Standing after cooking, or standing time, refers to the time required to allow the heat to be evenly distributed through the food and finish cooking outside of the microwave oven. Once standing time is over, the dish should have warmed through sufficiently be cooled down enough to eat safely. For standing, the dish must be placed onto a solid area like a cutting board, countertop or stovetop so it keeps the heat in it; avoid using anything with holes, like cooling racks, to avoid losing the heat.