GE RE954 Use and Care Manual

Oven

Co.,

Take the time to readthis book and learn how to enjoy
your new Microwave Oven. It contains detailed oper-

ating instructions and recommended maintenance, as
well as handy tips to help you gain maximum benefits
from your Microwave Oven. Once you have read the
book, keepit handy to answer any questions you may
have.

if you have any additional questions concerning the
operation of your Microwave Ovenf write—including

your phone number—to:

Consumer Affairs
Hotpoint
Appliance Park
Louisville, Kentucky 40225

IF YOU RECEIVED A DAMAGED OVEN, immediately
contact the dealer (or builder) from whom you pur­chased it. They have been informed of the proper
procedure to take care of such matters and can
handle it for you,

It is important that we, the manufacturer, know the
location of your Microwave Ovenshould a need occur

for adjustments.
Please check with your supplier to be sure he has

registered you as the owner; also send in your Pur­chase Record Card. If you move, or if you are not the
original purchaser please write to us, stating model
and serial numbers. This appliance must be regis-

tered. Pleasebe certainthat it is.

Write to:
Hotpoint
Range Product Service
AP2-210
Appliance Park
Louisville, Kentucky 40225

serial

A nameplate on which isstamped the model and serial
number is located either inside oven at top left side, or
on rear outside of case,

Model and serial numbers are also on the Purchase
Record Card which’ came with your Microwave Oven.
Record the numbers in the spaces below,

Please refer to both model and serial numbers in any
future correspondence or product service calls con­cerning your Microwave Oven,
Mode! Number

Serial Number
Date Purchased
KEEP PURCHASE RECEIPT WITH 7’!4S BOOK TO
ESTABLISH THE WARRANTYPERIOD.

——

Check “Common Problems” section. (Seepage 18,)It
lists many minor causes of operating problems that
you can correct yourself and may saveyou an unnec­essaryservice call.

In many cities, there’s a Hotpoint Factory Service
Center, Call, and a radio-dispatched truck will come to
your home by appointment—morning or afternoon.
Charge the work, if you like. All the centers accept
both Master Charge and Visa cards. (See Inside Back
Cover.)

Or look for Hotpoint franchised Customer Care@ser­vicers. You’ll find them in the Yellow Pages under
“HOTPOINT CUSTOMER CARE@SERVICE”.

If you need service literature, parts lists, parts or
accessories,contact one of the Factory Service Cen-

ters, a franchised Customer Care@servicer or your
Hotpoint dealer.

Extended SerwiceContracts:The terms of your war­ranty provide free service covering failures due to
manufacturing defects for a definite period of time.
After this warranty expires you may purchase an
Extended Service Contract which will enable you to ~
budget your service needs, This coverage beyond
warranty isavai!able from our Factory Service Centers —
and from many franchised Customer Care@servicers.
It is a good idea to apply for this coverage before your
warranty expires.

stepsto for

First$contact the people who serviced your micro-

wave oven. Explain why you are dissatisfied. In most
cases,this will solvethe problem,

Next, if you are still dissatisfied, write all the details—
including your phone number—to:

Manager, Consumer Relations
Hotpoint
WCE-312
Appliance Park
Louisville, Ketltucky 40225

Finally,if your problem is still not resolved,write:

Major Appliance Consumer Action Panel
20 North Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606

This panel, known as MACAP, is a group of inde-

pendent consumer experts under the sponsorship of
several industry associations, Its purpose is to study
practices and advise the industry of ways to improve
customer service. Because MACAP is free of industry
control and influence, it is able to make impartial
recommendations, considering each case individually,

4

–-

@IgBl (?iene;al Electric

2

U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Before ?vlicrowavhg ...........................

Grounding Instructions & Precautions ....3

Safety Tips

......................................

Introduction to Oven.......................... 5

Touch Control Panel ..........................

Set the (Hock

...................................

Automatic Cooking ........................8, 9

Automatic Roasting & Chart .......... 10, 11

Defrost

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

Time Cook .....................................14

Ternp Cook

....................................15

l-lold/Timer ....................................

