GB-20
BLANCHING VEGETABLES 
Vegetables should be blanched before being frozen. 
The quality and flavours are best retained in this way. 
Process: wash and chop the vegetables. Place 250 g of 
vegetables with 275 ml of water into a dish and heat 
while covered for 3-5 minutes. After blanching immerse 
these immediately in iced water to prevent further 
cooking and then drain. Pack the blanched vegetables 
so that they are airtight and freeze.
BOILING DOWN FRUIT AND 
VEGETABLES
Boiling down is fast and easy in a 
microwave. Preserving jars, rubber 
rings and suitable plastic preserving 
clips that are appropriate for the 
microwave are available in retail 
outlets. The manufacturers give exact 
instructions for use. 
SMALL AND LARGE QUANTITIES 
Microwave times depend directly on the quantity of 
food that you wish to thaw, heat or cook. This means 
that small portions cook faster than large portions. 
The following applies as a rule of thumb:
DOUBLE QUANTITY = ALMOST 
DOUBLE THE TIME 
HALF QUANTITY = HALF THE 
TIME 
TALL AND SHALLOW DISHES
Both dishes have the same capacity but the cooking 
time is longer in the tall format than in the shallow 
format. So opt for the shallowest possible dishes with a 
large surface area. Only use tall dishes for meals where 
there is a danger of overcooking, e.g. for noodles, rice, 
milk, etc.
ROUND AND OVAL DISHES 
Food cooks more evenly in round and oval shapes 
than in rectangular shapes, as the microwave energy 
gets concentrated in corners and the food can become 
overcooked at these points.
SETTING THE COOKING TIME WITH 
THE FOOD THERMOMETER 
Every drink and every food has a specific internal 
temperature at the end of the cooking process, at which 
the cooking process can be ended and the result is 
good. You can determine the internal temperature with 
a food thermometer. The most important temperatures 
are given in the temperature table. 
TABLES FOR SETTING THE 
COOKING TIME WITH THE FOOD 
THERMOMETER
Drinks/food
Internal 
temperature
at the of minutes
Internal 
temperature up 
to 10 to 15 of 
standing time
Heating drinks
(coffee, water, 
tea, etc.) 
Heating milk
Heating soups
Heating stews
Poultry
Lamb
Rare cooked
Well cooked
Beef
Rare roast
Medium cooked
well done
Pork, Veal
65-75°C
60-65°C
75-80°C
75-80°C
80-85°C
70°C
75-80°C
50-55°C
60-65°C
75-80°C
80-85°C
85-90°C
70-75°C
80-85°C
55-60°C
65-70°C
80-85°C
80-85°C
ADDING WATER
Vegetables and other foods that contain a lot of water 
can be cooked in their own juice or with a little added 
water. This means that many vitamins and minerals are 
retained in the food.
FOOD WITH SKIN OR SHELLS 
Pierce items such as sausages, chicken, chicken legs, 
jacket potatoes, tomatoes, apples, egg yolk or similar 
foods with a fork or wooden skewer. This allows the 
steam that builds up to escape without the skin or shell 
bursting.
FATTY FOODS
Meat with streaks of fat and layers of fat cook faster 
than lean portions. As a result cover these portions 
when cooking with some aluminium foil or place the 
food with the fatty portions at the bottom.
TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
R-68ST-A [06_02 EN] CkBk.indd   20R-68ST-A [06_02 EN] CkBk.indd   20 7/22/09   6:50:53 PM7/22/09   6:50:53 PM