Microwave ovens. Why?

Fuengi

stickyfiddle said:

Srsly guys, if you think you're getting good eggs from a microwave I feel sorry for you as you've obviously never had good eggs. And washing a decent non-stick takes literally 15 seconds. I do it almost every day.

Me too, I have scrambled eggs for breakfast every morning. It takes about a minute on the hob and is perfect every time - two eggs, butter, salt & pepper, soft spoon. 

No microwave involved. 

Wolfetone

Because it saves on washing up. 

Fuengi

Wolfetone said:

Because it saves on washing up. 

So does eating off the floor.

Snags

Fuengi said:

Wolfetone said:

Because it saves on washing up. 

So does eating off the floor.

Nah, takes much longer to clean the floor.

guitarmangler

I have my dads old industrial one,it’s 1600 watts and re heats a cold cup of tea in 10 sec. The only ‘cooking’ I do in it is streaming veg, and making daal in a microwave pressure cooker ( which otherwise would take ages).

munckee

Fuengi said:

stickyfiddle said:

Srsly guys, if you think you're getting good eggs from a microwave I feel sorry for you as you've obviously never had good eggs. And washing a decent non-stick takes literally 15 seconds. I do it almost every day.

Me too, I have scrambled eggs for breakfast every morning. It takes about a minute on the hob and is perfect every time - two eggs, butter, salt & pepper, soft spoon. 

No microwave involved. 

To be fair you can make scrambled eggs that taste almost exactly the same in the microwave, as long as you don't cook them too long, 20 second bursts, fluff em up with the fork, I use two eggs, salt and pepper, drop of worcestershire, drop of milk.  You do one too many blasts and they are like mcdonalds scrambled eggs, its all in the timing.

stickyfiddle

munckee said:

Fuengi said:

stickyfiddle said:

Srsly guys, if you think you're getting good eggs from a microwave I feel sorry for you as you've obviously never had good eggs. And washing a decent non-stick takes literally 15 seconds. I do it almost every day.

Me too, I have scrambled eggs for breakfast every morning. It takes about a minute on the hob and is perfect every time - two eggs, butter, salt & pepper, soft spoon. 

No microwave involved. 

...drop of worcestershire....

Jesus wept...!!

Sassafras

It's ideal for drying out wood blanks for guitar bodies.

Danny1969

They don't cook evenly, they vibrate fluids easier than solids .... so you can get an apple pie that's piping hot inside but colder on the outside .... or if the inside is more solid the other way round. I don't like the way the food sticks to the roof of the microwave then melts and lands in your new food the next day. I know you can cover stuff but what a ball ache 

A halogen oven is far superior, it cooks bacon in 6 minutes, pizza in 11 and a chicken in one hour 20 running around 1200 watts compared to a normal ovens 3KW or so. I do everything in a halogen 

57Deluxe

* ALL my otherwise steamed or boiled items are now MW prepared.

* Scrambled eggs are brilliant in a MW - require at least one mash up in between.

* Sandwhich/deli ham blasted 25 secs in MW gives you a crispy bacon result and perfect for a quick Bacon Sarnie (cover it or will pop when cooking)

* Crystalised Honey or Golden Syrup?  - then a 10 sec blast will liquify. Only if in a plastic container and no more than 10 sec

* Smelly dish cloth? Blast for 30 secs in MW. In addition, place in a MW dish with some bleach will give you a renewed cloth.

* Defrosting - so often a neglected setting...

ESBlonde

stickyfiddle said:

Srsly guys, if you think you're getting good eggs from a microwave I feel sorry for you as you've obviously never had good eggs. And washing a decent non-stick takes literally 15 seconds. I do it almost every day.

See using a 'non-stick' pan has inherent dangers if you use it wrong. There are plenty of people online claiming the coating comes off and gets ingested, thats not something I want in my body.

Personal experience, someone put a new non stick frying pan in the dishwasher. Everything in that wash cycle came out covered in a grey powdery film. I know it says not to use dishwashers for these pans, but is it really better hand washing or is the effect just a whole lot slower?

I microwave poridge on a work day, scrambled egg, the odd bacon butty, defrosting, reheating. I think not standing next to the thing when it's running 'might' be a good precaution. Otherwise it's a useful device. Veg gets steamed in a tower/pan on a single hob burner.

Dopesick

I use mine to heat potatoes a bit before whacking them in the oven (or just microwaving them if time is slim), cooking bags of Uncle Bens rice, heating up my meal preps throughout the week, and the previous nights Chinese. Used to re-heat pizza in there but it's much better on a pan.

Tbh it's quite invaluable and saves quite a bit of time at some points.

munckee

stickyfiddle said:

munckee said:

Fuengi said:

stickyfiddle said:

Srsly guys, if you think you're getting good eggs from a microwave I feel sorry for you as you've obviously never had good eggs. And washing a decent non-stick takes literally 15 seconds. I do it almost every day.

Me too, I have scrambled eggs for breakfast every morning. It takes about a minute on the hob and is perfect every time - two eggs, butter, salt & pepper, soft spoon. 

No microwave involved. 

...drop of worcestershire....

Jesus wept...!!

Philistine! : )

m_c

Danny1969 said:

They don't cook evenly, they vibrate fluids easier than solids .... so you can get an apple pie that's piping hot inside but colder on the outside .... or if the inside is more solid the other way round. 

If you want the physics behind it, microwaves work by vibrating water. If there's no water in what you're trying to microwave, then it won't heat up, hence why things like pie crusts don't get warmed up. You need to rely on the contents heating up, then that heat radiating/conducting out to the dry crust.
It's the same reason why some plastics are not microwave safe, as some plastics absorb water, so when you microwave them, the plastic itself heats up, often resulting in a melted mess.

57Deluxe

/\ not strictly true. I have one Mug that if I warm up fluids in it, the fluid inside can be tepid but the handle on the mug will induce 3rd degree burns...

Kilgore

I think my microwave looks quite good. It's got a '50's retro vibe.

stickyfiddle

57Deluxe said:

/\ not strictly true. I have one Mug that if I warm up fluids in it, the fluid inside can be tepid but the handle on the mug will induce 3rd degree burns...

It's actually literally true - microwaves make water molecules vibrate. That's the basic physics of it.

https://www.explainthatstuff.com/microwaveovens.html

But some "microwave safe" mugs are made cheaply, meaning they also contain elements that get heated by microwaves, which leads to excruciatingly-hot-mug-handle syndrome

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-the-handles-of-some-coffee-mugs-get-hot-in-the-microwave-quickly-while-others-dont

LuttiS

I like the way they can charge phones with a quick blast!







*snigger*

Teetonetal

simonk said:

JezWynd said:

I prefer vegetables cooked in the microwave. Don’t use it for much else, apart from heating milk for coffee. And poached eggs, though it’s a bit hit and miss for that but when it works they’re delicious.

Right, stop the clock! What?! Poached eggs in the microwave...? You mean I don’t need several gallons of simmering water plus a dash of vinegar on the hob to make poached eggs viable?! Might have to research this further.

Whatever, ditch the vinegar. How to ruin a poached egg all by itself!!

jonnyburgo

We dont have one, had one about 20yrs ago it isnt missed at all, and they do take up a lot if space. Whats so hard about heating beans or soup in a pan? Dare I say same goes for dishwashers? You still have to load and unload it faff about trying to force things into it so that the sprinkller isnt restructed by which time you could wash them by hand.