THE EGG exploded this morning.
Yesterday the cup of water she had nuked nearly blew up in her face when she plopped in the tea bag.
The day before that she almost got the shock of her life when the gold rimmed bowl of leftover soup started sparking in the microwave.
How was she to know that it was so easy to commit microwave sin? Sure she knew enough not to use metal or aluminium containers in the microwave, didn't everyone? But who would've thought that an ordinary soup bowl could offend one of the 20th century's best inventions, just because of its gold rim. And as for her mishap with the egg, she only learned later that she should've poked holes in the shell.
So now Sharon, who had been so overjoyed with this piece of modern
convenience left by Santa under the Christmas tree, isn't sure how to make
the best use of her still shiny new appliance.
We asked Food and Nutrition Consultant Heather Little-White to give Sharon and other microwave novices some tips on how to make the best use of this gadget.
HOW A MICROWAVE WORKS
HERE'S AN explanation to help make sense of microwave cooking.
Let's say you want to bake a cake in a conventional oven. Normally you would bake a cake at 350ºF or so, but let's say you accidentally set the oven at 600ºF instead of 350ºF. What is going to happen is that the outside of the cake will burn before the inside even gets warm. In a conventional oven, the heat has to migrate (by
conduction) from the outside of the food toward the middle.
You also have dry, hot air on the
outside of the food evaporating moisture. So the outside can be crispy and brown (e.g. -- bread forms a crust) while the inside is moist.
In microwave cooking, the radio waves penetrate the food and excite water and fat molecules pretty much evenly throughout the food. There is no "heat having to migrate toward the interior by conduction". There is heat everywhere all at once because the molecules are all excited together. There are limits of course. Radio waves penetrate unevenly in thick pieces of food (they don't make it all the way to the middle), and there are also "hot spots" caused by wave interference, but you get the idea. The whole heating process is different because you are "exciting atoms" rather than "conducting heat".
In a microwave oven, the air in the oven is at room temperature, so there is no way to form a crust.
-- Information from
www.howstuffworks.com
By Heather Little-White, Ph.D., Food & Nutrition Consultant
YOUR MICROWAVE oven is designed to do much more than just reheating foods. You can cook almost anything in it -- from rice and peas to baking cakes.
Recipe books accompany microwave ovens and these recipes are specifically developed for microwave cooking. Of course, you could experiment and develop your own cooking times for recipes that may not be included in the cook book.
Before you start cooking in your microwave oven there are a few guidelines you should know.
10 SUCCESS TIPS
1. Watch your cooking by using the light that comes on automatically when the oven is started.
2. Allow foods to stand for between three to 10 minutes after you remove the food from the oven. This is referred to as standing time and should not be ignored in the recipes.
3. Be aware of the density of foods. Dense foods such as roasts, casseroles, stews, will not cook as fast.
4. Porous foods like cakes and breads will cook at different temperatures so it is critical to follow the recipes.
5. When using deep containers, food must be turned periodically to allow for thorough cooking.
6. Since microwaves are attracted by water, sprinkle relatively dry foods such as roasts before cooking.
7. Cover vegetables to retain steam and nutrients.
8. Be careful of fatty foods in the microwave as fat attracts microwave energy and could be dangerous.
9. Pierce foods such as egg yolks, potatoes to prevent the membrane, skin or shell from bursting.
10.Never use aluminium foil in the microwave oven or dishes with gold or
silver decorations.
COOKING TECHNIQUES
STIRRING: This is critical to distribute heat throughout the dish. Be sure to stir from the outside in to the centre since the outside heats up first. Place thicker portions of meat, poultry and fish to the outer edge of the dish.
BROWNING: Use sauces, like soy, Worcester and barbecue sauce to make foods more appealing. Cooking for 15 minutes or more will cause meat and poultry to brown in their own fat.
STEAMING: Cover the food, this traps steam and allows foods to cook more quickly.
The following recipes are from Courts Microwave Cooking Series
COOKING THE MICROWAVE WAY
Broccoli 'N Cheese
4 stems broccoli, coarsely chopped
3 tbps. margarine
16 cream crackers, crumbled
6 slices processed cheese, cut into
halves diagonally
METHOD
Place broccoli in microwaveable medium casserole. Place microwaveable cover on top, cook at Power Level 10 for 9 to 10 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring once. Drain and set aside. Melt butter at Power Level 10 in microwaveable small bowl for 1 minute. Mix in crumbled crackers. Arrange cheese evenly on top of broccoli. Spoon crumbed mixture over cheese. Cook at Power Level 10 for 3-4 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Serves 4.
Easy Breakfast Treat
3 frankfurters, cut
diagonally into 1" pieces
1/2 can baked beans
2 tbsps. cheddar cheese, grated
METHOD
Combine the frankfurters and onion and cook at power Level 10 for 5 minutes. Add baked beans and heat through for 2 minutes. Add cheese and heat at Power Level 4 for 1 minute.
