iCooked Meal Heating Instructions

iCooked Meal Heating Instructions

Sep 13, 2024Stephen Dummett

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.

We always encourage you to heat it in the oven for best results but as previously stated, we know you don’t always have the time or inclination to do that.  So, the microwave is the next best option.  The key message that we hope you get out of this article is that the heating instructions on the packaging are for the defrosted meal.  Therefore, you will need to make the appropriate adjustments to compensate for the frozen state of the meal to ensure the quality of the meal is maintained.

 

More articles