Cooking tips

Cooking hot and cold

There can be uneven heating - cold spots and hot spots - in a microwaved meal. It's important either to stir part way through cooking or to let food stand for the recommended time. This gives the heat time to distribute evenly through the food - particularly important for solid or dense dishes like lasagne, quiche and meat that can't be stirred.

Another way to attain more even temperatures is to divide food into individual portions, and to stir or turn it frequently. Uniformly shaped food cooks more evenly than irregular shapes.

Taste and appearance

Microwaving is great for fresh vegetables and fruit, as you need less water, which can dilute the natural flavour. Shorter cooking times can also help retain flavour.

On the other hand, some food fails to develop an appetising brown crust and nutty flavour with a regular microwave. You can try basting with seasonings containing food colours (such as soy sauce), otherwise your best bet is a combination oven.

Nutrient values

Microwave cooking is more nutritious than boiling as nutrients aren't lost into the cooking water. It's comparable to steaming or baking, and perhaps better as shorter cooking times may preserve more of certain nutrients.

Food poisoning

Microwaves don't kill bacteria, but heat does. At least 70°C has to be maintained for several minutes to kill most food-poisoning bacteria. The trouble is, microwaves often cook food unevenly and bacteria can survive in the cool spots.

Infant milk

Is a microwave oven suitable for warming infant milk? Babies have been severely scalded by milk heated in a microwave. Always let the milk stand for at least 20 seconds, shake it well and test it first. Overheated breast milk can coagulate (curdle) at high temperatures, causing loss of quality and nutritional value.

Superheating

Water can sometimes heat past its boiling point without bubbles forming. When you move the cup or add coffee, the water can explode into steam and cause scalding. This is called "superheating". To reduce the risk:

• Use a wide-mouthed container.
• Avoid using straight-sided containers with narrow necks.
• Let the container stand for about 20 seconds after heating.
• If you're adding sugar or instant coffee, do it before heating.
• Check your instruction manual for more hints to avoid superheating.
• Eggs can also superheat and explode in their shells or even when poaching. You can prick the yolks, but it's safer to avoid poaching or cooking eggs in the shell.

Safe cooking

For microwave cooking use glassware, such as Pyrex, and plastic containers that are heat resistant and microwave safe. China, pottery, earthenware and ceramic containers are also suitable provided they are non-porous and don't have a metal trim.

For combination and convection cooking (with a combination microwave) metal cookware can be used, such as pizza trays, cake tins and small baking trays. Some metal utensils cause arcing during combination cooking when they come in contact with walls or racks so remove them before pressing start.