Handling, Storing and Preparing Frozen Microwaveable Foods
Q: Why do I need to keep frozen food products frozen?
A: Unless the package instructions state otherwise, frozen microwaveable products must be kept frozen until you are ready to prepare them for both food safety and product quality reasons. For example, if a ready-to-cook product is thawed before use, it could give any bacteria present in raw ingredients time to multiply. It also is best to avoid partially thawing and re-freezing foods. This causes moisture to be lost from the product and lead to the formation of ice crystals. The moisture loss indicated by ice formation may affect how the product cooks as well as the overall quality. Ideally, frozen foods should be placed in a freezer at 0°F as soon as they’re brought home from the store and kept there until used.
Q: Why is it so important to carefully follow preparation instructions?
A: Although some microwaveable food products only require heating before consumption (“ready-to-heat”), some products contain raw ingredients that must be cooked (“ready-to-cook”). For these, making sure the product reaches an appropriately safe temperature is vital for optimum safety. Food product manufacturers create preparation instructions specifically to produce optimum product quality and safety. These instructions may include specific cooking and standing times to achieve the desired result. Any deviations could result in a food that has residual bacteria or simply is not as high quality as it could be.
Q: What is “standing time” and how important is it?
A: Cooking instructions on ConAgra Foods’ products include standing times because it’s actually a part of the cooking process. Some foods need this additional cooking time to ensure that a product is thoroughly cooked for safety and quality. This also allows the product to achieve optimum quality without overcooking.
Q: What is the wattage of my oven and why is it important?
A: The higher the wattage of a microwave oven, the faster it will cook food. For optimum food safety, it’s important to know the wattage of your oven in order to adjust cooking times, if necessary. If you have a very low wattage oven, it may even be best not to prepare certain foods in your microwave, and you should use conventional methods instead.
If you don’t know the wattage of your microwave oven, look on the inside of the oven’s door, on the serial number plate on the back of the oven, or in the owner’s manual. If you still can’t find the wattage, you should contact the manufacturer of your microwave.
One way to estimate the wattage of your microwave oven, is to do a “Time-to-Boil” test.*
Measure a cup of water in a 2-cup glass measure. Add ice cubes and stir until the water is ice cold. Discard ice cubes and pour out water until you are left with 1 cup. Set the microwave on high for four minutes and watch the water through the window to see when it boils.
- If water boils in less than 2 minutes, it is a very high wattage oven 1,000 watts or higher.
- If water boils in 2 1/2 minutes, it is a high wattage oven about 800 watts or higher.
- If water boils in 3 minutes, it is an average wattage oven 650 to 700 watts or higher.
- If water boils in more than 3 minutes or not by 4 minutes, it is a slow oven 300 to 500 watts.
* Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Q: How should I check the temperature of microwaved foods?
A: You can use an ordinary food thermometer to check if your food has reached a safe internal temperature. Unless the food thermometer is labeled safe for microwave cooking, do not leave it in the food during microwaving. Instead, use an instant read food thermometer to test the temperature of the food after removing it from the microwave oven.
Check the food’s temperature after the cooking time and standing time, if any, have elapsed. Make sure to insert the thermometer into different locations within the food to make sure the proper temperature has been reached throughout.
For a list of safe cooking temperatures, visit
www.FightBac.org or download their
brochure.
Q: What should I do if I don’t eat the entire food product and want to save it?
A: Follow food safety guidelines as you would for any other food. Transfer to a clean storage container and refrigerate within two hours. Don’t save and reuse the microwaveable container that came with your food product to heat other foods. Discard them when you’re finished with them.
Learn more about other microwave food safety topics:
FAQ Introduction & Food Safety Fundamentals
Microwave Oven Basics
Handling, Storing and Preparing Frozen Microwaveable Foods
Preparing Popcorn in a Microwave
