MICROWAVE COOKING RECIPES AND TABLES
INTRODUCTION
Your microwave oven can be one of the most
useful appliances in your home. If you follow a
few basic instructions, this book will teach you
how to make microwave cooking both enjoy-
able and safe. All of the recipes in this book
have been tested and proven to provide many
rewarding meals for you and your family.
Before you begin trying the recipes, take a few
moments to read these pages of instructions
and helpful hints.
How Your Microwave Oven Works: Quite sim-
ply, microwaves are a form of energy, just as
sunlight and radio waves. The only difference
is in the shape and form of the energy
wavelengths. When the magnetron tube in
your oven is activated, electricity is converted
into high frequency radiating energy in the
form of very small (micro) waves. The micro-
waves are released into the oven compartment
through an opening in the top of the appliance,
and are distributed evenly by a built-in stirrer.
When microwaves penetrate food, individual
molecules in the food begin to vibrate, and the
heat friction caused by this vibration passes
from molecule to molecule, cooking the food.
Power and Standing Time: Like any conven-
tional oven, microwave appliances are
affected by fluctuations in local energy sup-
plies The location of your house, the weather
and the time of day may all affect energy avail-
ability and thereby vary the rate at which your
microwave oven cooks. This book provides
you with minimum and maximum cooking
times for each recipe to accommodate this
possible variation in energy availability.
Standing times, which allow the extra cooking
to take place, can vary from one to five minutes
for vegetables, or five to ten minutes for a large
roast. Experience will help you determine
standing times for the various foods you
prepare.
UTENSILS
Never use metal or metal-trimmed utensils in
your microwave oven. Microwaves cannot
penetrate metal. They will bounce off any
metal object in the oven -just as they bounce
off the metal walls of the oven - and cause
“arcing”, a phenomenon that resembles
lightning. Many of the containers which you
already own are perfectly safe to use.
How to Test for Microwave Use: Here is a
simple test to determine whether or not a uten-
sil is compatible with your microwave oven.
Measure one cup of water into a glass con-
tainer, and place it on or near the dish you wish
to test. Turn microwave on HIGH for one
minute, until water is hot, then test the con-
tainer in question. If the dish remains cool to
the touch, it is safe for the microwave oven.
Utensils to Use in a Microwave Oven: Con-
tainers made of glass, ceramics, and some
forms of paper and plastic, allow microwaves
to pass freely through them, making them
ideal for microwave use. Boilable pouches and
oven cooking bags are usually equally
effective in your microwave oven.
Many utensils are made especially for use in a
microwave oven. These heat-resistant plastics
may go directly from freezer to microwave and
vice versa without harming either food or con-
tainer. To avoid problems, always read the
instructions on these containers before using
them.
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