Panasonic NNCS894S Operating Guide

Page of 144
18
Microwaving principles
Microwave energy has been used in this 
country to cook and reheat food since early 
experiments with RADAR in World War II.
Microwaves are present in the atmosphere all 
the time, both naturally and from manmade 
sources. Manmade sources include radar, 
radio, television, telecommunication links and 
mobile phones.
Oven cavity
Base of 
the oven
Stirrer motor
Waveguide
Microwave
stirrer 
Magnetron
In a microwave oven, electricity is converted 
into microwaves by the MAGNETRON. For 
bottom feeding, please refer to page 29.
REFLECTION
The microwaves bounce off the metal walls 
and the metal door screen.
TRANSMISSION
Then they pass through the cooking containers 
to be absorbed by the water molecules in the 
food, all foods contain water to a more or lesser 
extent.
 
 Important notes
The dish used to cook or reheat the food 
will get warm during cooking, as the heat 
conducts from the food. Even in 
microwaving, oven gloves are required!
MICROWAVES CAN NOT PASS THROUGH 
METAL AND THEREFORE METAL 
COOKING UTENSILS CAN NEVER BE 
USED IN A MICROWAVE, FOR COOKING 
ON MICROWAVE ONLY.
How microwaves cook food
The microwaves cause the water molecules 
to vibrate which causes FRICTION, i.e. 
HEAT. This heat then cooks the food. 
Microwaves are also attracted to fat and 
sugar particles, and foods high in these will 
cook more quickly. Microwaves can only 
penetrate to a depth of 4-5 cm (1½-2 inches) 
and as heat spreads through the food by 
conduction, just as in a traditional oven, the 
food cooks from the outside inwards.
Foods not suitable for cooking by 
microwave only
Yorkshire pudding and souffl es. This is 
because these foods rely on dry external 
heat to cook correctly, do not attempt to cook 
by microwave.
Foods that require deep fat frying cannot be 
cooked either.
Standing time
When a microwave oven is switched off, the 
food will continue to cook by conduction – 
NOT BY MICROWAVE ENERGY. Hence 
STANDING TIME is very important in 
microwaving, particularly for dense foods i.e. 
meat, cakes and reheated meals (refer to 
page 20).
 
 Boiled eggs
Do not boil eggs in your microwave. Raw 
eggs boiled in their shells can explode and 
cause serious injury.
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2014/4/1   9:45:31