How to Find Microwave Oven Recipes

Cooking in a microwave oven is a fast, easy way to prepare a large number of foods. Microwave cooking requires less oil and water than many other methods of cooking, and you'll keep more of the nutrients, too. For instance, spinach that's been cooked in a microwave oven keeps almost all the folate that was originally present.

Folate is a vital nutrient, also known as vitamin B9. It prevents anemia in pregnant women, and it helps us with cell division and correct DNA division. If you cook spinach on the stove, it could lose almost eighty percent of this nutrient. Foods that may develop carcinogenic materials than cooked on the stove, like bacon, develop many fewer of these substances when cooked in the microwave, too.

However, finding good microwave cooking recipes can be challenging. There are lots of recipes out there, but they won't all work for your oven, or turn out well. It takes some work to collect a set of high quality microwave oven recipes that taste good and are good for you. Fortunately, there are ways to sift through the vast number of microwave recipes out there and find the good ones. Here are some tips.

There are a number of different places you can start looking for microwave oven recipes. There are lots to be found online, or you could check cooking magazines and microwave cooking books from your library or bookstore. If you've never done much more than heat up a TV dinner in your microwave, start with a relatively simple recipe. Different microwaves require different things while cooking, so you'll have to learn yours. If you have the manual available, that will help a lot.

Once you've found a recipe that you think you'd like to try, examine it closely. See if you can find out what oven wattage the recipe is intended for. Many microwave oven recipes are made for a seven hundred watt oven. However, microwave ovens vary between around three hundred and fourteen hundred watts. Cooking a recipe meant for a different wattage could result in an under or over cooked food item.

If your recipe is meant for a different oven, look online for a conversion chart that'll tell you what kind of cooking time changes to make in order to prevent problems. If you don't know what your oven wattage is, there are charts to help you find that, too. They're based on how long it takes to boil water. Once you know your oven's power, you'll have a lot more control over cooking.

Oven features can be important when it comes to finding microwave oven recipes that'll work with your machine, too. For instance, while many microwaves now come with turntables that let food cook evenly, not all models have these. If your oven doesn't turn food automatically, you'll need to stop at various points during the cooking process to rotate it. That will keep your food from having some spots that are overcooked and others that are underdone or even cold.

Remember that while cooking in your microwave requires a lot less oil or water, these agents can affect the flavor and texture of food. Be prepared for a very low fat or low moisture microwave recipe to taste or feel a little different than a conventionally cooked one. You may wish to adjust recipes after you've tried them initially. The more experience you get with microwave cooking, the better you'll get at deciding the best way to change a recipe.

Robert G. Knechtel operates a number of websites devoted to information and sales of kitchen related appliances and products, including a site covering Microwave Oven Auctions which also has an auction specifically for countertop microwaves.