5Follow These Safety Precautions When Cooking in Your Oven.IMPORTANTProper cooking depends upon the power, the time setting and quantity offood. If you use a smaller portion than recommended but cook at the timefor the recommended portion, fire could result.1) HOME CANNING / STERILIZING / DRYING FOODS /SMALL QUANTITIES OF FOODS• DO NOT use your oven for home canning. Your oven cannot maintain the foodat the proper canning temperature. The food may be contaminated and thenspoil.• DO NOT use the microwave oven to sterilize objects (baby bottles, etc.). It isdifficult to keep the oven at the high temperature needed for sterilization.• DO NOT dry meats, herbs, fruits or vegetables in your oven. Small quantitiesof food or foods with low moisture content can dry out, scorch or catch on fire ifoverheated.2) POPCORNPopcorn may be popped in a microwave oven corn popper. Microwave pop-corn which pops in its own package is also available. Follow popcorn manu-facturers’ directions and use a brand suitable for the cooking power of yourmicrowave oven.CAUTION: When using pre-packaged microwave popcorn, you can followrecommended package instructions or use the popcorn pad (refer to page 13).Otherwise, the popcorn may not pop adequately or may ignite and cause afire. Never leave oven unattended when popping popcorn. Allow the popcornbag to cool before opening, always open the bag facing away from your faceand body to prevent steam burns.3) DEEP FAT FRYING• DO NOT deep fat fry in your microwave oven. Cooking oils may burst into flamesand may cause damage to the oven and perhaps result in burns. Microwave utensilsmay not withstand the temperature of the hot oil, and can shatter or melt.4) FOODS WITH NONPOROUS SKINS• DO NOT COOK/REHEAT WHOLE EGGS, WITH OR WITHOUT THE SHELL.Steam buildup in whole eggs may cause them to explode, and possibly damage theoven or cause injury. Reheating SLICED hard-boiled eggs and cooking SCRAMBLEDeggs is safe.• Potatoes, apples, whole squash and sausages are examples of foods with non-porous skins. These types of foods must be pierced before microwave cooking toprevent them from exploding.CAUTION: Cooking dry or old potatoes can cause fire.Safety Precautions