Time To Stop Reheating Foods In Microwave

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support AutomaticWasher.org:

The myth that microwaves cook from the inside out comes from early era where people would put a jelly filled donut (or something else with a wet interior/dry exterior) into a microwave for 20 or 30 seconds, take it out with their bare hands as it wasn't hot, then bite into it and burn their mouth and lips. The reason an egg or sometimes a potato will explode is because both have a dry skin enveloping a moist interior, the interior heats up, steam under pressure is created and boom. Hence why you prick the skin of the potato to let the steam out, can't do it to an egg though.
Also, what works well in one particular make/model of microwave does not necessarily mean it will work well in a different one,, ie hot spots.

I got my first microwave oven in 1975,a Litton. A friend of mine, with no experience whatsoever, went on and on about radiation, they don't brown, you can't cook this or that etc.. Well one day I cooked a beef roast in it and all the vegetables and had him and some othe friends over for dinner. Everything turned out great. It was after he'd finished I told him that the whole meal was cooked in the microwave and he couldn't believe it. Well he did but that pretty much shut him up. They eventually got one a few years later. But yeah, most people are clueless on how to cook in one successfully because they never try.
 
I took your general advice and reheated some pork chops I made a couple days ago at 400-degrees for about 14-minutes, nothing spectacular, just had with some rice and glad I made them warm at the right temperature as microwaving would have made them a bit hot with some cold areas…

So here’s to my first try at non-microwaved leftovers for dinner…

— Dave

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_1.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_10.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_11.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_12.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_13.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_14.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_15.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_2.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_3.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_4.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_5.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_6.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_7.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_8.jpg

daveamkrayoguy-2023010318060804112_9.jpg
 
I don't think anyone seriously tries to cook in a mv anymore. Back when the manufacturers were really trying to push them though, the chef's of the year were all hawking their special recipes.

Can you imagine getting like the Time/Life book series or something. A new book each month on how to microwave.

In 1981 I bought a microwave popcorn popper for an aunt who had a 1972 microwave they paid a lot $$$$$$ for back then. That thing was not friendly. If there was any bit of metal in there it would blow the whole circuit and there would be major sparks. It was odd too because the front was the size of what a small micro is today but it was D-E-E-P. It was like 22" deep and they had it built in above their wall oven.

Anyway that plastic corn popper melted the first time she used it. They didn't have turn tables back then either so....

bradfordwhite-2023010318051409967_1.png
 
 
<blockquote>And why? ... What's frightening is if you do a google search you'll find stuff like this is still "a thing"</blockquote> Because there are bunches of stupid or ignorant people out in the wild and the incidence of them probably is increasing.

Is it appreciably different from attempting to dry a wet cat in a gas or electric oven or a clothes dryer?

(BTW, your linked story dates 14 years ago, and the perpetrator was a toddler-child which is typically referenced as 2 to 3 years of age.)
 
It's both sad that a 3 y.o. would think to do this and
kind of funny that the cat was named Stouffers. lol

Always have to look for the funny and thank goodness the kitty survived.

Here's one from just a few years ago if that's more to your taste.

I just don't want to believe that this kind of stuff happens, but it does, as unsettling as it is to me anyway.

----

Kitty Kevorkian- Sabrina Matthews.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...age-online-sparking-death-threats-France.html
bradfordwhite-2023010320551208268_1.png
 
Microwave nutrient debate

The big advantage of a microwave is the low amount of water used means there will be less dissolution of the compounds in the food - most stuff your body wants is either fat or water soluble. So cooking in fat and water and then discarding it is literally like rinsing out laundry.

Second is the generally lower temperature and time. There is no hot medium transferring the heat to the food.
The hottest thing is the food itself - and especially veg you rarely want to really "cook", more heat and soften.
And cooking times in the microwave are often much shorter.
Both heat and time are the biggest threat to vitamins.

For that reason, a steamer is often the most "healthy" choice of cooking with the most even, yet relatively quick and low water cooking method.

Microwaves do kind of cook from the inside.

The penetration depth of the typical 2.4GHz microwave in food is 2-3cm IIRC. So everything an inch or thinner is cooked "all at once".
The more water the lower the penetration depth.
Thus stuff like lasagnas or that type of stuff is hard to cook that way since they are thick and high moisture.

Miele took that to the extreme with their "Dialog" oven.
It's basically a microwave combination oven, just that it runs at 945MHz, a typical cell frequency.
Lower frequency means higher penetration. That's why that can cook entire thick cuts of meat at microwave speeds.
 
