Tips for Efficient Microwave Usage
Since the mid 1950’s, microwave ovens have grown in popularity to the point that almost 90 percent of the population has at least one in their kitchen. Of course, this doesn’t mean that all those people actually know how to use their microwave efficiently, or what all those nifty settings do.
In fact, most people only use their microwaves to reheat leftovers or make a cup of coffee when they are in a hurry. But there are a few things that you should know about one of the most convenient appliances that you can have in your kitchen.
One thing everyone knows is that you shouldn’t put metal in your microwave. Of course, the older microwaves had real issues with this happening. Even if it was an accident that only lasted a microsecond, it could cause serious damage to your microwave and even to you sometimes. Today’s microwaves have worked around this and some will even shut down immediately once those blue sparks start to go off.
Microwaved food always heats up faster around the edges of the plate. When you are cooking, you should place the moister vegetables closer to the center of the plate and the drier meats around the edges so that the drier meat picks up the moisture let off by the veggies. With things like casseroles and other deep dished foods, you should put a depression in the middle so that the heat will become more even and it won’t end up overcooking the outside edges while leaving the center cold.
You should realize that the correct times in a recipe might not work for your particular microwave. Microwave power is different, depending on the wattage, and yours may be higher or lower than the one that was used for the recipe. You will have to learn the proper settings of your microwave by failing a couple of recipes now and then so keep that in mind.
When cooking or defrosting larger items, you will need to turn it over from time to time. The good news is that almost every microwave these days has a timer beep that tells you when you should turn things over while you are defrosting something larger. This is important so that all sides of the food item are defrosted equally and you aren’t cooking one side and letting the opposite side stay half frozen in the middle, which is bad.
Microwave oven reviews – Read more reviews of stainless steel microwaves 2011.
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