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pots suitable for microwave cooking (was: high-iron glazes in

updated tue 14 feb 06

 

The Chapel of Art on mon 13 feb 06

microwave)

I thought the following may be useful for makers
of domestic ware as well as owners of microwave
ovens. It was written by Val Collins who was head
of the Test and Research Department of Thorn EMI
Domestic Electrical Appliances Ltd. and one of
the "country's foremost authorities" on microwave
technology.

In the section on UTENSILS:

"One of the advantages of microwave cooking is
that foods may be cooked and served in the same
dish. Also, owing to the fact that heat is
produced within the food itself, nothing burns
on, so containers are generally easier to clean
and food tends not to stick. Microwave energy is
reflected from metal, which means that aluminium,
aluminium foil, tin, copper and stainless steel
containers must NOT be used. However, microwave
energy passes through glass, pottery and china
and so, provided they have no metal trim, they
all make excellent containers when cooking in the
microwave oven.

"Some pottery and china absorb more microwave
energy which makes them less efficient. If in
doubt, it is worth checking a container by
carrying out a simple test. Place the dish in
question into the microwave together with a glass
of water. After one and a half minutes cooking
time the water should be hot and the dish cool.
If the reverse is found then the dish must not be
used. On the other hand, if the dish and the
water are both warm, then the dish could be used,
but as it is absorbing some microwave energy it
is less efficient and cooking times would be
longer. Most dishes remain cool as microwave
energy passes through them to be absorbed by the
food, but during cooking there may be some heat
transfer from the food to the dish so be careful
when handling.

"To the new microwave user, I normally recommend
sorting through the containers and dishes you
already have before embarking on the purchase of
new ones. Quite often it is possible to improvise
- most cupboards have an assortment of glass or
pottery bowls and pie dishes for fruit puddings
and crumbles. Ovenproof glass and pottery flan
dishes can be used equally well in the
conventional oven or the microwave cooker for
tarts or quiches; also oven-to-table casserole
dishes are excellent for microwave cooking.
Roasting bags and boiling bags are ideal for
cooking some foods as they can be easily shaken
or turned over to stir the contents during the
cooking process. Remember however that the wire
ties supplied with some makes must not be used.
Rubber bands or string ties make suitable
alternatives and the bag should be tied loosely
to allow some steam to escape.

SHAPES AND SIZES
Generally, the more regular the shape of the
container the better it is for even heating or
cooking. A round dish is preferable to an oval
one and a straight-sided dish better than one
which is curved. A container which is slightly
rounded at the corners rather than one with
square corners will help to percent food from
overcooking at these sharper edges. Larger,
shallow dishes are preferable to smaller, deep
ones as the greater surface area allows more
penetration of the microwave energy. It is
important to ensue that the container is large
enough to hold the food to be heated or cooked,
Pudding mixtures in particular rise extremely
well - to almost double there volume - so
remember to only half fill the container with the
uncooked mixture."

And then under the heading "Browning dishes":

With a microwave browning dish, it is possible to
prepare an entirely new range of dishes in the
microwave cooker as it enables some cooked foods
to attain the traditional golden-brown appearance
normally associated with conventionally cooed
foods. The browning dish function in a similar
way to a frying pan or frill and is capable of
browning, grilling or searing food items such as
beefburgers, steaks, chops and chicken joints:
larger joints of meat and poultry brown anyway
during their longer cooking time.

"Whether the browning dish is used as a skillet
or grill, it functions in the same way. In
appearance it is a normal glass ceramic or
Pyroflam dish but has a tin oxide coating on the
base. Unlike the remaining surface of the glass
ceramic dish which allows microwaves to pass
through, the special coating on the underside of
the browning dish absorbs microwaves when
preheated. This makes the bottom surface of the
preheated empty browning dish very hot. When
foods are placed on the hot surface, they brown
in the same way as other foods do when added to a
hot frying pan."

I do not remember ever reading an introduction to
microwave cooking or the user's manual (although
I must have done when it was a "new fangled"
addition to our kitchen back in the 1980s). It
seems to me that the principles remain the same
today and some ceramic dishes are more useful in
a microwave than others, whether they were made
by potters or not. Although it would maybe add to
the degree of "usefulness" if individual
studio-made pots were what Ms Collins calls
"efficient", I personally see no need for ALL
ceramic pots to be what some people insist on
calling "microwave safe".

Janet Kaiser -- Thankful for a little rain at
last, even though it looks and sounds
depressing... We are suffering from a serious
drought with no significant rainfall since before
Christmas!


THE CHAPEL OF ART - or - CAPEL CELFYDDYD
8 Marine Crescent : Criccieth : GB-Wales LL52 0EA

Plan visiting The International Potters Path?
Contact: Janet Kaiser
Tel: ++44 (01766) 523122
http://www.the-coa.org.uk



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