Serves 4.
Irie corned beef and rice
4 stalks Pak Choi,
finely chopped
2 cups rice (left-overs
are ideal)
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 small sweet pepper, chopped
1 cup whole kernel corn,
drained
1 cup corned beef, mashed
1 medium tomato, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika
METHOD
Place Pak Choi in microwaveable dish and cover. Cook at Power Level 10 for three minutes. Combine remaining ingredients thoroughly. Add Pak Choi and sprinkle with paprika Heat thoroughly at Power level 10 for 4 to 5 minutes until heated through.
Serves 4.
Macaroni & Cheese
2 cups uncooked elbow
macaroni
2 cups hot water
6 tbsps. margarine
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
2 cups milk
12 ozs. processed Tastee
cheese, cut in 3-inch cubes
(about 3 cups)
1/3 cup flour
METHOD
Combine macaroni, water, butter, onion, salt and pepper in a 2qt.casserole.Cover Time cook (Power level 10) for 6 minutes. Stir twice during cooking. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover.
Microwave at Power Level 10 for 15 to 18 minutes or until macaroni is tender and sauce is thickened or bubbling, stirring every 3 minutes.
Serves 4.
Kingston Plantain
Bacon Bits
A sumptuous appetiser or snack
Grace streaky bacon slices,
cut in fours
Ripe plantain, cut in 1/2-inch
diagonal slices
METHOD
Using toothpicks, secure a piece of the bacon slice a top the plantain slice. Cook at HIGH or POWER LEVEL 10 for 3 minutes or until bacon is cooked but not crisp.
Serve while hot.
Special Steamed Fish
2 whole fish (fish cutlets
may also be used)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 stalks escallion
2 sprigs thyme
3 tbsps. margarine
1/2 packet Grace Fish Tea
1/4 cup water
1 onion, cut in wedges
1 piece ginger, crushed
A few pimento grains
1 Scotch bonnet pepper
METHOD
Clean fish thoroughly and dry well on absorbent paper. Season with salt and black pepper. Stuff the cavities of fish with crushed escallion and thyme. Melt margarine in a dish at HIGH or POWER LEVEL 10 for 50 seconds. Place fish in dish. Add fish tea mix and water. Add remaining ingredients and whole pepper. Time cook at HIGH or POWER LEVEL 10 for 7 minutes. Turn fish and cook for a remaining 3 to 5 minutes. Test for doneness. Stand covered for 3 to 5 minutes.
Serves 2.
Quick Chicken Chop Suey
2 chicken breasts, deboned
& cut into thin strips
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsps. Fachoy soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, cut in
thin strips
1 sweet pepper, cut in strips
4 stalks Pak Choi, cut in strips
1/4 lb. cabbage,
coarsely shredded
3 stalks onion/escallion,
chopped
4 tbsps. soft margarine
1/4 cup water, plus 4 tbsps.
soy sauce
2 tbsps. cornstarch
METHOD
Season chicken with salt and pepper, soy sauce and garlic. Set aside. Prepare vegetables. Melt margarine at HIGH or POWER LEVEL 10 for 1 minute. Time cook at HIGH or POWER LEVEL 10 chicken and carrots for 4 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in water with soy sauce and add to chicken. Add sweet pepper, Pak Choi, cabbage and onion/escallion and stir. Time cook for another 3 minutes. Serve immediately on hot rice or noodles.
Serves 4.
If steam accumulates in the microwave oven, do not be alarmed as this is not a sign of malfunctioning. The oven is operating under high humidity conditions. Wipe away steam with a soft cloth.
DO NOT USE ALUMINUM FOIL DURING COOKING CYCLE.
Farmer's Wife Omelette
A hearty item for a Sunday morning breakfast
2 tbsps. margarine
4 eggs
Salt to taste
2 tbsps. water
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsps. green peas
3 tablespoons shell
macaroni, cooked
1/4 cup Cheddar cheese,
grated
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 rashers Grace streaky bacon,
cooked until crisp (optional)
METHOD
Melt margarine at HIGH or POWER LEVEL 10 for 50 seconds or until melted. Tilt plate to cover bottom with melted butter. Whisk eggs and water and a pinch of salt. Pour egg mixture into plate and sprinkle over onion, Green peas and macaroni. Time cook at MEDIUM or POWER LEVEL 7 for 2 to 4 minutes gently stirring the centre or POWER LEVEL 10 for 6 minutes. Turn and brush with the remaining sauce and continue to cook at HIGH or POWER LEVEL 10 for an additional 5 minutes or until chicken is tender. Let stand, covered for 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 2
Serve with potatoes baked in your microwave oven at HIGH or POWER LEVEL 10 for 10 to 12 minutes, until done, with standing time of 5 minutes.
