggs, etc. This prevents an eruption in the
ovenandallowsforexpansionand/ortheescapeof
steam.
Foods should be carefully plated. For best results,
arrangefoodsuchasvegetablesorcasserole-typeitems
evenly around the edge of the plate with slightly less
depth in the center. The edges of food items should not
overlaporoverhangtherimofthecontainer.Covermeats
with gravy or au jus and moisten all dry foods other than
bread or pastry items.
Do not stack food or plated dishes in your oven.
Instead,whenheatingmorethanoneservingorplatters,
all plates should be placed at the same level in the oven,
withspacebetween all containers.
Manipulation of Foods
Sometimesrecipessuggestmanipulatingormovingfood
duringcooking.Thereareseveralformsofmanipulation:
Stirring isrequiredless often in microwave cooking than
inconventionalcooking.Inconventionalcooking,youuse
a spoon to move food up from the bottom of a pan to
evenlydistribute the heat. In microwave cooking, youstill
stir to redistribute the heat within some foods, but you
need to stir from the outside of a dish toward the inside or
center. For the recipes in this cookbook, stir only as
needed. If a recipe states to stir once or twice during
cooking,stiratapproximately even intervals. For
example, in a 12-minute cooking period, if a recipe states
to stir twice, stir after 4 minutes of cooking and again,
after 8 minutes of cooking. However, it is not necessary to
be precise. Stir only when necessary. When using lower
power settings, less stirring is required. Some examples
offoodswhichmay require stirring are puddings, some
casseroles, some sauces, some soups, and some egg
dishes. Some foods can’t be stirred. These foods are
rearrangedorturned.
Some foods can not be stirred and should be
repositioned or rearranged during cooking. Some
examples include baked potatoes, cupcakes (in custard
cups), chicken pieces, and others. Rearranging allows for
moreeven cooking of foods. Foodswhich are cooked,
covered,orwhichare cooked using lower power levels,
usuallyrequirelittlerearranging.
Thereareactually two types of turning. Turning is done
whenfoods cannot be stirred. Foods which arecooked,
covered,orwhicharecookedatlowerpowerlevels
usuallyrequirelittle turning.
Turning foods over: Turning foods over is done to
distribute heat. Meat and poultry are two types of foods
whicharesometimes“turnedover.”Examplesinclude
roasts, turkeys and whole chickens. Small meat items
such as poultry pieces may need to be turned over when
in casseroles, or when in a browning skillet.
Rotating or turning dishes: Therearefewfoodswhich
cannotbestirred,rearrangedorturned over.Therefore,the
actual cooking dish is turned or rotated. For the recipes in
thiscookbook, turn a dish one-half-turn or 180°unless
otherwise stated. A half-turn means to grasp the dish and
turn the portion of the dish that faces the oven door
around, until it faces the back of the oven. Examples of
foods which are sometimes turned or rotated in a cooking
dish include cakes, quiches, or soufflés. When cooking
foodsat lower power levelsor Settings, less turningof the
cookingdishes is required.