I loved coffee from the time I was 3 years old and would sneak sips out of the adults cups whenever I got the chance. My Mom wouldn’t allow me to drink it until I was 12 years old because she said it was bad for your kidneys.

All my adult life I drank several cups of black coffee daily. I had a massive collection of all types of coffeepots and coffeemakers.

I have acid reflux and in ‘18 I had to finally cut back to just one cup in the morning and after dinner.

Then in July of ‘21 my acid reflux became so bad that I had to give up coffee all together. I thought that I would go through withdrawal from caffeine and coffee in general. So I switched to one cup of green tea in the morning and evening and don’t miss coffee at all, surprisingly. And last month I switched to caffeine free green tea and don’t miss the caffeine either.

Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to preserve your health.

Eddie
 
I'm going to sound crazy here but I actually hate microwaves. I think they are one of if not the weirdest inventions ever made. It wasn't always the case because I didn't minded them as a kid, in fact I thought at first they were kind of cool. Especially our stainless steel Sharp Carousel R-508HS that we had from our last cabin until we later sold the place and left it behind. If we had brought that Sharp back home with us and if it was still working today, maybe I probably would've not minded using it because that was my all time favorite microwave. But as I grew older, I've later learned how microwaves actually worked and definitely noticed a taste difference in the leftovers that'd get reheated versus doing it on a stove. Microwaves just gross me out now and it pretty much will be like that forever unfortunately. Nothing will ever convince me to change my mind. However, I don't hate them completely. I still think they can be useful in someways particularly the over-the-range ones where I can use them as a clock, stove light and fan, and store something warm in there but not turn it on. And I find some of them very fascinating to look at particularly the Japanese makes such as Panasonic and Sharp. I wouldn't mind collecting a few microwaves that I really like but of course I'd never or try my very hardest to not use them at all.

panasonicvac-2023010519381608570_1.jpg
 
#42

So, do you have one or not?

 

And if you don't, what kind of stuff do you keep in your 3, or was it 4, full size freezers if not abundant hot pockets, and other things that can be heated in 2 minutes?
 
In the house I'm living at now? Yes, there's three. Two in the kitchen, one black Whirlpool over-the-range and one stainless steel Toshiba countertop one that's also a convection oven. And we have one black Amana Radarange countertop in the basement that's original to the house from 1991. We also have two more, one black High Pointe in our camping trailer which is specifically designed for RVs' and one black Amana Radarange countertop in our storage shed that was replaced by the Toshiba. I don't like using any of them but everybody else in the house does. If anybody wants to see pictures of any of them, I'd be more than happy to share here:)
 
Hate to sound like this, but this is one of the silliest threads on AW in regards to microwaves. As John mentioned, if you are getting rubbery food out of a microwave then you aren’t using it correctly. Not us using common sense is the leading cause to dissatisfaction and mishaps.
 
You can’t tell by tasting food how it was heated

I would be happy to set up a blind taste test for you. Alex and I would defy you to figure out which food was heated in the microwave and which one was heated conventionally once it’s on the plate and ready to be eaten.

Hundreds of studies have studied this and there’s never been any difference found it’s all a matter of technique like any type of cooking. You can ruin something in any type of cooking procedure.

John
 
I appreciate the offer John but as I said before, nothing would ever change my mind. Even if I got paid millions to do a test, I would easily turn it down. And of course, it's not like I don't know how to use a microwave because I always follow instructions on the cooking labels and recipes. Just because there are hundreds of studies doesn't mean that everybody would buy into it. In fact, each and every one of us doesn't have the exact same type of food that's their favorite. Example is that I've met people that loves seafood but I don't. The point though is that some of us would have different taste buds that could tell the difference of reheating things, the rest like you probably couldn't. There are hundreds maybe thousands if not millions around the globe that'd say they don't like using microwaves and just hasn't said anything. I thought I was the only person here that dislikes microwaves so I chose to not say anything until somebody else brought this up and actually shares the same thoughts as I do so it was time for me to step out of the box. If everybody else likes microwaves, then great! I'm definitely not someone here who thinks that we should outlaw microwaves. But if some of us don't like them, who cares?
 
Hi, the point is you cannot taste the difference and you’re unwilling to even try so you simply don’t like microwaves and that’s OK.

Nobody has to do anything they don’t want to do. But you’re just talking about a personal preference lots of food that you eat in restaurants airplanes, etc. has been microwaved and there’s no way to taste it.

John.
 
