10
General Guidelines
STANDING TIME
Dense foods e.g. meat, jacket potatoes
and cakes, require standing time (inside
or outside of the oven) after cooking, to
allow heat to finish conducting to cook the
centre completely. Wrap meat joints and
jacket potatoes in aluminium foil while
standing. Meat joints need approx. 10-15
minutes, jacket potatoes 5 minutes. Other
foods such as plated meals, vegetables,
fish etc require 2-5 minutes standing.
After defrosting food, standing time
should also be allowed. If food is not
cooked after standing time, return to the
oven and cook for additional time.
The skin or membrane on some foods will
cause steam to build up during cooking. These
foods must be pierced or a strip of skin should
be peeled off before cooking to allow the
steam to escape. Eggs, potatoes, apples,
sausages etc, will all need to be pierced before
cooking. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BOIL EGGS
IN THEIR SHELLS.
PIERCING
COVERING
QUANTITY
SPACING
Small quantities cook faster than large
quantities, also small meals will reheat more
quickly than large portions.
MOISTURE CONTENT
Many fresh foods e.g. vegetables and fruit,
vary in their moisture content throughout the
season, particularly jacket potatoes. For this
reason cooking times may have to be adjusted.
Dry ingredients e.g. rice, pasta, can dry out
during storage so cooking times may differ.
Cover foods with microwave cling film or a lid.
Cover fish, vegetables, casseroles, soups. Do
not cover cakes, sauces, jacket potatoes or
pastry items.
Foods cook more quickly and evenly if spaced
apart. NEVER pile foods on top of each other.
DENSITY
Porous airy foods heat more quickly than
dense heavy foods.
CLING FILM
Cling film helps keep the food moist and the
trapped steam assists in speeding up cooking
times. Pierce before cooking to allow excess
steam to escape. Always take care when
removing cling film from a dish as the build-up
of steam will be very hot.
