Bl6—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 6,1984
THE
MICRO
m
LANI
BLOOMER
Brash up on food coverings
Many people have questions
about covering food in a
microwave: so here’s the low
down on microwave cover ups.
Covering food when you cook it
in a microwave will do several
things, depending on the type of
covering you choose. All coverings
hold heat around the food so it
cooks a little more evenly. Some
coverings also trap steam around
the food to steam the food as it
cooks. And some covers absorb
moisture or grease.
Here is a list of the various
coverings you might use in your
microwave, and an explanation of
what they do. Choose a covering
for your food to fit the type of food
you are cooking, and how you want
it to cook.
A casserole lid: A tightly fitting
lid will keep the heat and moisture
(steam) around your food so it
heats quickly and remains very
moist and damp. Use it for
steaming vegetables, cooking pot
roasts, stews, rice, pasta, and
casseroles where food needs to
tenderize or absorb moisture as it
cooks.
Plastic Wrap: Plastic wrap is
used for the same purpose as a
casserole lid to keep the heat
and steam around your food. It can
be used to cover dishes and serving
bowls that have no lids. Use it for
the same foods mentioned above,
and do not use it unless you want
your food to be steamed.
Plastic wrap may melt from the
heat of steam or the food it
touches. When you use plastic
wrap, try to keep it from touching
the food by wrapping it over the top*
of the dish containing the food. It
melts easily of it touches the fat on
meat because fat gets very hot.
Microwaves will not melt the
plastic wrap, the heat from the
food does this.
If you have trouble with plastic
wrap melting, switch to either the
new Reynolds Plastic Wrap or
Saran Wrap. These two brands of
plastic wrap are made of a dif
ferent type of plastic than other
(cheaper) brands, and will not
melt as quickly.
Many cookbooks or recipes will
tell you to “vent” a comer of the
plastic covering. This is to prevent
a tightly sealed container from
“exploding” from the pressure of
steam building up inside it.
Oven Cooking Bags: These
would be used like a casserole with
a lid, or like plastic wrap: Use
when you want to steam food or
simmer it so moist heat can ten
derize tough food. Be sure you do
not seal the opening with a metal
twist tie (it causes arcing). Seal
the open end with a plastic fastener
or cut a strip off the open end of the
bag and tie it shut. Leaving the
opening loosely dosed will “vent”
the bag.
Waxed Paper: When you cover
food with waxed paper, it holds m
some of the heat from the food, so
foods cook more evenly than when
left uncovered. It lets most of the
steam escape from around the
food, so food is not steamed. It also
cuts down on spatters in the oven.
Commercial waxed paper is so
thinly waxed that the wax, if any
should get on your food, is not
noticeable or harmful. (Other
types of waxed products, such as
milk cartons or waxed product
coverings should not be
cooking.)
Used waxed paper for covering
roasts, poultry and other tender
meats you are roasting; for
covering food you are reheating,
and for covering bar cookies. Use
it for casseroles you would cook
uncovered in your range oven.
Paper Towels or Napkins: As a
top covering, these are about the
same as waxed paper, but they will
also absorb moisture from the
food. Use these coverings to reduce
spattering in the oven. They may
also be used underneath food to
absorb grease from foods like
bacon or hamburgers.
A good use for paper towels is to
use them for trapping steam that
makes bread products soggy. For
hot sandwiches or hotdogs; warm
the meat alone, then put it in the
roll or bread and wrap in a paper
towel. Then heat briefly again until
it is not. This two step techniques
keeps the bread from getting
overcooked (hard), and prevents
sogginess.
Aluminum Foil: Never com-
Fall is the best time to establish
a new lawn, according to Penn
State extension agronomist Jack
Harper. There is less competition
from weeds and the grass has two
cool seasons, fall and spring, to
develop an extensive root system
before the hot summer months.
Most turfgrass varieties in Penn
sylvania grow best in cool weather.
There are several important
steps to take to establish good
turfgrass. Begin by having the soil
tested to determine its lime and
fertilizer requirements. Then
rough grade the area to remove all
debris and large stones. Apply
lime and basic fertilizers
(phosphorus and potassium) ac
cording to the soil test recom
mendations. If you plan to apply
composted organic matter, spread
it evenly on the surface at this
point.
Incorporate all of the materials
added to a depth of 4 to 6 inches
with a rotovator. You can establish
the final grade and remove small
stones by hand or machine raking.
Select high-quality seed of a
turfgrass variety suited to your
specific climate and site. Divide
seed into two equal parts. Using a
mechanical seeder or spreader,
sow one-half of the seed in one
pletely cover food with foil that you
are cooking in your microwave.
Microwaves can’t penetrate foil, so
the food would not cook (and you’d
probably ruin your oven!).
However, you can use foil as a
“shield” to protect small areas of
food from overcooking. Cover the
corners of square baking pans, the
ends of drumsticks and wings on
poultry, and the edges of roasts.
Use shielding when you are
defrosting too, if one area starts to
thaw too quickly.
When you use foil for shielding,
keep the pieces of foil small. Keep
the foil in the center of the oven, over
one inch away from the walls
or door. Do not let foil touch other
metal, such as an oven rack or TV
dinner tray. And when you turn the
power on, look through the window
to make sure there is no arcing
(sparks) from the foil. If you see
arcing, stop the oven immediately
and reposition or remove the foil.
