Microwave ovens have caused a cooking revolution in the United States. In American households today, the number of microwave ovens almost equals the number of conventional ranges, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.
This has created a domino effect, toppling many of the ways consumers buy and prepare food and changing how manufacturers package, process and market groceries. The microwave oven has altered the national perception of what cooking involves, so that millions of people are more at ease zapping portions on a plate than they are laboring over a stove.
However, learning to cook with a microwave is not as simple as just pushing some buttons.
Cooking in a microwave oven is learning a new set of rules, according to Marcia Cone and Thelma Snyder, authors of three books on microwave cooking and a syndicated newspaper column. Those rules include new techniques for adjusting seasonings; stirring, cutting and turning food; preparing ingredients; and setting cooking times.
But you first must learn how microwave energy works, said Charles Buffler, a new-product scientist with General Foods Corp.in White Plains, N.Y. Microwave variables include the type of food, the shape and thickness of the food, its position in the oven, and how frequently it is stirred or turned.
Some foods cook faster
Microwaves heat food by vibrating or cycling molecules at a very high rate of speed. Some foods absorb these vibrating waves more readily than others, especially water, fat, sugar and salt.
This means that foods that contain a lot of these ingredients cook more quickly than foods that contain none. For example, a cup of watery tomatoes will cook faster and more efficiently than a cup of a dense vegetable such as green beans or Brussels sprouts.
An ounce of pizza, which is high in fat, salt and moisture, cooks in less than a minute. Yet an ounce of natural popcorn, which is low in fat, salt and moisture, takes several minutes to pop.
Foods that are loaded with fat, such as bacon, cook faster than lean foods such as chicken breasts. This means that the fatty rim around a pork chop will cook faster than a lean portion in the center.
Salt and sugar also attract microwaves. Vegetables that are salted just before cooking in the microwave oven may burn in small, dark spots where the grains land. The sugary icing on a breakfast danish may overheat and burn before the doughy parts are hot.
Because of their lower fat content, lean fish and chicken, fresh vegetables and grains cook more evenly, making them some of the best foods for cooking in the microwave oven, according to Barbara Kafka, author of several books, including “Microwave Gourmet Healthstyle Cookbook” (Morrow).
Microwave ovens cook with moist heat so foods don’t dry out or stick to the pans. That means little oil or fat is needed. A cook also can get more flavor from less sugar and salt by adding it at the end of the cooking. The seasonings have more effect because they haven’t been diluted by cooking juices and other flavorings. Plus, foods cooked in the microwave retain more nutrients, especially the water-soluble B and C vitamins, than if prepared by some conventional means.
Small pieces cook faster
In a microwave oven, energy bounces wildly off the metal walls and floor. As the energy waves bounce, they penetrate foods from all directions, explained Joyce Kenneally, director of microwave cooking for The Good Housekeeping Institute in New York. The more uniform the shape of the food, the more evenly the waves penetrate, Kenneally said.
Foods with a tidy shape and no bones, such as a fillet of breaded fish or a square of lasagna, will cook faster and with fewer “hot spots” than uneven, bony foods such as a whole fish or a slab of ribs. The thin end of a salmon fillet may overcook before the thick end is done.
Microwaves penetrate about 1 1/2 inches beyond the surface. Therefore, itty-bitty pieces of food, such as diced carrots or broccoli flowerets, cook in a flash while big hunks take much longer. To make sure that foods cook evenly, they should be cut into same-size pieces.
However, if you’re cooking different foods at the same time, cut the soft, wet foods in larger pieces and dice the slower-cooking foods into small pieces.
Positioning foods
Many cooks have observed that soup boils first around the edge of the container in a microwave oven. To understand why, visualize spraying a stream of water on a moving fan. The fan blows the water around the room. Most brands of microwave ovens use a metal fan or rotating antenna to “blow” the waves around the interior. While metal shoots the waves more or less evenly around the inside of the oven, some areas receive a greater concentration. This causes “hot spots.”
To offset the effects of these hot spots, position sturdy food near the outside of dish for swiftest cooking. Foods in the center of a dish will cook more slowly. For example, place the tough, slower cooking broccoli stems near the outside edge of the dish and the tender, quick-cooking tops in the middle.
Arrange uneven pieces of food so thin parts are centered and thick parts are toward the edge. If possible, use round dishes for the most even heating or arrange foods in a circle. When cooking foods of different densities-such as carrots and mushrooms-place the slow-cooking carrots at the outside and put the quick-cooking mushrooms in the middle.
Foods that are elevated above the floor of the oven also will receive a spray of microwaves from the bottom. Meatloaf, cobblers, casseroles and stews will cook more evenly if they are raised by at least a few inches off the oven floor. This does not require any special microwave cooking gadgets. An overturned microwave-safe ramekin or bowl is suitable for raising the cooking dish, according to Kenneally.
Stir, turn and rotate
Some microwave ovens have carousels or rotating plates to turn food automatically. Many consumers love this feature because they don’t have to be present to ensure even cooking.
In microwave ovens without a carousel, it’s necessary to frequently turn or stir food so that all parts cook at the same rate. Some foods require turning the dish; other foods require stirring hotter portions into cooler areas.
Failure to stir or rotate foods can cause superheated areas, explosions and badly cooked food.
Casseroles, soups and stews should be stirred from the outer edge toward the center. The cooler food in the center should be pushed toward the edges. Sauces should be stirred with a whisk or a spoon. Dense pieces of food, such as potatoes, chops, or pieces of fish, should be flipped in the dish during the cooking time and the dish should be rotated.
The best way to remember to stir and rotate food during cooking is to set the oven timer for half the recommended cooking time. When the timer chimes, the cook can turn the food and check on its progress at the same time.
Recommended reading:
– “The Good Housekeeping Microwave Cookbook,” edited by Joyce Kenneally (Hearst Books): A complete, easy-to-use and useful cookbook for beginners and well-seasoned microwave cooks. Includes 500 recipes with more than 1,500 color step-by-step photographs.
– “Mastering Microwave Cookery by Marcia Cone and Thelma Snyder” (Simon & Schuster): An excellent how-to cookbook with intelligent explanations of microwave principles and 800 appetizing recipes.
– “Microwave Mastery Cookbook,” by Carol Trench (Mic-It Publishing, 1988): A basic cookbook highlighting convenience products and basic recipes from a high-school home economics instructor in Richfield, Minn.
– “More Guaranteed Goof-Proof Microwave Cooking,” by Margie Kreschollek (Bantam Books, 1990): Features traditional American-style casseroles, baked beans and cobblers converted to the microwave oven.
– “The Random House Microwave Cookbook,” by Margaret Fraser (Random House, 1989): A large-format color cookbook containing 175 recipes for everyday meals and menus for entertaining.
– “The Good Health Microwave Cookbook,” by Carl Jerome (Bantam Books, 1990): Contains more than 400 recipes for everything from jams and jellies to soups and pasta. Recipes include nutritional information.
– “Microwave Entertaining,” by Marcia Cone and Thelma Snyder (Simon & Schuster): Features hundreds of recipes for seasonal entertaining arranged by special-occasion menus.
– “Glorious Vegetables in the Microwave,” by Patricia Tennison (Contemporary Books, 1987): Features more than 250 recipes for many familiar and unfamiliar vegetables.
