diy rack for oven problem

 


When making casseroles in the microwave combination oven, I try to fill the
oven right up;  so as to be frugal with electricity.

Although some casserole dishes come with lids, I find that these fairly
close fitting lids usually create a build up of pressure and some of the
liquid then squirts out, all over the place.

To utilise all available oven space it means stacking two casserole dishes
one on top of the other.  Using a normal oven this would be simple to do
(bearing in mind I'm not using lids)  by using a metal rack on the lower one
to support the upper one.

But when using the combination feature (which I find usefully lessons the
cooking time) both normal heating and microwave are used "together". So when
the microwave is on,  a metal rack cannot be used.

We have been trying to think of a means of supporting one casserole dish on
top of another one ( the top one usually a smaller diameter ) by means of
something that will tolerate microwaves and the hotter temperatures using
the normal oven heating element.  Does such a thing exist anywhere for this
purpose, or what might be some neat way to solve this problem?   Thanks for
advice.

 

On Wed, 4 Nov 2009 13:56:19 -0000


Let's get this straight... you are trying to think of a creative way to
save about .0000000000002 pennies worth of electricity?  C'mon, be
serious now... is this a troll?  -Dave

 

On Wed, 4 Nov 2009, Dave C. wrote:


No, problem solving can be cheap.

But in the original question, there is the assumption that filling the
microwave saves money.  I'm not so sure, since the more you put in, the
longer it takes to heat up, and hence electricity use increases.  The
advantage of smaller portions at a time is that you can better control how
it cooks, and it's certainly easier to open the door, take the lid off one
package and stir (when stirring is needed) than to deal with a full oven.

So in order for the need for some sort of rack, one first has to see if
there really is a savings from filling up that microwave, or is it
basically the same electricity useage cooking things separately.

    Michael

 

Michael Black wrote:

Full does however reduce the inevitable losses, most obviously
heating the oven itself, particularly if he uses the convention
part at all, but even if he only uses it in microwave mode.


Yes. But if you are into documenting the batches properly,
you should be able to get the detail right so you dont need
to inspect and adjust with the later batches with most food.


Thats unlikely.

 

wrote:


These nut cases appear every so often.  To store all of those
casseroles, he needs a large freezer... when the freezer is empty,
he's wasting electricity.  It's a cycle he hasn't give much thought
to.  Being frugal doesn't mean being cheap, it just means don't waste.
However, he's taking the concept to the point of being a cheapskate.
I wonder if he reuses toilet paper?

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.