Cooking Techniques; About Food Safety And Cooking Temperature - Gaggenau BM28 Manual De Instrucciones

Cooking Techniques
Piercing
Foods with skins or membranes must be pierced scored or
have a strip of skin peeled before cooking to allow steam to
escape. Pierce clams, oyster, chicken livers, whole
potatoes and whole vegetables. Whole apples or new
potatoes should have a 1-inch strip of skin peeled before
cooking. Score sausages and frankfurters. Do not
Cook/Reheat whloe eggs with or without the shell. Steam
build up in whole eggs may cause them to explode, and
possibly damage the oven or cause injury. Reheating
SLICED hard-boiled eggs and cooking SCRAMBLED eggs
is safe.
Spacing
Individual foods, such as baked potatoes, cupcakes and
appetizers, will cook more evenly if placed in the oven
equal distances apart. When possible, arrange foods in a
circular pattern.
Covering
As with conventional cooking, moisture evaporates during
microwave cooking. Casserole lids or plastic wrap are used
for a tighter seal. When using plastic wrap, vent the plastic
wrap by folding back part of the plastic wrap from the edge
of the dish to allow steam to escape. Loosen or remove
plastic wrap as recipe directs for stand time. When
removing plastic wrap covers, as well as any glas lids, be
careful to remove them away from you to avoid steam
burns. Various degrees of moisture retention are also
obtained by using wax paper or paper towels.
Shielding
Thin areas of meat and poultry cook more quickly than
meaty portions. To prevent overcooking, these thin areas
can be shielded with strips of aluminium foil. Wooden
toothpicks may be used to hold the foil in place.
Caution: Is to be exercised when using foil. Arcing can
occur if foil is too close to oven wall or door and damage to
your oven will result.
Cooking time
A range of cooking time is given in each recipe. The time
range compensates for the uncontrollable differences in
food shapes, starting temperature, and regional
preferences. Always cook food for the minimum cooking
time given in a recipe and check for doneness. If the food is
undercooked, continue cooking. It is easier to add time to
an undercooked product. Once the food is overcooked,
nothing can be done.
Stirring
Stirring is usually necessary during microwave cooking.
Always bring the cooked outside edges toward the center
and the less cooked center portions toward the outside of
the dish.
Rearranging
Rearrange small items such as chicken pieces, shrimp,
hamburger patties, or pork chops. Rearrange pieces from
the edge to the center and pieces from the center to the
edge of the dish.
Turning
It is not possible to stir some foods to distribute the heat
evently. At times, microwave energy will concentrate in one
area of the food. To help insure even cooking, these food
need to be turned. Turn over large foods, such as roasts or
turkeys, halfway through cooking.
Stand Time
Most foods will continue to cook by conduction after the
microwave oven is turned off. In meat cookery, the internal
temperature will rise 5 °F to 15 °F (3 °C to 8 °C), if allowed to
stand, tented with foil, for 10 to 1 5 minutes. Casseroles and
vegetables need a shorter amount of standing time, but this
standing time is necessary to allow fooods to complete
cooking to teh center without overcooking on the edges.
Test for Doneness
The same tests for doneness used in conventional cooking
may be used for microwave cooking. Meat is done when
fork-tender or splits at fibers. Chicken is done when juices
are clear yellow and drumstick moves freely. Fish is done
when it flakes and is opaque. Cake is done when a
toothpick or cake tester is inserted and comes out clean.
About food Safety and cooking
tem peratu re
Check foods to see that they are cooked to the United
States Department of Agriculture's recommended
temperatures.
TEMP FOOD
160 °F ...for fresh pork, ground meat, fish, seafood, egg
dishes and frozen prepared food.
165 °F ...for leftover, ready-t-reheat refrigerated, and
deli and carryout "fresh" food.
180 °F ...poultry
To test for doneness, insert a meat thermometer in a thick
or dense area away from fat or bone. NEVER leave the
thermometer in the food during cooking, unless it is
approved for microwave oven use.
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