Carolyn in Tokyo, Japan showing a
new microwave cooking concept.
MICROWAVE FAQs
Proper cooking patterns and arrangements of food in a microwave oven
Temperature correlations between conventional and microwave ovens
Determining your microwave's wattage and what it means to you
Emergency substitutions, equivalents and yields
Buying, storing and keeping foods safe
1. Eighty-five percent of conventional recipes will convert successfully to microwave.
2. Butters and oils normally needed to sauté foods conventionally are not needed when foods are cooked in the microwave. Instead, if a butter flavor is desired, add a small amount after cooking and the flavor will be absorbed by the food during standing time.
3. Less spices and herbs are needed in foods which are cooked in the microwave. Flavors will remain more intense than in foods cooked conventionally. Therefore, reduce the amount called for in conventional recipes by 20-25%.
4. The least "rich" liquid ingredient (such as water) in a conventional recipe may be reduced by 20-25% when cooking that recipe in the microwave. As there is no dry heat, the extra liquid will not evaporate and is not needed.
5. Foods, such as soups, which have a high liquid content take longer to cook than foods which cook from their own moisture content. Liquid ingredients slow down cooking. In other words, one pound of food with 50% moisture will take less time to heat to a certain temperature than one pound of food with 75% moisture. Foods with liquid added will take longer than those which have had no liquid added. For example: meat cooked in liquid will have a longer cooking time than meat not cooked in liquid.
6. Keep liquids covered to cut costs, as they release moisture, causing refrigerator to work overtime.
7. In cool water, a fresh egg will sink and lie horizontally on bottom; a week-old egg will lie tilted up; two- to three-week old eggs will stand upright; and old eggs will float and should be thrown out.
8. Cottage cheese stays fresher longer if stored upside down in the refrigerator.
9. In soup, leaf lettuce dipped in will remove excess fat from the soup; if you drop ice cubes in, the fat will cling to the cubes which you can remove and discard?
10. If something is too sweet, add a touch of salt.
11. A dash of Worcestershire sauce will add zip to mulled cider, pumpkin pie, spiced cookies and cakes.
12. To prevent gravy lumps when making gravy or thickening sauces, mix flour with a bit of salted hot water before adding it to the sauce.
13. Add dark percolated coffee to pale gravy: it will add color, but won’t affect the taste.
This is only a sampling of the trivia contained in Definitive Microwave Cookery I and II.
Both books are packed full of such trivia as well as worlds of information about health, cooking and eating lean. There is even a section which explains what we need to know before cooking, such as how to follow recipes, cooking terms and techniques... even how to measure and use ingredients. There are also hundreds of tips and facts on such things as removing stains and doing beneficial things around the house.