|INFORMATION
YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT
MICROWAVE
COOK|NG
* Arrange food carefully. Place thickest areas towards
outside of dish.
,, Watch cooking time. Cook for the shortest amount
of time indicated and add more as needed. Food
severely overcooked can smoke or ignite.
- Cover
foods
while
cooking.
Check
recipe
or
cookbook for suggestions: paper towels, wax paper,
microwave
plastic wrap or a lid. Covers
prevent
spattering and help foods to cook evenly.
,
Shield with small flat pieces of aluminum foil any
thin areas of meat or poultry to prevent overcooking
before dense, thick areas are cooked thoroughly.
- Stir foods from outside to center of dish once or twice
during cooking, if possible.
,, Turn foods
over
once
during
microwaving
to
speed
cooking
of such foods
as chicken
and
hamburgers. Large items like roasts must be turned
over at least once.
Rearrange
foods
such
as meatballs
halfway
through cooking both from top to bottom and from
the center of the dish to the outside.
Add standing
time. Remove food from oven and
stir, if possible. Cover for standing time which allows
the food to finish cooking without overcooking.
Check for doneness.
Look for signs indicating that
cooking temperatures
have been reached.
Doneneee signs include:
- Food steams throughout,
not just at edge.
- Center bottom of dish is very hot to the touch.
- Poultry thigh joints move easily.
- Meat and poultry show no pinkness.
- Fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
ABOUT
SAFETY
,, Check foods to see that they are cooked to the United
States Department
of Agriculture's
recommended
temperatures.
145T
..for beef. lamb or veal cut into steaks
(63°Q
chops or roasts MEDIUM RARE
160T
(71°C)
..for fresh pork, ground meat. boneless
white poultry, fish. seafood, egg dish-
es. frozen prepared food and beef.
lamb or veal cut into steaks, chops
or roasts cooked to MEDIUM
165°F
(74°C)
..for leftover, ready-to-reheat
refriger-
ated. dell and carry out "fresh" food.
whole chicken or turkey, chicken or
turkey breasts and ground poultry
used in chicken or turkey burgers.
NOTE: Do not cook whole, s[uffed
poultry. Cook stuffing sepa-
rately to 165°R
To test for doneness,
insert a meat thermometer
in a
thickordenseareaawayfromfatorbone.
NEVER leave
the thermometer
in the food during cooking, unless it is
approved for microwave oven use.
® ALWAYS use potholders
to prevent burns when
handling utensils that are in contact with hot food.
Enough
heat from the food can transfer through
utensils to cause skin burns.
o Avoid steam burns by directing
steam away from
the face and hands. Slowly lift the farthest edge of
a dish's covering and carefully open popcorn and
oven cooking bags away from the face.
® Stay near the oven while it's in use and check cooking
progress frequently so that there is no chance of
overcooking food.
o NEVER
use the cavity for storing cookbooks
or
other items.
® Select, store and handle food carefully to preserve
its high quality and minimize the spread of foodborne
bacteria.
® Keep waveguide
cover clean.
Food residue can
cause arcing and/or fires.
® Use care when removing items from the oven so
that the utensil, your clothes or accessories do not
touch the safety door latches.