2

Care of Your Oven

Problems & Solutions .......................18

4

...........................

Automatic Cooking Recipe Guide ...,,.,.19

6

6

Meats ....................................20,21

Vegetables

.............................

Desserts ................................

Automatic Cooking Chart ............. 26, 27

Factory Service Centers. Inside Back Cover

Warranty ...........................Back Cover

16
17

22, 23
24, 25

PREFERREDMETHOD

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9

.

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For Personal Safety, This Appliance Must Be Prop­erly Grqmded. The power cord of this appliance is

equipped with a three-prong (grounding) plug
which mates with a standard three-prong (ground­ing) wall receptacle (Fig. 1) to minimize the possi-

bility of electric shock hazard from this appliance,
The customer should have the wall receptacle and
circuit checked by a qualified electrician to make
sure the receptacle is properly grounded.

Where a standard two-prong wall receptacle is en­countered, it is the personal responsibility and obli-

gation of the customer to have it replaced with a
properly grounded three-prong wall receptacle.

Do Not Under Any Circumstances Cut or Remove
The Third (Ground) ProngFrom The PowerCord,

A, Usage Situations Where Appliance’s Power
Cord Will BeDisconnected Infrequently,

Because of potential safety hazards under certain

conditions, we strongly recommend against the use
of an adapter plug, However, if you still elect to use
an adapter, where local codes permit, a TEMPO-

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●

RARY CONNECTION may be made to a properly
grounded two-prong wall receptacle by the use of a
UL listed adapter which is available at most local
hardware stores (Fig. 2). The larger slot in the

adapter must be aligned with the larger slot in the
wall receptacle to provide proper polarity in the
connection of the power cord.

caution: Attaching
the wall receptacle cover screw does not ground
the appliance unless the cover screw is metal, and
not insulated, and the wall receptacle is grounded
through the house wiring. The customer should
have the circuit checked by a qualified electrician to
makesure the receptacle is properly grounded.

When disconnecting the power cord from the
adapter, always hold the adapter with one hand. If
this is not done, the adapter ground terminal is very
likely to break with repeated use. Should this hap-

the adapter ground terminal to

pen, DO NOT USE the appliance until a proper

ground has again been established.
B. Usage Situations Where Appliance’s Power

CordWHJBe Disconnected Frequently.
Do not use an adapter plug in these situations be-

cause disconnecting of the power cord places un­due strain on the adapter and leads to eventual fail­ure of the adapter ground terminal, The customer
should have the two-prong wall receptacle replaced
with a three-prong (grounding) receptacle by a
qualified electrician before using the appliance.

-.

1. For personal safety the oven must be properly

..—

grounded. See grounding instructions on page 3 of
this book. For best operation, plug this appliance
into its own electrical outlet, to prevent flickering of
lights, biowing of fuse or tripping of circuit breaker.

2. Use of extension cords. Because of potential
safety hazards under certain conditions we strongly
recommend against the use of an extension cord,
However, if you stiii elect to use an extension cord,
it is absolutely necessary that it be a UL listed 3-wire

grounding type appliance extension cord and that
the current carrying rating of the cord in amperes
be 15 amperes or greater. Such extension cords are
obtainable through Generai Eiectric service. If you

do use an extension cord with your microwave
oven, the interior iight may fiicker and the biower

sound may vary when oven is in use.

3. Be certain to place the front surface of the door

three inches or more back from the countertop
edge to avoid accidental tipping of the appliance in
normal usage.

4. Use metal only as directed in cookbook. Metal
strips as used on meat roasts are helpfui in cooking

food when used as directed. Metai trays may be
used for TV dinners, However, when using metai in
the microwave oven, keep metal at least l-inch

away from sides of microwave oven.

5. Do not operate the oven while empty to avoid

damage to the oven and the danger of fire. If by ac-

cident the oven shouid run empty a minute or two,

no harm is done. However, try to avoid operating
the oven empty at aii times–it saves energy and
proiongs iife of the oven.

