Time To Stop Reheating Foods In Microwave

[launderess]

So says CNET and am inclined to agree.

https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-a...op-reheating-your-leftovers-in-the-microwave/

Went back to reheating things in oven (large main, counter, toaster, convection) or other means few years ago. Results are far tastier and not the often rubbery texture that can happen with reheating in microwave.

 

[mattl]

Saw that, inspired me to order a small air fryer a few minutes ago.

 

Got this unit, Wirecutter recommendation for small batches of food.

Amazon.com

 

[henene4]

Even though I have a pretty high end microwave, I basically use it for 3 things:

A) Heat up liquids (soup, milk, etc.)
B) Melt cheese over tortillas for Nacho's
C) Give stuff that hasn't thawed in time a quick boost to get it going.

 

[joeekaitis]

Panasonic FlashXpress toaster oven

The best for reheating pizza and even a big fried chicken breast.

 

[joeekaitis]

But when reheating baked pasta in the microwave oven . . .

. . . We use the “double the time at 50% power” method followed by a 5-minute rest to distribute the heat. Works like a charm. Trying the same thing in a toaster oven often leads to a little scorch and drying out.

 

[foraloysius]

I don't reheat a lot of food. I'm used to cooking what I need and eat it all. So there is rarely something left that could be reheated. However I cook in the microwave, mostly vegetables. Best way too cook them IMHO.

 

[ea56]

Re: Reply#4

Joe, I reheat pasta the same way as you do in the MW. I frequently cook enough for 2 to 4 days dinners when I make certain things that are best prepared in larger amounts. I then portion out the leftovers on dinner plates and cover them with MW plate covers and put them in the fridge.

Then for dinner the next day(s) I reheat the plates the same way as you describe in your post. By using 50% power and allowing a 3-5 min rest and then giving the covered plates another 30 to 60 sec on 100% power the reheated food tastes just like it did the first night. Thanksgiving dinner leftovers are especially good reheated this way, they taste just like the first nights dinner.

The reason people have rubbery reheated leftovers is because they don’t use their MW properly. They just slap the food in the MW, press one of the preset buttons and they end up dissatisfied with the results.

I’ve been using a MW since ‘85 when we got our first Amana Radar range MW. There are some things that I will never make on the stove top again as long as I have a MW. Things like white sauces, puddings and pie fillings can’t be beat when using the MW to make them. No danger of scorching, no constant stirring, no lumps, perfect velvety smooth sauces and puddings. Its all in the technique.

When MW’s first started to become widely popular in the early 80’s there were several cooking shows on TV that were dedicated to using your MW for cooking, not just reheating. There was a wealth of knowledge to be obtained from some of these shows.

Eddie

 

[bradfordwhite]

Ditched it in 2011.
MVs kill the vitamins and nutrients so it's like, what's the point of preparing food?

Yes, cooking or reheating in a conventional oven takes longer but I'm worth it.

What's even more scary is food cooked in a MV using either plastic containers or a paperboard container with a plastic coating. The plastic changes form as it's warmed and leaches chemicals that mix with the food.

MVs also give off EMFs when running.

 

[ea56]

Microwaving is less likely to destroy nutrients in foods than conventional cooking methods. It is true though that one should be careful about the kinds of covers and containers, particularly plastics, that are used in the microwave to prevent leaching of chemicals into the foods.

See the link from Harvard Health below. Also if one does a search about this topic there are several articles online that also debunk the myth about microwave cooking adversely effecting the nutritional value of foods prepared in them.

Eddie

Ask the doctor: Microwave's impact on food - Harvard Health

Microwave cooking is one of the least likely forms of cooking to damage nutrients. That’s because nutrients tend to break down the longer they’re being cooked, and microwave cooking tak...

www.health.harvard.edu

 

[foraloysius]

Cooking always leads to loss of vitamins of nutrients, no matter what method you use. There is nothing magical about a microwave, it's exactly the same as cooking in an oven or a pot. When heating food, the molecules get in motion in the same way. Cooking veggies in a microwave in a minimum of water (I sometimes only use a few drops to prevent the food from drying out) saves more vitamins and nutrients than boiling them in a pot with water. Because the cooking time is shorter in a microwave, less of the good stuff is "killed".

 

[appnut]

I've been using my MW since fall 1977. Cooking frozen veggies and some fresh.

If I have to cook something new for a meal, I don't know what that will be until I am at that point. So everything stays in the freezers. So drefrosting meats. Also, cook in bulk and freeze in storage containers. I MW individual portions just enough to loosen from sides of plastic containers and then always thaw and reheat in pyrex/glass containers.

Ted will pull something from the freezer and let it sit out on the counter for a few hours. I don't believe in that, it's too risky as far as I'm concerned.

I rarely use full power, mostly medium low to medium high, just like dryng laundry.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Of course there will be "mythbusters" paid for by the food industry who has a food product line to protect. They will try and down play the facts, we've seen it before. They'll hope people forget the truth.

Yes, cooking can destroy vits and nutrients but cooking in a conventional oven is the opposite of cooking in a micro. with the outcome hoping to be the same. ... but it never is.

A micro cooks from the INSIDE of the food with the heat working it's way out. A conventional oven or stove top cooks from the OUTSIDE working the heat in. That's why micros leave food rubbery. They blast the inside and the outside stays more firm.
Whereas conventional cooking can brown food and potentially leave the inside uncooked or under cooked. No MV browns food.

