GE JES84T Use And Care & Cooking Manual

Contents

GLOSSARY OF MICROWAm TERMSWhen adapting recipes for the microwave, it isbest to stirt with a familiar recipe. fiowing howthe food should look and tiste will help whenadapting recipes for microwaving. Foods thatrequire browning or crisp, dry surfaces willcook better in regular ovens.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 oftheir high fat and sugar content.l Reduce regular oven cooking times by one-half toone-third. Check food after minimum time to avoidovercoohng.l 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 coo~ng.Covering. In both regular baking and microwavecooking, covers hold in moisture, allow for moreeven heating and reduce cooking time. In regularovens, partial covering allows excess steam to escape.Venting plastic wrap or covering with wax paperserves the same purpose when microwaving.Venting. After covering a dish with plastic wrap,you vent the plastic wrap by turning back one comerso excess steam can escape.Arranging Food in Oven. When baking in regularovens, you position foods, such as cake layers orpotatoes, so hot air can flow around them. Whenmicrowaving, you arrange foods in a ring, so that allsides are exposed to microwave energy.Stirring. [n 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 will need onlyoccasioned 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 cookingcertain foods, such as frozen hamburgers.Standing Time. When you cook with regular ovens,foods such as roasts or cakes are allowed to stand tofinish cooking or to set. Standing time is especiallyimportant in microwave cooking. Note that amicrowaved cake is not placed on a cooling rack.Shielding. In a regular oven, you shield chickenbreasts or baked foods to prevent over-browning.When microwaving, you use small strips of foil toshield thin parts, such as the tips of wings and legson poultry, which would cook before larger parts.Arcing. Sparks caused by too much metal in themicrowave oven or metal touching the side of theoven or 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 dobefore regular oven cooking), egg yolks and chickenlivers, to prevent bursting.Rotating. Occasionally, repositioning a dish in theoven helps food cook more evenly. To rotate 1/2 turn,turn the dish until the side that was to the back of theoven is to the front. To rotate 1/4 turn, turn the dishuntil the side that was to the back of the oven is tothe side.Basic Mcrowave GuidelinesDensity of Food. In both regular baking andmicrowave cooking, dense foods, such as potatoes,take longer to cook than light, porous foods, such asrolls, bread or pieces of cake.Round Shapes. Since microwaves penetrate foods toabout one inch from top, bottom and sides, roundshapes and rings cook more evenly. Comers receivemore energy and may overcook. This may alsohappen when cooking in a regular oven.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 energyis attracted to water molecules. Food that is unevenin moisture should be covered or allowed to stand soit heats 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 freezeror refrigerator 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.This is most apparent in microwave cooking, wheretime is directly related to the number of servings.16