11
General Guidelines
STANDING TIME
Dense foods e.g. meat, jacket potatoes and
cakes, require standing time (inside or outside
of the oven) after cook ing, to allow heat to
finish con ducting 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 2-3
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 es cape. 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 portions will reheat more
quickly than large portions.
MOISTURE CONTENT
Many fresh foods e.g. veget ables 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, cas seroles, 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.
