Cooking time
Smallerquantitiesoffoodcookmorerapidlythan
largequantities.Iftheamountoffoodisdoubled,the
preparation time must correspondingly be more than
doubled.
Smallpiecesofmeat,smallshandchoppedvegetables
cookmorequicklythanlargepieces.Forthesamereason,
itisrecommended,if,forexample,youwishtomake
goulash,stewsorsimilar,thatthemeatbecutintopieces
no bigger than 2 x 2 cm.
Thecompactnessofthefoodisalsoveryimportantforthe
cookingtime.Themorecompactthefoodis,thelongerit
takes to cook.
• Wholejointsrequirealongercookingtimethanstewed
dishes.
• Ajointrequireslongerthanadishusingmincedmeat.
Thecolderthefood,thelongerthecookingtimeneedsto
be.Foodatroomtemperaturewillthereforecookfaster
thanfoodfromafridgeorfreezer.
When cooking vegetables, the cooking time depends
onthefreshnessofthevegetables.Thereforecheckthe
condition of the vegetables, and add or deduct a little time
accordingly.
Theshortcookingtimewhenusingamicrowaveoven
means that the food does not overcook.
• Ifrequired,alittlewatercanbeadded.
• Whencookingshandvegetables,youonlyneedto
usetheminimumofwater.
Microwave power
Thechoiceofpowersettingdependsontheconditionof
the food to be cooked.
Inmostcases,thefoodiscookedonfullpower.
• Fullpowerisused,amongotherthings,forreheating
foodquickly,boilingwaterorsimilar.
• Lowpowerisprincipallyusedtodefrostfoodand
prepare dishes containing cheese, milk or egg. (Whole
eggsintheirshellcannotbecookedinamicrowave
oven,asthereisariskoftheeggsexploding.)In
addition,lowerpowersettingsarealsousedtonish
off and to retain the excellent aroma of a dish.
General information on cooking
• Iftheentiremealistobecookedinamicrowave
oven,itisrecommendedthatyoustartwiththemost
compactfoods,suchaspotatoes.Oncetheseare
ready,coverthemwhiletherestofthefoodcooks.
• Mostfoodshouldbecovered.Aclose-ttingcover
retainsthesteamandmoisture,whichshortens
thecookingtimeinthemicrowaveoven.Thisis
particularlythecasewhencookingvegetables,sh
dishesandcasseroles.Coveringfoodalsodistributes
the heat better, thus ensuring rapid and excellent results.
• Inordertoachievethebestpossibleresults,itis
importanttopositionthefoodcorrectly,asmicrowave
radiationisstrongestatthecentreofthemicrowave
oven.If,forexample,youarebakingpotatoes,you
should position them along the edge of the glass
turntable so that they cook evenly.
• Inordertocookcompactdishessuchasmeatand
poultryevenly,itisimportanttoturnthemeatafew
times.
• Youcanbakeinamicrowaveoven,althoughnotwith
recipes that include yeast.
• Whenpreparingfoodwithathickskin,e.g.potatoes,
apples,wholesquashorchestnuts,youshouldprick
holes in the skin to prevent the food from bursting
during cooking.
• Whenpreparingfoodina“traditional”oven,you
normally avoid opening the oven door as much as
possible.Thisisnotthecasewithmicrowaves:no
energyorsignicantheatislost.Inotherwords,you
can open the oven door and look at the food as often
asyouwant.
Important safety measures when preparing
food
• Ifusingthemicrowaveoventoheatbabyfoodor
liquidsinafeedingbottle,youmustalwaysstirthe
food/liquidandcheckthetemperaturethoroughly
beforeserving.Thisensuresthattheheatisevenly
distributedandavoidsscaldinginjuries.
Thelidand/orteatmustNOTbettedonafeeding
bottlewhenitisplacedintheoven.
• Ifsomefoodsareheatedtoolong,theymayburnand
giveoffsmoke.Ifthishappens,youshouldleavethe
ovendoorclosedandswitchoffthemicrowaveoven
completely.
• Somefoodswithlowwatercontent,e.g.chocolatein
squaresandpastrieswithasweetlling,shouldbe
heatedcarefully,otherwisetheyorthecontainermay
be ruined.
USING UTENSILS WHEN PREPARING FOOD
Beforestartingtopreparefoodincontainers,youshould
checkthatthecontainersyouwishtousearemadeofa
suitable material, as some types of plastic may become
limpanddeform,whilesometypesofceramicsmaycrack
(particularlywhenheatingsmallquantitiesoffood).
Inordertotestifacontainerissuitableforuseina
microwaveoven:
• Placethecontainerintheappliance.
• Atthesametime,placeahalf-fullglassofwaterinthe
container.
• Startandrunfor15-30secondsonmaximumpower.
• Ifthecontainerbecomesveryhottothetouch,donot
use it.
Suitable utensils and materials
Whencookingfoodinamicrowaveoven,youshould
PREFERABLYusethefollowingutensilsandmaterials:
• Glassandglassbowls
• Stoneware(glazedandunglazed).Thefoodstayshot
longeringlazedstonewarethaninotherdishes.
• Plasticcontainers.Canbeusedformanyheating
purposes.Caution!Plasticcontainersmadefrom
melamine,polyethyleneandphenolmustNOTbe
used.
• Porcelain.Allporcelaincanbeusedinmicrowave
ovens,althoughreproofporcelainispreferable.