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COOKING UTENSILS
Microwave energy is produced by high frquency radio waves. They are reflected from metal, but will
pass through most cooking utensils without heating them.
As the waves come into contact with the food, they are converted into heat energy. Listed below are the
suggested cooking utensils for this microwave oven and when to use them.
1. Dishes with metal trim of any type-should not be used. This will cause sparking.
2. Glass or ceramic heat proof dishes-excellent for microwave cooking.
3. China dishes and plates-without metal trim may by used to cook and heat individual portions of food.
4. Wood or straw-use only for short period, wood contains some moisture and the microwave energy
may cause the wood to dry out and crack.
5. Aluminum foil-may be used in very small pieces for shielding only.
Any aluminum foil used should never be closer than 2.5cm from side walls of oven.
6. Plastic-most heat resistant plastinc dinnerware may be used for heating food. However plyethylene,
melamine, phenol are unsuitable for use in the oven. They become hot in the microwave.
7. Wax paper-use as a cover to avoid spatters.
8. Metal-In general, metal utensils should not be used in microwave oven.
CARE AND CLEANING
Although your oven is provided with safety features, it is important'to observe the following:
1. It is important not to defeat or tamper with safety interlocks.
2. Do not place any object between the oven front face and the door or allow residue to accumulate on
sealing surfaces. Wipe the sealing area frequently with a mild detergent, rinse and wipe dry. Never
use abrasive powders or pads.
3. When opened, the door must not be subjected to strain, for example, a child hanging on an opened
door or any load could cause the oven to fall forward to cause injury and also damaged to the door.
Do not operate the oven if it is damaged, until it has been repaired by a trined service technician.
It is particularly important that the oven closes properly and that there is no damage to the:
i) Door (bent)
ii) Hinges and Hookes (broken or loosened)
iii) Door seals and sealing surfaces.
4. The oven should not be adjusted or repaired by anyone except a properly trained service technician.
ALUMINIUM FOIL CONTAINERS AND
MICROWAVES
The general rule is that metal containers shall not be used in a microwave oven, but if the following
rules are being followed, it is possible to use disposable aluminium foil containers when reheating and
defrosting using microwaves, but in general it takes a longer time and the final result will not be as good
as if the corresponding food were to be placed in containers of plastic or paper:
• Do not place aluminium foil containers on the wire shelf, as spaking may occure.
• Place the aluminium foil container in a glass bowl and add some water so that it covers the bottom of
the aluminium foil container, not more than half a cm high. This ensures an even heating of the bottom
of the container.
• Always remove the lid, otherwise the oven can be damaged.
• Only undamaged foil containers may be used.
• Aluminium foil containers with a height exceeding 5 cm should be avoided.
• The container must be, as a minimum, half-filled.
• There must be a minimum of 1 cm between the aluminium container and the walls of the oven and
also between two aluminium containers. This is in order to avoid sparking.
• The aluminium container must always be placed on the bottom tray.
• Frequent use of disposable aluminium foil containers will decrease the life time of the magnetron.
• Reheating of food in aluminium foil containers requires normally, up to double the time compared to
reheating in plastic, glass, porcelain or paper containers. The time when the food is ready will vary a
great deal.
• Let the food stand for 2-3 minutes after heating so the heat is evenly distributed in the container.