Microwave ovens have to be used with extreme care and safety measures while cooking/preparing food in it. Given below is a collection of smart and useful tips in order to make your microwave cooking more effective and efficient, helping it to taste better and prepare good appetizing food.

- Cooking time is usually associated to the quantity of the food to be cooked. More the food, longer will it take to cook.

- Always undercook the food a bit (just a bit less than completely cooked) since food cooked in a microwave oven cooks additionally during the standing time. Standing time is the period when the food is kept sheltered to finish the cooking process. It utilizes the remaining heat to cook the food more.

-  Remove the lid or cover from the hot microwave food (heated) by lifting it from the boundary of the dish, away from your body, to avoid being burnt by the hot steam.

-  For constant and even cooking, always organize the items in a circular pattern so that they collect equal amount of energy.

-  If the items are of irregular mass then the thicker items should be positioned at the outer border of the dish, where they will be able to collect extra energy.

-  It’s not set but as a principle, cooking in a round shaped dish produces a good quality result.

-  Dense, thick and solid food items may perhaps take extra time to cook.

-  During reheating of the food, always cover the lid to preserve moisture. Put an absorbent napkin, beneath the food items, especially for dry items that run the risk of becoming moist. Let the reheated food stand in the oven for sometime before removing it.

-  Whenever you use the Combination microwave mode (offered in certain oven models), always bear in mind that the food container gets pretty heated. So, keep your hand gloves ready for use.

-  To dry herbs for storage, position the sprigs in-between few paper towels and heat them until the herbs can be crushed and grinded.

-  To lighten or blanch the almonds, take one cup of water to a boiling point for about two or three minutes on HIGH (100%). Add the nuts to the water and let them cook for one minute. Drain off the entire water content. The thin skin should peel off easily.

-  To roast a coconut, spread it in an even layer on a plate and heat it on MEDIUM (70%) for one whole minute, flipping it two times with forks. Let it cool and store it in an airtight jar.

-  To roast nuts, spread the nuts on a ceramic plate. Add salt or any other spices (to flavor, if necessary) and cook on HIGH (100%) for two minutes. Stir two times while microwaving and do not permit it to brown too much. They will get the dark brown shade as they cool.

-  To crisp biscuits, nuts, chips, etc, put them on a plate and heat on HIGH (100%) for one minute and allow it to stand for five minutes.

-  To warm and revive the freshness of breads, rolls or cakes, envelop them in a paper towel and heat on HIGH (100%) for fifteen to twenty minutes.

-  To create bread crumbs for toppings and coatings, slice the bread into many small cubical shapes and heat them for five minutes on HIGH (100%). Allow them to stand for five minutes. Cool and crush them in a mixer or a food processor.

-  If you fail to remember to soak pulses, lentils, beans, the previous night, do not despair. Put them in water in a large bowl and heat on HIGH (100%) for about ten minutes to bring it to a boiling point. Allow the pulses to boil for two more minutes and then leave it to stand for one hour. The pulses will cook quicker.

-  To peel the skin of tomatoes easily, put them in one cup of water, uncovered on HIGH (100%) for two to three minutes till it boils. Then place them in a bowl of cold water and peel off the skin.

-  To cook potatoes, put them in a dish half-filled with water. Cover and cook on HIGH (100%) for approximately five minutes and then allow standing time for five minutes. Drain the water, let them cool and peel off the skin.

-  To let air circulate beneath breads, cakes and pastry shells put them on a holder or inverted saucer. This permits the base to be exposed and cooks more consistently.

-  Food items like potatoes and sausages should be pierced with a sharp tool, similar to fork or tip of knife, to avoid bursting of steam built up inside.

-  Surplus juice released from the food items, during cooking and heating, can slow down cooking process because it will draw more microwave energy. Remove the surplus juice at some point in cooking and reinforce yet again if required.

-  High fats and sugar items will normally cook faster than the water based products as fat and sugar absorbs energy very quickly.

-  Do not ever boil eggs in the microwave oven. Do not reheat boiled eggs in microwave oven if the shells are removed. For poaching/steaming/frying the eggs, break them, prick the yolk and then cook.

Credit: Onestopsolver