9 Tips for Best Cooking with the Commercial Microwave

Both professional chefs and home cooks love the microwave oven.  These ovens are used liberally across the globe.  Food prepared yesterday can always be reheated today in a commercial microwave. Some may turn up their noses at reheated microwave food, but the convenience cannot be beat! Here are some tips for using your commercial microwave oven to its fullest potential.

1. When microwaving breads, it’s always best to cover them in a commercial microwave, else they’ll turn out hard and crumbly.
2. While you’re at it, it is best cover all of the foods that you put into the microwave.  A clean dish towel will do the trick.  If you’re covering bowls of liquid, you will reduce the amount of splattering.
3. Don’t operate your commercial microwave with nothing in it.  When left to go around the chamber, there is the possibility that the energy may overheat other parts of the appliance.
4. Microwaves work by agitating water in food. For some foods, a steam hole is necessary to prevent an explosion. Use a fork or knife to stab potatoes and other foods which have a thick surface. (Admittedly, I love an exploded hot dog now and again.)
5. Stop the microwave around halfway into the cycle to rotate defrosting food.  The heat within a microwave is often not distributed evenly. By rotating, you can make sure that the food has no frozen spot.
6. Metal.  Just say no to metal objects in the microwave.  Metal causes reflection within the microwave, bouncing the heat back to the unit. From this, there is the possibility of explosion and malfunctions within the microwave itself.
7. If you’re putting many things into the microwave, make sure to spread them out within the box.  They’ll heat a little more evenly.
8. Microwaves have deceptively short cooking times.  There are very few foods which need to be microwaved more than ten minutes, and most are pretty good with about four or five.  If you think that something’s done, then it probably is. However, if you are cooking a lot of food, you may have to adjust higher than you think.
9. Don’t use your microwave if you’re seeing warping or there’s other damage to the machinery.  That can indicate a sign of trouble, and that you’re not going to get the best cook on the device.

When you’re using a commercial microwave, always be careful, as there is the chance for malfunction.  Otherwise, happy cooking!