Four Reasons to Use Your Microwave for Cooking ~ And Four Ways to Be Careful

Do you remember when microwaves were first invented?

I was a young teen at the beginning of high school, and I knew nothing about cooking except that, the way my mother did it, it didn’t look fun at all. Then, we got a microwave. It was magic! Put the dish in. Hit a few buttons. Presto – chango! Hot food.

But that was all my mom did with it. Still does with it. Heat up food.

The only recipe I've posted, so far, used the microwave.

I had to marry my renegade husband who likes to deviate from recipes and tried-and-true traditions to learn that a microwave can do so much more.

I know many of you know this (and even so much more!), but please indulge my excitement and pretend that it’s new for you. J

I like to do as much cooking in the microwave as possible for four reasons.

The microwave is safer. How many times has your skin been seared by popping grease? Are you careful enough to keep the handles turned to the inside and cook on the back burners to prevent injury to a curious child? Do you have an electric range where the burners stay hot even after they are turned off? I can avoid all of this when I use the microwave.

The microwave dishes are safer. Only glass or porcelain dishes can be used in a microwave. But when I scrape along the bottom of a metal pan, I’m likely scraping some of the metal off and into the food. Can anyone say Alzheimers?

The microwave contains the mess. No splatters across the stovetop. No scraping off crusted-on goo or removing the burners and pans of a gas stove. With a microwave, just close the door. I know it’s not ideal, but this is real life. (It does get cleaned out of course, but if you come over, please just don’t check!)

The microwave contains the odors. Open stovetop cooking makes the house stink. Maybe I’m weird, but do you like the smell of eggs sizzling in a skillet or browning ground beef?

Microwaves aren’t perfect, though, and some hazards have been associated with them, although I haven’t seen any solid evidence to prove that we should eliminate them entirely. Thus, some caution is necessary.

I don’t microwave in plastic dishes, Styrofoam, or take-out containers. This includes the plastic lids that come with my Corning Ware. I’ve heard it both ways. Plastic releases cancer-causing carcinogens, and it doesn’t. This isn’t meant to be an article of scientific research, so decide for yourself. But I like to be careful, and it just doesn’t seem right to microwave in something that gets warped and stained with repeated use. 

I don’t microwave bottles of breast milk. If I had used formula, I wouldn’t microwave that either. The microwave doesn’t heat evenly, and I’m never sure just how warm ten seconds will make the bottle. So I always put the bottle in a dish of hot water to heat it.

I don’t microwave plastic wrap or baggies. If a substance will melt in the microwave, I don’t want it melting into my food. You may have seen at the grocery stores those baked potatoes wrapped in plastic that are supposedly “ready to microwave.” Yeah, no thanks!

I don’t microwave to boil water. I heard a while ago that water may not boil in the microwave but then bubble up in your face after it’s out. My husband says it's called superheating, and it can be quite dangerous. I’ve found that it’s faster to boil water in my kettle anyway.

{Whew! I thought this would be a quick post on why I like to use my microwave, but it’s morphed into a semi-researched list of pros and cons! All I did was google, though, so please don’t take this to be comprehensive or an endorsement in any fashion.}

Next, I’ll be posting how I fix scrambled eggs in the microwave. Friday, I’ll be participating in Five Minute Friday again. And next week, I’ll post my Not-Really-Quiche Egg Quiche recipe.

I’d love to hear why you like to microwave or why you don’t. Do you know of any better or solid research about the safety or lack thereof of microwaves? What are your favorite microwave recipes?

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