ABSTRACT
The microwave oven has become a common appliance in most household kitchens and competes with the conventional range as the primary cooking device. Most consumers use microwave ovens for reheating leftovers or warming cooked/chilled food systems. Over 30 million cases of food-borne illness occur annually in the United States, of which around 15% result from inadequate cooking of foods at horne. Microwave heating also offers much potential in manufacturing of food products, as discussed in Chapter 9 of this handbook. Uneven heating of foods, irregular heating patterns in foods of varying heterogeneity, and the much shorter heating times encountered when using a microwave oven (as against conventional cooking methods) can result in survival of bacteria, even when the overall temperature in the product may appear to be adequate. Adequate holding/standing times need to be provided at the end of microwave heating to eliminate hot and cold spots and to allow for equilibration of temperatures within the food product.