6. Cooking utensils may become hot because of
heat transferred from the heated food. This is espe­cially true if plastic wrap has been covering the top

and handies of the utensii. Pot hoiders may be
needed to handle the utensii.

7. Sometimes, the oven shelf can become too hot

to touch. Be careful touching the sheif during and

after cooking.

8. DO not use any thermometer in food you are
microwaving unless that thermometer is designed
or recommended for use in the microwave oven.

9. Remove the temperature probe from the oven
when not using It to cook with, if you ieave the
probe inside the oven without inserting it in food or
iiquid, and turn on microwave energy, it can create
electrical arcing in the oven, and damage oven
waiis.

10. Remove wire twist-ties on paper and piastic
bags before placing in oven. Twist-ties sometimes

cause bag to heat, and may cause fire.

1f .Don’t defrostfrozen beverages in narrow necked

batties especially carbonated ones, Even if the con­tainer is opened, pressure can build up. This can
cause the container to burst, resulting in injury,

12. Don’tovercook. Excessive overcooking dehy-

drates potatoes, and may Gausethem to catch fire
causing damage,

13. If food should ever ignite: Keep the oven door
closed. Turn off the power immediately: Touch

CLEAR/OFF or disconnect power cord or shut off
power at the fuse circuit breaker panei.
14, Boiling eggs (in and out of shell] is not recom-
mended for microwave cooking. Pressure can buiid
up inside egg yoik and may cause it to burst, resuit­ing in injury,

15. Foodswith unbroken outer “skin” such as po­tatoes, hot dogs or sausages, tomatoes, appies,
chicken iivers and other gibiets, and eggs (see
above) shouid be pierced to aiiow steam to escape
during cooking.

16.’’Boilable9’cooking pouches and tightly closed
plastic bags shouid be slit, pricked or vented as di-

rected in Cookbook. if they are not, piastic couid

burst during or immediately after cooking, possibiy
resuiting in injury. Aiso, piastic storage containers
shouid be at ieast partiaiiy uncovered because they
form a tight seai. When cooking with containers

tightiy covered with piastic wrap, remove covering

carefuiiy and direct steam away from hands and
face.

17. Do not pop popcorn in your microwave oven
uniess in a speciai microwave popcorn accessory

or uniess you use popcorn iabeied for use in micro­wave ovens. Because of the heat generated without
these precautions, the container couid catch fire.

18. Plastic Utensfls–Piastic utensiis designed for

microwave cooking are very usefui, but shouid be
used carefuily. Even microwave piastic may not be
as toierant of overcooking conditions as are giass
or ceramic materiais and may soften or char if sub­jected to short periods of overcooking. in ionger ex­posures to overcooking, the food and utensiis
couid ignite, For these reasons: 1) Use microwave
piastics oniy “and use them” in strict compliance
with the utensii manufacturer’s recommendations.

2) Do not subject empty utensils to microwaving. 3)
Do not permit chiidren to use piastic utensiis with-

out compiete supervision.

19. Do not use your microwave oven to dry news-

papers. if overheated, they can catch fire.

20. lfse of Shelf Accessory. To position sheif so
that it is secureiy “seated,” insert into the oven cav­ity above sheif supports and completely to the back
oven waii. Drop into piace so that the recessed
areas are over the sheif supports. To remove sheif,
lift sheif above supports and then puii forward and

out. Do not piace food on sheif uniess it is secureiy

“seated” on the supports.

21. When cooking pork either conventionally or in

the microwave oven, foiiow our directions exactly

and aiways cook the meat to at ieast 170°. This

assures that, in the remote possibility that trichina

may be present in the m~at, it wiii be kiiled and
meat wiil be safe to eat,

—

—

—

4

Get to know your microwave oven. This picture identifies the important features and explains their purpose
brief!y. See page 6 for complete explanation of the Touch Control Panel.

43’

6P.

o

1. DcmrHandle. Oven doesn’t operate unless door

is securely latched.