John, uh yes I did tell the difference. I'm not going to deny it because I know what I know. I have to agree with Launderess here because I have definitely done a comparison before with you name it. Air fryers, toaster ovens, stoves, etc. So don't think that I haven't even tried. And basically wherever restaurant or place I'd like to go to, I can tell you that my reheated meals are definitely not microwaved. In fact, for example I quit buying cheeseburgers at a basketball arena that I go to because their patties and buns are definitely not as good as fried or grilled since they are all microwaved. Not to mention they cost like almost $10 a piece, I could get frozen burgers like that at Costco to microwave for WAY less.
 
I am one with my microwave

Not only did I work for a rather popular microwave-oven manufacturer (name withheld), but I taught training classes for techs and learned tips and tricks with our own home-economist.
For that reason I can make my virtually indestructible SHARP R-930BK convection-microwave combination jump through hoops and get excellent results consistently. Why, even leftovers come out as delicious as their first day! ;)
I will now reheat my coffee with my perfectly maintained SHARP R530ESF that I keep in my lab.
 
Speaking of manufactures

About the majority of microwaves today are made by the same Chinese company who also owns the Eureka vacuum brand called Midea. I found this out shortly after making my Panasonic Inverter thread here when I discovered a GE microwave online that looked so similar to a Panasonic I was also looking into online. From my understanding, only LG and Samsung make their own microwaves. But I could be wrong however as I'm not really into microwaves you can pretty much tell.

 
My information may be outdated, but my understanding was the only brands that ade their own were Sharp and Panasonic. I noticed LG now offers a model or two that includes an inverter technology and I immediately wondered if it was produced by Panasonic.
 
As with so many other technologies microwave (as in ovens) was an American invention.

Sadly as wont to happen with so many other electronics, appliances and so forth post WWII and certainly after 1960's Asia soon found ways to make things cheaper and so forth; it's been a race to bottom ever since.

https://hbr.org/1989/01/fast-heat-how-korea-won-the-microwave-war

My first microwave was a Litton made right here in USA. Next came a Sharp also made in this country. Cannot recall last time have seen a MW oven offered for sale in USA made in America. Perhaps there are but again I've never clapped eyes upon.

Current MW is an old Sharp Carousel from heaven knows what year. It does what one wants from a microwave for now so am happy. Thing was gifted to one many years ago now when an elderly neighbor passed on. It's nearly all metal and weighs a ton.

launderess-2023010719591903785_1.jpg
 
"About the majority of microwaves today are made by the same Chinese company.."

This is true of so many appliances both small and large nowadays.

All those things marketed under either long since defunct but resurrected names, or things sold under names that never made such products in past come to mind.

Midea is behind quite a lot...

https://www.midea-group.com/our-bus...so carry a diverse,, Vandelo, and Little Swan.

Indeed as also noted in previous link Midea produces nearly all microwave ovens sold in USA.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-microwave/
"The New York Times reported that Midea is the largest manufacturer of microwave ovens for several large brands, including Toshiba, Whirlpool, and Black+Decker"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midea_Group
 
The stuff is increasingly made by bots and AI that can operate around the clock, in the dark.
No sick days, no cigarette breaks, no lawsuits, no poor quality, no labor shortage, no Covid issues.
Just consistent, inexpensive, reliable quality.
 
The neatest little m/w I had I bought when I was transferred and living in a small rental apt until my partner finished up his work and moved, so about 10 months. It was a tiny Litton with a built in broiling element on the top and wasn't much bigger than a vintage GE toaster oven, about 10 inches high and a foot wide and not that deep either. The interior cavity was about 9 inches. No turntable. It had a removable wire rack for broiling as well. We bought a house shortly after his arrival and I sold it to a friend. Wished I'd kept it now. I can't find any information or pictures of it online. Litton did come out with a line called the Little Litton, but those were not near as little as that one was as I remember. but i could be wrong
 

Similar threads

Chetlaham
I don't understand why they can't just get labels or Frozen Food Right
Replies
25
Views
1K
neptunebob
neptunebob
Chetlaham
New Microwave!
2
Replies
52
Views
1K
Chetlaham
Chetlaham
Ultramatic
Appliances: The Future is Battery Powered
2 3
Replies
83
Views
2K
tolivac
T
thomasortega
Kitchen-Aid, Breville or wait for the next Food processor?
2
Replies
50
Views
651
thomasortega
thomasortega
D
Persistance and resourcefulness really pays off! (Or how I saved a '56 GE Range)
Replies
1
Views
49
tomturbomatic
T

Latest posts

Back
Top