Panasonic NN-H264 Operating Instructions Manual

Contents

Panasonic NN-H264 Operating Instructions Manual Manual pdf 27 page image

25Food Characteristics Cooking TechniquesBone and FatBoth bone and fat affect cooking. Bones maycause irregular cooking. Meat next to the tips ofbones may overcook while meat positionedunder a large bone, such as a ham bone, maybe undercooked. Large amounts of fat absorb microwave ener-gy and the meat next to these areas may overcook.DensityPorous, airy foods such as breads, cakes orrolls take less time to cook than heavy, densefoods such as potatoes and roasts. Whenreheating donuts or other foods with differentcenters be very careful. Certain foods havecenters made with sugar, water, or fat andthese centers attract microwaves (For example, jelly donuts).When a jelly donut is heated, the jelly can become extremelyhot while the exterior remains warm to the touch. This couldresult in a burn if the food is not allowed to cool properly in thecenter.QuantityTwo potatoes take longer to cook than one potato. Asthe quantity of the food decreases so does the cook-ing time. Overcooking will cause the moisture contentin the food to decrease and a fire could result. Neverleave microwave unattended while in use.ShapeUniform sizes heat more evenly. The thinend of a drumstick will cook more quicklythan the meaty end. To compensate forirregular shapes, place thin parts toward thecenter of the dish and thick pieces towardthe edge.SizeThin pieces cook more quickly than thickpieces.Starting TemperatureFoods that are at room temperature take less time tocook than if they are chilled, refrigerated, or frozen.PiercingFoods with skins or membranes must bepierced scored or have a strip of skinpeeled before cooking to allow steam toescape. Pierce clams, oysters, chicken liv-ers, whole potatoes and whole vegetables.Whole apples or new potatoes should havea 1-inch strip of skin peeled before cooking. Score sausagesand frankfurters. Do not Cook/Reheat whole eggs with or with-out the shell. Steam build up in whole eggs may cause them toexplode, and possibly damage the oven or cause injury.Reheating SLICED hard-boiled eggs and cookingSCRAMBLED eggs is safe.BrowningFoods will not have the same brown appearanceas conventionally cooked foods or those foodswhich are cooked utilizing a browning feature.Meats and poultry may be coated with browningsauce, Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauceor shake-on browning sauce. To use, combinebrowning sauce with melted butter or margarine and brush onbefore cooking.For quick breads or muffins, brown sugar can be used in therecipe in place of granulated sugar, or the surface can besprinkled with dark spices before baking.SpacingIndividual foods, such as baked potatoes, cup-cakes and appetizers, will cook more evenly ifplaced in the oven equal distances apart.When possible, arrange foods in a circular pat-tern.