GE JE1232K Use And Care & Cooking Manual

Contents

GE JE1232K Use And Care & Cooking Manual Manual pdf 17 page image

Glossary of Microwave TermsWhen adapting recipes for the microwave, it is bestto start with a familiar recipe. Knowing how thefood should look and taste will help when adaptingrecipes for microwaving. Foods that requirebrowning or crisp, dry surfaces will cook betterconventionally.l Moist foods, such as vegetables, fruits, poultry andseafood, microwave well.l Rich foods, such as bar cookies, moist cakes andcandies, are suitable for microwaving because of theirhigh fat and sugar content.l Reduce conventional cooking time by one-half to one-third. Check food after minimum time to avoidovercooking.“ Small amounts of butter or oil can be used forflavoring, but are not needed to prevent sticking.l Seasonings may need to be reduced. Salt meats andvegetables after cooking.Covering. In both conventional and microwavecooking, covers hold in moisture, allow for more evenheating and reduce cooking time. Conventionally,partial covering allows excess steam to escape. Ventingplastic wrap or covering with wax paper serves thesame purpose when microwaving.Venting. After covering a dish with plastic wrap, youvent the plastic wrap by turning back one corner soexcess steam can escape.Arranging Food in Oven. In conventional baking, youposition foods, such as cake layers or potatoes, so hotair can flow around them. When microwaving, youarrange foods in a ring, so that all sides are exposed tomicrowave energy.Stirring. In range-top cooking, you stir foods up fromthe bottom to heat them evenly. When microwaving,you stir cooked portions from the outside to the center.Foods that require constant stirring conventionally willneed only occasional stirring when microwaving.Turning Over. In range-top cooking, you turn overfoods, such as hamburgers, so both sides can directlycontact the hot pan. When microwaving, turning isoften needed during defrosting or when cooking certainfoods, such as frozen hamburgers.Standing Time. In conventional cooking, foods such asroasts or cakes are allowed to stand to finish cooking orto set. Standing time is especially important inmicrowave cooking. Note that a microwaved cake isnot placed on a cooling rack.Shielding. In a conventional oven, you shield chickenbreasts or baked foods to prevent over-browning. Whenmicrowaving, you use small strips of foil to shield thinparts, such as the tips of wings and legs on poultry,which would cook before larger parts.Arcing. Sparks caused by too much metal in themicrowave oven or metal touching the side of the ovenor foil that is not molded to food.Prick Foods to Release Pressure. Steam builds uppressure in foods that are tightly covered by a skin ormembrane. Prick foods, such as potatoes (as you doconventionally), egg yolks and chicken livers, toprevent bursting.Rotating. Occasionally, repositioning a dish in the ovenhelps food cook more evenly. To rotate 1/2 turn, turnthe dish until the side that was to the back of the oven isto the front. To rotate 1/4 turn, turn the dish until theside that was to the back of the oven is to the side.Basic Microwave GuidelinesDensity of Food. In both conventional and microwavecooking, dense foods, such as potatoes, take longer tocook than light, porous foods, such as rolls, bread orpieces of cake.Round Shapes. Since microwaves penetrate foods toabout one inch from top, bottom and sides, roundshapes and rings cook more evenly. Corners receivemore energy and may overcook. This may also happenwhen cooking conventionally.Delicacy. Foods with a delicate texture, such ascustards, are best cooked at lower power settings toavoid toughening.Natural Moisture of food affects how it cooks. Verymoist foods cook evenly because microwave energy isattracted to water molecules. Food that is uneven inmoisture should be covered or allowed to stand so heatcan disperse evenly.Piece Size. Small pieces cook faster than large ones.Pieces that are similar in size and shape cook moreevenly. With large pieces of food, reduce the powersetting for even cooking.Shape of Food. In both types of cooking, thin areascook faster than thick areas. This can be controlled inmicrowaving by placing thick pieces near the outsideedge and thin pieces in the center.Starting Temperature. Foods taken from the freezer orrefrigerator take longer to cook than foods at roomtemperature. Timings in our recipes are based on thetemperatures at which you normally store the foods.Quantity of Food. In both types of cooking, smallamounts usually take less time than large amounts. Thisis most apparent in microwave cooking, where time isdirectly related to the number of servings.Shelf (on models so equipped). Use the shelf to heatmore than one dish at one time. Take the shelf out whenyou are not using it.17