You’ll hear a lot of advice about cooking in the microwave, and some of it’s even contradictory. If you’re confused about microwave cooking, don’t worry. Many other people aren’t sure about this fast and easy food preparation method, either. Here are a few tips to help you cook in the microwave with success.

First, be sure that you use the correct plastics. Plastics work well in the microwave, and do a lot in the kitchen. But there are different plastics, and not all are heat proof. Some will deform or melt when microwaved. Others can leach toxins and harmful substances into the food inside them. That’s why it’s important only to use plastics that are meant for microwave use. Don’t reuse packaging like butter tubs in the microwave, and only heat packaged foods that have instructions for use in the microwave. If a food doesn’t have these instructions, take it out of the packaging before heating.

Cook small pieces. Food should be cut into pieces of uniform size and evenly spread in the dish you’re cooking with. While you’re cooking, you may need to turn them or rotate them. Foods that are unevenly sized should be placed with the thick parts towards the outside of the container, since outer areas cook faster than inner ones in a microwave.

Foods like vegetables that have a skin, shell, or other exterior coating should be pierced before cooking. Otherwise, steam may build up inside and cause an explosive reaction. Also, always cook in a slightly larger dish than you’d use for a conventional oven. Round or oval containers cook more evenly in a microwave, while square or rectangular containers tend to heat up too much in the corners.

If you’re using a microwave recipe, cook food for the shorter time in the range stated. While you can always add more time later, overcooked food has been ruined. If you don’t have a turntable in your microwave, stop the machine periodically to rotate food. Dishes inside your oven will be extremely hot - use an oven mitt or pad.

If you cover a food in a conventional oven, use a lid in the microwave so that moisture will be retained and cooking will occur evenly. Leave all lids slightly open so that pressure won’t build up inside the container, and lift lids carefully when you remove food. Turn the opening away from you when you do this to prevent yourself from being burned. If food needs to be salted, do this after cooking it. That’s because salt can cause microwaved foods to dry out.

If you’re baking, consider softening sticks of butter by heating them for thirty seconds on half power. If heating sour cream or heavy cream, use lower power settings to prevent curdling. If your brown sugar has gotten hard, slice an apple or put a piece of bread into a loosely covered container with the sugar. Heat for about thirty seconds to add moisture into your sugar. If you want to make bread crumbs, just microwave cubed bread until it gets stale. You can then crush the bread inside a plastic bag for easy cleanup.

Frozen meat can be separated by defrosting for thirty seconds to a minute. Then, if you wish to cook it further, arrange it evenly in the dish. You can also drain hamburger fat by microwaving the meat in a plastic colander on top of a bowl or other dish. The fat runs into the dish and out of the meat.

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