2. Door Latch. Push in to open door.

3. Window with Metal Shield. Screen allows cook­ing to be viewed while keeping microwaves con­fined in oven.

4. Plastic Stirrer Cover. Protects the mode stirrer

which distributes microwave energy into the oven.

5. Oven Vent.

& Oven Light. Goes on when door is opened or

when oven isoperating in any functions,

7. oven shelf.

8.Temperature Probe. Use with Temperature
Cook and Auto Roast functions only.

—

9. Receptacle for Temperature Probe, Temper­ature Probe must be securely inserted into re­ceptacle before oven will start temperature
microwaving.

’10. Shelf. Lets you microwave sev-

eral foods at once. (See Safety Tips for special
instructions,)

.—. - ———

~

II*

Time or Temperature Display. During micro­waving, shows cooking times in minutes and
seconds or temperature in degrees. When oven #
is not in use, display shows time of day.

12,

Function Display. Cooking signal lights as to
what to do next, then lets you know what func­tion is being used as well as what Power Level
or Auto Code.

13.

Clock. Oven will work without setting the clock,

but will not display correct time of day, (To set
the C~ock seethe following page.)

14.

Function Pads. Use these to select a micro-

waving method—either cooking or special func­tion-(Seb the following page for brief explana­tion of each,)

15.

Number Pads. Touch these to enter Time or

Temperature, and Power Level or Auto Code.

16.

Power Level Pad.To set or change Power Level,

touch this pad first, then number,

77.

Start. Always touch Start last after setting all

other controls,

18.

Clear/Off. Stops the oven and erases all set-

tings except time of day.

19. Auto Cook Pad, Chart helps you seiect appro­priate Code, Using codes for popular foods
eliminates looking in Cookbook for cooking
times and power level,

20, Auto Roast Pad. Use this Automatic Cooking

Control for temperature cooking of meats or
slow simmering, Temperature Probe must be
used during Auto Roast function,

/al

5

The Touch Control Panel allows you to set the oven
controls electronically with the touch of a finger. It’s

designed to be easy to use and understand, With
your_microwave ov{n, you have the option of using

your automatic cooking control pads for quick and
easy convenience cooking. Or yau may make your
own programs to suit your individualized cooking
style. -

Readout Panel. Displays time of
day, time or temperature during
cooking functions, power !evel ~
being used, cooking mode and
pertinent instructions of what to do
next.

Defrost. Gentle, more uniform ~
thawing with little or no attention at
automatic Power Level 3, or
change power level after entering

time. (See pagel 3.)

T{me Cook. Microwave for a preset
amount of time using automatic
Power Level 10 or change power
level after setting time. (See page )

14.)
Temp Cook. Use the temperature/

probe to cook by using a preset
temperature. Oven shows temper­ature until preset temperature is
reached and then turns off. (See
pagel 5.)

Clock. Touch this pad to enter time i

of day or check time of day while

microwaving. To set clock, first

touch CLOCK pad and then enter
time of day. For example, if time is

1:30, touch number pads 1, 3, and

0 and 1:30 will appear in readout
display. “Start” will flash on read­out directing you to touch START
thus setting the clock. If you wish
to reset or change time, simply re­peat above process.

/

/

Hold/Timer, This feature uses no
microwave energy while it func­tions as both a kitchen timer or as
a holding period between defrost

/

and time or temperature cooking.

(See page16.)
Power LeveL Touch this pad be-

fore entering another power level

number if you want to change from

— automatic Power Level 10 (HIGH)

for cooking or Power Level 3
(LOW) for defrosting.

- Auto Cook. Touch this pad and
then number pad for desired Code
number, and oven automatically
microwaves at pre-programmed
power levels and determines the
proper amount of
until the food is done and oven
shuts off.

Auto Roast. Insert probe, touch

-- this pad, and desired number pad
for Code to slow-cook or temper­ature cook meat with automatic
preset program.

