The Microwave and the Freezer

The microwave and the freezer are perfect partners. Both help to keep flavour, texture and vitamin loss in foods to a minimum and both are great time-savers as well being economical. The great advantage of using a microwave oven in combination with a freezer is that it can defrost food in a matter of minutes, eliminating the needs to pre-plan and take foods out of the freezer hours before they are required in order for them to defrost. Some foods, particularly vegetables, can even be defrosted and reheated in one action. You can also blanch small quantities of fresh vegetables in the microwave in minutes for storage in the freezer.

Use rigid containers for soups and sauces and allow room for expansion. Seal all items tightly and label. Test for flavour during reheating and add more seasoning if necessary. Seasoning flavours can diminish during freezing.

Defrosting and reheating foods

Most microwave ovens have a Defrost control which allows food to defrost slowly and evenly without danger of it drying out of cooking at the edges. If your microwave oven doesn't have a special Defrost or comparably low setting, you can simulate the Defrost control by turning the oven on to Full power for 30 seconds and then off for 1 ½ minutes. Repeat this process until the food is almost defrosted and allow it to thaw completely by standing. Even with a Defrost control, you'll find that certain, denser foods need additional resting times to prevent the edges cooking while the centre still needs to thaw out fully.

Follow the defrosting guidelines below and you should always have perfect results.

1. Defrost food in a container the same size as the block of food. If the food has too much room it will spread out as it melts and the edge will start to cook.

2. Loosen containers, but leave the food covered.

3. Break up food blocks as they start to defrost to bring frozen parts to the edges.

4. Stir suitable foods from the edge to the centre as they start to thaw.

5. Foods that cannot be stirred should be separated out, turned over and rearranged to ensure even defrosting.

6. Pies and cakes should be given a quarter turn every minute or during defrosting.

7. When defrosting food in a bag, pierce or slit the bag to prevent it bursting.

8. Flex bags during defrosting to rearrange the food inside and speed up the process.

9. Shield any delicate areas with small pieces of foil to prevent them cooking while denser parts are still thawing.

10. When defrosting frozen foods that you do not want to cook or reheat, such as soft fruit, use only the Defrost setting. If the food starts to feel warm, leave it to stand for a few minutes then continue defrosting.

11. Place breads, cakes, biscuits or pastry on a double layer of absorbent kitchen paper, so that any excess moisture is absorbed and the foods does not become soggy.

12. Vegetables can be cooked directly from the freezer without being defrosted.

13. As the defrosting process continues after foods have been removed from the oven, do not wait until foods are completely defrosted before removing them or the outer edges my start to cook.

14. Always remove food from foil containers and remove any metal ties from plastic bags before putting in the microwave to defrost.