Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is Ready, Set, Gourmet a fresh or frozen product?
A: Ready, Set, Gourmet works as both a fresh or frozen product, ready for you to pull out of your refrigerator or freezer and pop into the microwave. Just follow the cooking directions as fresh and frozen meals have different cooking times.

Q: How long will my Ready, Set, Gourmet meal stay fresh once I get it home?
A: Each fresh Ready, Set, Gourmet meal has a 5 day shelf life; we recommend eating your meal as close as possible to the purchase date in order to enjoy maximum quality. Frozen Ready, Set, Gourmet meals will last up to 30 days in your freezer.

Q: Can I freeze my fresh Ready, Set, Gourmet meal if I don’t have time to eat it?
A: Although you will find fresh Ready, Set, Gourmet meals in the refrigerated section of your local grocery store, you can store them in the freezer once you get home. Just follow the frozen meal cooking directions when you are ready to enjoy your meal.

Q: How should I cook my Ready, Set, Gourmet meal?
A: Ready, Set, Gourmet is designed to cook perfectly in a microwave. You do not need to puncture the package – simply remove the cardboard sleeve and pop it in. We recommend a cooking time of 4 minutes for fresh meals and 6 minutes for frozen meals, with an additional minute of rest time once you remove the product from the microwave. Microwave oven wattages differ, so cooking times may fluctuate slightly.

Q: Will my meal puff up and hiss as I cook it?
A: Yes! The steam that is trapped in the package will cause the container to puff up slightly as it cooks. The valve will also release some steam – and that is the hissing sound you might hear as your meal cooks.

Q: What makes Ready, Set, Gourmet Meals so microwave friendly?
A: Ready, Set, Gourmet meals are designed to cook perfectly in the microwave. The patented Micro-Vent allows the maximum amount of steam to form inside the package without venting – so that your food cooks quickly and thoroughly.

Q: I don’t own a microwave can I still enjoy Ready, Set, Gourmet?
A: Yes! Simply remove the fish, vegetables, and potatoes from the plastic container and place them in a glass baking dish. You can bake your meal at 350 for 15 minutes and enjoy it that way if you choose. You can also sauté the contents of the package in a pan until cooked through, if you choose.

Q: I am distrustful of microwave cooking in general. Can you help me understand more about it?
A: Microwave cooking is a modern, energy efficient method of cooking food. Simply, when you turn on your microwave oven, the microwaves (which are similar to radiowaves) penetrate water, fat, and sugar molecules, and by reversing the polarity of these molecules at an incredibly rapid rate create friction, which in turn creates heat.

Microwaves are designed so that all microwave energy remains inside the oven. When the door is opened or the timer reaches zero, the microwave energy stops--just as turning off a light switch stops the glow of the lamp.
Because the microwave energy is changed to heat as soon as it is absorbed by the food, it cannot make the food radioactive. When the microwave energy is turned off and the food is removed from the oven, there is no residual radiation remaining in the food.

Once the food comes out of the microwave oven, there are no lingering effects of it having been cooked with microwaves. There is no convincing evidence of any chemical changes to the food.

As with cooking anything, it is important to know what temperature your food has reached. Whether cooking with a microwave oven or a conventional oven you should be aware of food being extremely hot once it comes out, or for hot (or cold) spots that may result from uneven heat penetration.

Because of the efficiency of microwave cooking, they consume much less energy than a conventional oven. Microwaves are especially user-friendly in the summertime, as they will not contribute residual heat to your home the way a 350º conventional oven will while it heats your dinner.