Sunday, December 10, 2006

Cooking Tips

Microwave Tips:

Even cooking:

  1. For cut vegetables make sure pieces are of equal size for equal cooking.
  2. If you are cooking an assortment of vegetables, arrange large or tougher vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, broccoli etc.) toward the outside of the plate and small or tender ones (peas, mushrooms, capsicum etc.) in the center so they finish cooking at the same time.
  3. Never pile food one on top of the other. In a microwave food always cooks evenly when spaced apart.
  4. Turning is necessary to ensure even distribution of microwaves through the food. Especially food such as meat, large potatoes and cauliflower need to be turned over during cooking.
  5. Round dishes give more even cooking results than squares or rectangles.
  6. Ring shaped dishes are infact the best for cooking foods which cannot be stirred during microwave cooking. Improvise a ring shaped bowl by placing a small round bowl in the center of a large round dish.
  7. An omelet is best cooked at 50% (medium). If cooked at 100% (high) the edges may be done before the center and become leathery by the time the whole omelet is done.