iCooked Meal Heating Instructions

Sometimes we get feedback (which is very welcome and encouraged) that our customer has had a less than satisfactory eating experience.  After further investigation, we learn that they have overheated the meal in their microwave.  This is particularly relevant for meat dishes.  Chef Terri recommends that you avoid the high-power microwave setting for heating your iCooked meals.  She said it may destroy the texture and hence make it tough to eat.  The medium setting is what she uses for reheating purposes.

As stated on the packaging, for best results; defrost in the fridge before heating.  This is the difficult part; we rarely know what we feel like in 24 hours’ time and many of our customers use iCooked meals as their emergency go-to meal in the freezer.  We know you don’t always have the luxury of the defrost time.  Most microwaves have an automated defrost function which we encourage you to use. 

The microwave heating instructions on the packaging are for the defrosted meal.  The author of this article recently travelled to Roma and enjoyed the iCooked Roast Chicken meal in his hotel room for dinner and was surprised that he had to zap his meal for 6 minutes when the instructions only asked for 3 to 4 minutes.  I neglected to consider that the meal was frozen when I put it into the microwave.  Lesson learned, which is why I am sharing this with you.  My dinner was delicious, especially the roast vegetables, but I incrementally added more time to the microwave and tested frequently to ensure the meal was heated thoroughly.

Some meals suggest removing the plastic film from the top of the package and some suggests that you pierce the plastic film.  Some meals prefer the build up of steam to assist with the heating and some such as the bakes don’t.