KitchenAid 30" Combination Wall Oven with Even-Heat™ True Convection (Lower Oven) Use & Care Manual
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Cooking Guidelines
Covering
Covering food helps retain moisture, shorten cook time, and
reduce spattering. Use the lid supplied with cookware. If a
lid is not available, wax paper, paper towels, or plastic wrap
approved for microwave ovens may be used. Plastic wrap
should be turned back at one corner to provide an opening
to vent steam. Condensation on the door and cavity surfaces
is normal during heavy cooking.
Stirring and Turning
Stirring and turning redistribute heat evenly to avoid
overcooking the outer edges of food. Stir from outside
to center. If possible, turn food over from bottom to top.
Arranging
If heating irregularly shaped or different-sized foods, arrange
the thinner parts and smaller-sized items toward the center.
If cooking several items of the same size and shape, place
them in a ring pattern, leaving the center of the ring empty.
Piercing
Before heating, use a fork or small knife to pierce or prick foods
that have a skin or membrane, such as potatoes, egg yolks,
chicken livers, hot dogs, and sausage. Prick in several places
to allow steam to vent.
Shielding
Use small, flat pieces of aluminum foil to cover the thin pieces
of irregularly shaped foods, bones, and foods such as chicken
wings, leg tips, and fish tails. See “Aluminum Foil and Metal”
first.
Standing Time
Food will continue to cook by the natural conduction of heat
even after the microwave cooking cycle ends. The length of
standing time depends on the volume and density of the food.
Turntable On/Off
For best performance, the turntable should be on during
microwave cooking.
If using oversized cookware that does not turn freely on the
microwave turntable, turn the turntable Off. To turn off the
turntable, touch TURNTABLE ON/OFF. When cooking with
the turntable off, food should be turned halfway through the
cooking process.
NOTE: The turntable cannot be turned off during any auto
cooking cycle.
A magnetron in the oven produces microwaves which reflect
off the metal floor, walls, and ceiling and pass through the
turntable and appropriate cookware to the food. Microwaves
are attracted to and absorbed by fat, sugar, and water
molecules in the food, causing them to move, producing
friction and heat which cooks the food.
■
To avoid damage to the microwave oven, do not lean on
or allow children to swing on the microwave oven door.
■
To avoid damage to the microwave oven, do not operate
microwave oven when it is empty.
■
The turntable must be in place and correct side up when
microwave oven is in use. Do not use if turntable is chipped
or broken. See “Assistance or Service” section to reorder.
■
Baby bottles and baby food jars should not be heated in
microwave oven.
■
Clothes, flowers, fruit, herbs, wood, gourds, paper,
including brown paper bags and newspaper, should not be
dried in microwave oven.
■
Paraffin wax will not melt in the microwave oven because
it does not absorb microwaves.
■
Use oven mitts or pot holders when removing containers
from microwave oven.
■
Do not overcook potatoes. At the end of the recommended
cook time, potatoes should be slightly firm. Let potatoes
stand for 5 minutes. They will finish cooking while standing.
■ Do not cook or reheat whole eggs inside the shell.
Steam buildup in whole eggs may cause them to burst.
Cover poached eggs and allow a standing time.
Food Characteristics
When microwave cooking, the amount, size and shape,
starting temperature, composition, and density of the food
affect cooking results.
Amount of Food
The more food heated at once, the longer the cook time
needed. Check for doneness and add small increments of time
if necessary.
Size and Shape
Smaller pieces of food will cook more quickly than larger
pieces, and uniformly shaped foods cook more evenly than
irregularly shaped food.
Starting Temperature
Room temperature foods will heat faster than refrigerated
foods, and refrigerated foods will heat faster than frozen foods.
Composition and Density
Foods high in fat and sugar will reach a higher temperature, and
will heat faster than other foods. Heavy, dense foods, such as
meat and potatoes, require a longer cook time than the same
size of a light, porous food, such as cake.
BUILT-IN MICROWAVE OVEN USE