LG 85059 Owner's Manual

12

• If you increase or decrease the amount of food 

you prepare, the time it takes to cook that food 

will also change. For example, if you double a 

recipe, add a little more than half the original 

cooking time. Check for readiness and, if 

necessary, add more time in small increments.

• The lower the temperature of the food being 

put into the microwave oven, the longer it takes 

to cook. Food at room temperature will reheat 

quicker than food at refrigerator temperature.

• Food with a lot of fat and sugar will heat faster 

than food containing a lot of water. Fat and sugar 

will also reach a higher temperature than water in 

the cooking process.

• The more dense the food, the longer it takes to 

heat. “Very dense” food, like meat, takes longer to 

heat than lighter, more porous food, like sponge 

cakes.

• Smaller pieces of food will cook faster than larger 

pieces. Also, same shaped pieces cook more 

evenly than differently shaped pieces.

• With foods that have different thicknesses, the 

thinner parts will cook faster than the thicker 

parts. Place the thinner parts of chicken wings and 

legs in the center of the dish.

• Stirring and turning foods spreads heat quickly to 

the center of the dish and avoids overcooking at 

the outer edges of the food.

Cover food to reduce splattering, shorten cooking 

times, and keep food moist.
You can use any covering that lets microwaves pass

through. See “Getting to Know Your Microwave

Oven” for materials that microwaves will  

pass through.

• Several foods (for example: baked potatoes, 

sausages, egg yolks, and some fruits) are tightly 

covered by a skin or membrane. Steam can build 

up under the membrane during cooking, causing 

the food to burst. To relieve the pressure and 

to prevent bursting, pierce these foods before 

cooking with a fork, cocktail pick, or toothpick.

• Always allow food to stand, either in or out of 

the oven, after cooking power stops. Standing 

time after defrosting and cooking allows the 

temperature to evenly spread throughout the 

food, improving the cooking results. For inside 

oven standing time, you can program “ 0 ” power 

second stage of the cooking cycle. See Two-Stage 

Cooking.

• The length of the standing time depends on how 

much food you are cooking and how dense it is. 

Sometimes it can be as short as the time it takes 

to remove the food from the oven and take it to 

the serving table. However, with a larger, denser 

food item, the standing time may be as long as 10 

minutes.

For best results, place food evenly on the plate. You

can do this in several ways:
• If you are cooking several items of the same 

food, such as baked potatoes, place them in a 

ring pattern for uniform cooking.

thickness, such as chicken breasts, place the 

smaller or thinner area of the food towards the 

center of the dish where it will be heated last.

• Layer thin slices of meat on top of each other.
• When you cook or reheat whole fish, score the 

skin – this prevents cracking.

• Do not let food or a container touch the top or 

sides of the oven. This will prevent possible arcing. 

Arcing is a spark that can cause damage to the 

oven interior.