With conventional you have more control because as soon as one removes the heat source, the product stops cooking.

With MV there so much heat INSIDE that it really can be dangerous, like the exploding potato, hotdog, or any other MV'd food item that's been in for too long.

With food, the nutrients are INSIDE because once a food surface is exposed to air the nutrients start degrading so the last place anyone should apply heat is to the INSIDE of the food.

It's like sauteeing a stir-fry. Throw the veg into the wok, shuffle them around for a minute or so to get the outsides seered and eat up for a nutritious meal.
VS.
rubbery veg that was in the MV, in a plastic coated box and now have ZERO nutritional value (and probably lots of salt to make it palatable)

 

[foraloysius]

"A micro cooks from the INSIDE of the food with the heat working it's way out." No, it does NOT! Please stick to the facts.

While we are on the subject:

 

[DADoES]

 
Eliminate use of microwave oven?  Nope, not happening here.

As others have stated above, I often reheat at lower power levels both for better results and to avoid the explosions and boil-overs.

My daily instant oatmeal is done at 30% power for example, then a few cocktail/breakfast sausages in the same bowl at 30%.

I often cook box pasta salad via microwave in an 8-cup mixing bowl.  It's essentially a hydration process so takes the same time but eliminates a separate pot on the stove.  Cook in the mixing bowl, drain in a sieve, cool the bowl under running water and mix in it (adding chicken and/or more veggies), then store the remainder in the same bowl.

Baked potatoes and other fresh (asparagus!) or frozen veggies.  Pasta Roni with tuna added.  Occasionally fresh fish.  Scrambled egg in a mug (with bits of turkey or ham luncheon meat and cheese added).  Zatarains Jambalaya with sausage or chicken added.  Yesterday evening a package of chicken/cream cheese tamales with green enchilada sauce and cheese atop, several mins at high then reduce to 50%.

I don't often defrost via microwave, although I may start briefly at the standard defrost 30% then reduce to 20% or 10% power for a longer time when I do so.  My GE Arctica refrigerator has a Custom Cool drawer with a defrost function, although of course that requires planning ahead (6-hr cycle for 1 lb).

 

[ea56]

One other thing that the MW is great for is softening butter to use in baking , spreading on toast or bread or whatever.

Place 1 stick for hard butter out of the fridge in the MW and nuke it at 10% power for 1 min. If its still not soft enough nuke for another 10-15 secs at 10% power. I’ve been doing this since ‘87 and it never fails. Perfectly softened butter in a flash when you’ve forgotten to take the butter out to soften on the counter and you’re in a hurry to get something in the oven and baked.

Eddie

 

[bradfordwhite]

#12

Remember what was just said about the dirty, paid for "mythbusters" and the counter to reality stories those groups create. Of course they would put out PR claiming that micros don't destroy the most precious part of the food.

Truth:
One can actively see foods like butter being cooked or melted FROM THE INSIDE when placed in a MV. As butter melts a hole will develop through the butter from the heat before the stick turns totally to liquid.

And yes, a MV will soften a refrig. stick of butter in about 7 seconds. It can only do that if its cooking from the INSIDE.

If I put a stick of butter in a hot pan for 7 seconds, what will I get? A stick of butter, mostly still hard with one melted side and a 1/4" of that side that is now soft, but the rest will still be hard. That's because the heat is coming from the OUTSIDE.
Hello.

Those dirty, dirty propagandist myth creators.

 

[bradfordwhite]

There was a time when cigarette companies tried to pretend their products were healthy and desirable.

One can see movies and television bits from the 40s and 50s where an actor playing the part of doctor comes out of an operating room with a cigarette (OMG!) in his mouth. AHHHHHH are you freaking kidding?!!!! Totally gross and disgusting.
That's propaganda.

They were encouraging pregnant women to smoke when pregnant. OM-Fing-G! Crazy

-
There was a time when Cocaine was sold over the counter. No big deal right? AHHHH

--

There was a time when DDT was erroneously looked on as a miracle chemical and sprayed about liberally with no thought of damages.

-
There was a time when republicans marketed themselves as moral and upright. They don't even try and lie about that anymore. We all know just how counter to reality that is.
It's is/was propaganda.

 

[combo52]

That report about reheating in a microwave

Is BS, people don’t know how to use their microwave if they’re getting rubbery food out of it.

I get beautiful results reheating in the microwave. I love using my Thermidor combination wall oven. It gives beautiful results. You set the temperature of the oven to about 140. You put three or four different food items on a dinner plate and you microwave with the appropriate power the results are wonderful you don’t have to cover anything either because if something does splatter it’s in a self cleaning oven.

Microwave ovens are not going away, it’s one of the safest kitchen appliances ever used. The chance of an injury is minuscule

And nobody has ever been hurt by microwave energy using a microwave oven. It does not affect the food either.

John.

 

[ea56]

Re: Reply#17

John, I agree with you 100%! Those that don’t know how to use a MW oven properly are the ones that end up with dried out and rubbery food.

And as for the reply#15 claim that the “mythbusters” are working for some big corp to sell something, well I highly doubt that Harvard’s Health Dept. is trying to sell something.

If you don’t like MW’s, then don’t use one. I’ve been using a MW oven daily several times a day for over 37 years with no ill effects.

A MW is like a TV to me. When ever I’ve had either a TV or MW break down, I head right down to the nearest store that very day and buy a new one to replace the broken one.

Eddie