Number Pads, Touch these pads

- to enter Time, Temperature, Power
Level, Cook Code digits, or Auto

Code.
Clear/Off. When touched, it stops

- the oven and erases all settings

except time of day.

~ Stati, Must touch this pad for oven

to begin any functions.

●cooking times

— .

6

Do

—

Microwaving with your new oven can offer a variety of easy

cooking options. From freezer-to-table ready meals, use the
AUTOMATIC COOKING CONTROL option with the fully in­structional display. The TIME COOK and TEMP COOK fea­tures are especially effective for your specialty dishes or fa­vorite recipes.

The Automatic Cooking Controi feature does your cooking
for you once you have completed the basic cooking steps

outlined in the Use and Care Book. For your cooking ease
and convenience, the Auto Cook and Auto Roast control

pads allow you to use this feature to practically do your
cooking for you. Just follow the electronic display’s step-by­step programming instructions; then let the auto sensor de­tect the food’s steam and automatically cook your meal.

With Auto Roast, meats are cooked as you desire and held
for up to one hour; for added convenience, Auto Roast Code
6 simmers and slow-cooks foods which need long, gentle
cooking for tenderizing or flavoring. This Code also holds
your dish for an unlimited amount of time at the end of
cooking.

Conventional microwaving offers additional benefits for the
cook with a creative flair. With microwave energy, foods
cook faster while retaining their natural moisture. Reheating
is easy because unusual shapes and sizes won’t be over­cooked, and defrosting is particularly convenient because
lesstime is spent in food preparation.

—

—

——

For precise cooking tasks, use the conventional microwave

features. With TIME COOK, you simply preset the time and
your oven turns off automatically. TEMP COOK, which deter­mines doneness through the internal temperature of the
cooked dish, shuts off automatically when the food reaches
apreset temperature.

Read this book to iearn the many different things your micro­wave oven can do. You wiii find a variety of cooking methods

and programs specialized to suit your individual iifestyie. We
think you wiii find microwaving the contemporary way, and
the smart way, to cook.

The readout panei dispiays five 8’s and 18 POWER on the up-

per portion and aii of the oven functions on the iower portion.
After 15 seconds, aii iights disappear and “RESET” fiashes in
the upper portion. Touch the CLEARJOFF pad and oven is

ready for use.

if power is disrupted at any time, the above sequence reoc~
curs, and you must reset CLOCK after touching CLEAR jOFF.

7

The ALNO Cook pad may be used to eliminate your

—

—

need to look up cooking time in the Cookbook, or
guessing how long to set cooking time. By actually
sensing the steam which escapes as food micro­waves, this feature automatically adjusts the oven’s
cooking time to various types and amounts of food.

Because cooking containers must be covered, this
feature is best with foods which you wish to steam
or to retain moisture. Foods which are best micro­waved uncovered or only lightly covered should be
cooked using time or temperature settings, or Cook
Code’” control.

After touching the Auto Cook pad, and pressing

Start, you will see the word AUTO on the readout,
which indicates that the sensor has been activated
to sense steam from the food. To prevent the es­cape of steam from the oven, do not open the door

the sensor detects steam from the foods. Other
Auto Cook control settings, which are for fresh or
frozen foods, need additional time after steam has
been sensed. For these foods, the oven determines
the amount of additional time needed, then auto­matically switches the oven to Time Cook for the
necessary cooking time remaining. Oven beeps

when it switches to Time Cook (AUTO on readout is

replaced by numbers indicating cooking time), and
oven door can be opened for stirring or rotating
food,
Be careful of steam when removing tight covers.

When you remove cover, direct the steam away
from hands and face.

Be sure the exterior of the cooking container and
interior of microwave oven are dry,

Always cover food containers using lids or plastic
while the word AUTO is on the readout. If door is wrap. Plastic wrap should be loose over food to
opened, ERROR appears. Close door and touch allow for expansion. Seal by pressing plastic wrap
START immediately.

Setting 1, which is designed for easy reheating of
foods, automatically turns the oven off as soon as

.