Well, that’s about it as far as
coverings go, but I bet you have
one more question: “Should I
cover everything I cook in the
microwave?” No, but most things
cook more evenly if covered with
one of the coverings explained
above.
used for
Foods that are stirred
frequently, such as scrambled
eggs, puddings, gravy, etc. do not
need to be not be covered. Also, I
do not like to cover cakes I bake in
the microwave, though many
directions say to do so. When I
cover cakes, the top cooks more
quickly than the bottom and it is
difficult to tell when they are done.
Foods like roasts, poultry or
casseroles that are loosely covered
will be slightly moister than when
left uncovered. Leave these un
covered for a drier surface.
Copyright 19*4, Loot Bloomer.
direction and the other half at right
angles to the first to assure
complete coverage.
After seeding, rake or drag the
area lightly to cover the seed. Do
not cover the seed deeper than 1/4
inch, roll the area lightly to firm
the soil around the seed.
Finally, mulch the area with
clean straw or marsh hay. You
may leave light mulches on to
decompose, but remove heavy
mulches as soon as the grass
germinates. Water the area during
dry spells of 10 days 6r more.
To help you become an expert in
all areas of lawn care, you can
send for a copy of Dr. Harper’s
correspondence course titled,
“Lawn Care”, to get the course,
you send $9.00, including handling,
to LAWN CARE, Dept. 5000,
University Park, PA 16802. Make
check payable to PENN STATE.
■HAD
LANCASTER
FARMING
FOR COMPLETE
AND
UP-TO-DATE
MARKET
REPORTS
See your nearest 1
HOLLAIND
Dealer for Dependable
Equipment and Dependable
Service:
Alexandria, PA
Clapper Farm
Equipment
Star Route
814-669-4465
Annville, PA
B H M.Farm
Equipment, Inc
RD. 1
717-867-2211
Beavertown, PA
B&R Farm
Equipment, Inc
RD 1, 80x217A
717-658-7024
Belleville, Pa.
IvanJ Zook
Farm Equipment
Belleville, Pa
717-935-2948
Carlisle, PA
Paul Shovers, Inc
35 East Willow Street
717-243-2686
Chambersburg, PA
Clugston
Implement, Inc
R D 1
717-263-4103
Oavidsburg, PA
George N. Gross, Inc
R D 2, Dover, PA
717-292-1673
Elizabethtown, PA
Messick Farm
Equipment, Inc
Rt 283 - Rheem’s Exit
717-367-1319
Everett. PA
C Paul Ford & Son
RDI
814-652-2051
Gettysburg, PA
Ymghng Implements
RD.9
717-359-4848
Greencastle, PA
Meyers
Implement's Inc.
400 N Antrim Way
PO Box 97
717-597-2176
Grove City, PA
McDowell Farm
Implement Co
Rt 173 North
814-786-7955
Halifax, PA
Sweigard Bros
RD 3, Box 13
717-896-3414
Hamburg, PA
Shartlesville
Farm Service
RD 1, Box 170
215-488-1025
Honey Brook, PA
Dependable Motor Co
East Mam Street
215-273-3131
215 273-3737
Honey Grove, PA
Norman D Clark
& Son, Inc
Honey Grove, PA
717-734-3682
Hughesvjlle, PA
Farnsworth Farm
Supplies, Inc
103 Cemetery Street
717-584-2106
Lancaster, PA
L H Brubaker, Inc
350 Strasburg Pike
717 397-5179
Lebanon, PA
Keller Bros
Tractor Co
RD 7, Box 405
717-949-6501
Lititz, PA
Roy A Brubaker
700 Woodcrest Av
717-626-7766
Loysville, PA
Paul Shovers, Inc
Loysville, PA
717-789-3117
Lynnport, PA
Kermit K Kistler, Inc
Lynnport, PA
215-298-2011
Martinsburg, PA
Forshey’s, Inc
HOForsheySt
814-793-3791
Mill Hall, PA
Paul A Dotterer
RD 1
717-726-3471
New Holland, PA
ABC Groff, Inc
110 South Railroad
717-354-4191
New Park, PA
M&R Equipment Inc
P O Box 16
717-993-2511
Oley, PA
C J Wonsidler Bros
RD 2
215-987-6257
Pitman, PA
Marlin W Schreffler
Pitman, PA
717-648-1120
Quakertown, PA
C J. Wonsidler Bros
RD 1
215-536-1935
Quarryville, PA
C E Wiley & Son, Inc
101 South Lime Street
717-786-2895
Ringtown, PA
„ Ringtown Farm
Equipment
Ringtown, PA
717-889-3184
Silverdale, PA
I G Sales
Box 149
215-257-5135
Tamaqua, PA
Charles S. Snyder, Inc.
■RD.3
717-386-5945
Troy, PA
Warner Tractor
& Equipment, Inc
Troy, PA
717-297 2141
West Chester, PA
M S Yearsley & Son
114-116 East
Market Street
215-696-2990
West Grove, PA
S G Lewis & Son, Inc
R D 2, Box 66
215-869 2214
Churchville, MD
Walter G Coale, Inc
2849-53
Churchville Rd
301 734-7722
Rising Sun, MD
Ag Ind
Equipment Co, Inc
1207 Telegraph Rd
301-398-6132
301 658-5568
215-869 3542
Washington, NJ
Frank Rymon & Sons
201-689-1464
Woodstown, NJ
Owen Supply Co
Broad Street &
East Avenue
609-769-0308