Miele DG 2351 - Manual (Page 38)

Tips on steaming
– In general, the cooking durations for
cooking with steam are the same as
for cooking food in a saucepan.
– Steam prevents food from drying out
so it remains moist, and juices are
not lost. This applies to a wide variety
of food, including dumplings, steam
puddings, fish and meat dishes, as
well as vegetables.
– You can select any shelf level. You
can also cook on several levels at
the same time. This will not alter the
cooking duration.
– Food does not brown or get crisp
from over-cooking. It is gently
steamed, and not roasted or baked.
Cheese melts perfectly without
getting burnt. It is a healthy way of
cooking, and it brings out the distinct
flavour of the food.
– When cooking frozen food, e.g.
vegetables, ensure that any large
clumps frozen together are broken
up first so that they cook evenly. The
cooking duration is approximately
the same as for fresh vegetables.
– Frozen and fresh vegetables which
take the same length of time to cook
can be cooked together.
– Cooking with steam retains the true
taste of the food better than
conventional cooking. Food should
not therefore be seasoned until after
it has been cooked.
– Only fill solid containers with liquid
up to the lower rim.
– Dried foods like pasta and rice must
be cooked in liquid. Pasta should be
well covered with liquid. With rice,
pulses etc. the proportion of food to
liquid should be 1:1.
– When cooking noodles, follow the
manufacturer’s instructions on the
packaging regarding cooking
duration.
– Cooking liquids do not boil away.
They are either absorbed by the
food, as with rice and pasta, or they
remain in the dish to form a sauce,
as with casseroles. The sauce can
then be thickened or added to after
cooking.
– You can thicken sauces in the steam
oven by adding flour and butter to
liquid (40 g flour and 40 g butter to
0.5 litres liquid).
– Grease perforated containers
beforehand if using them to cook
fish, and solid containers if using to
cook dishes containing eggs.
– To avoid any transfer of tastes
caused by moisture dripping down
from above, solid containers should
be placed on the rack above any
perforated containers.
– Yeast dough can be put in the oven
to rise.
Select Cook Universal and reduce
the recommended temperature to
40 °C. Cover the dough.
Practical tips
38