MATCH THE AMOUNT OF FOOD TO THE SIZE OF THE CONTAINER. FILL CONTAINERS AT LEAST

firmly around edges. For best results, never stretch

plastic wrap tightly over food, or use tight-sealing

plastic lids.

Always stir or rotate after beeping signal,

.

1/2FULL.

BESURE THE EXTERIOR OF THE COOKING CONTAINER AND INTERIOR OF MICROWAVE OVEN ARE DRY.

ALWAYSCOVER FOOD CONTAINERS FOR AUTO COOK AND STIR OR ROTATEAFTER i3EEPlNG SIGNAL.

~

~

I

5 q

Use microwave-safe casseroles or
bowls for entrees and vegetables,

Cover with lids that fit. If lids are not
available, use plastic wrap. Plastic
wrap should be loose over food to
allow for expansion. Sealbypressing
plastic wrap firmly around edges.

1

Do not use paper plates with auto-

matic cooking, Use microwave-safe
plates or bowls for reheating, Cover ­with plastic wrap (you can still
use paper plates with regular Time
Cooking, Defrosting, etc.).

Use oblong or square containers
for chicken or corn on the cob.
Plastic wrap covering should be

loose over food to allow for
expansion. Seal by pressing plastic
wrap firmly around edges.

Slit plastic pouches l-inch as

shown above, Break food up tho­roughly after oven signals, For al­ternate pouch method see page 22.

FrozenEntreesin PaperboardTray:

Do not remove film over tray; re­move tray from box, Thick entrees
may need longer time. See chart
on page 26. Frozen Food in Nletai
Tray: Remove foil, reinsert into
box and close ends.

Follow control panel or Automatic
Cookinq Chart settings for casse-

roles. ~over casserole meat and —
vegetables with sauce. COOI hot
ingredients or sauces, If not, use
TlfiE COOK,

-

8

Place covered food in
oven. Touch Auto Ccok
pad. “Enter Code” flashes

on readout.

Touch number pad for
desired code. Code 2
shows and “Start” flashes
on readout. Touch START.

Word AUTO shows on

readout, indicating steam
sensor” is activated. DO
NOT OPEN DOOR. MAY
AFFECT COOKING PER­FORMANCE.

Cocks&

Beep sounds when .steam
is sensed and AUTO is
replaced by cook time.
Rotate or stir food. When
done, oven beeps and
stops.

Automatic cooking codes 1through 9 are designed to Code 1, which

—give you easy automatic results with a number of

ods.

odes are arranged in lowest to highest amount of

power, For example, Code 1 gives least microwave

ooking power, Code 2 gives more power than Code

1,Code 3 increases power over Code 2 and so on.

—

reheating jobs
stew or chili use higher codes. A Cooking Chart and

recipes, starting on page 20 give many tested uses for
automatic cooking codes. Remembering that you can
adjust the power up or down by increasing or decreas-

ing the Code will give you added flexibility,

The

Another feature to give you more flexibility in Auto­matic Cooking is the preference control, which can be
used to.’’fine tune” the power of Codes 2 through 9, By
simply adding a 1after a Code, you can set the oven to
cook using 20°/0less time than the code would regu-

. . . ..

Iarly deliver. For example, if Code 4 cooks your vege-

.. - . .

tables more done than you like them, set Code 41 next
time and you will get 20°/0less cooking time,

Likewise, if you wish slightly more time than a code
delivers, add a 9 after the Code. For the vegetables in
the example above, Code 49 would provide 20°/0more

time for ;ooking than would the regular Code 4,

has the least power, is used for quick

while the longer cooking foods like

—-—

Touch Auto Cook Pad. “Enter

-ode” flashes on readout.

—

Touch number pads 4 and 1 in that
order. Code 4 shows and “Start”
flashes on readout.

9

Touch START. AUTO shows on

readout display, DC) NOT OPEN
DOOR until first oven signal, then
rotate dish 1/2 turn, Close door and

touch START to finish cooking,