Don't You Forget About ... Your Microwave
A tribute to a great appliance: Peeling squash, not making popcorn, delicious vegetables — and cooking proteins!
One minute it was humming along fine. Light on, turntable spinning, and a faint vibration that always makes you wonder if the door seal is leaking. The next minute, poof, my microwave oven went off forever.
No need to panic. A microwave is for reheating leftovers, boiling water, warming coffee, and melting butter — all tasks easily handled with the stove and regular oven. With, as it turns out, a lot more pots and pans. I figured I’d get over it in a few days.
By week two, I was the jilted lover, pining for the good old days of riding the wave by looking for fault and limitations. Now, on the eve of the official National Microwave Oven Day (whatever that means!) and after hooking up with a brand new machine, I’m ready to declare my love — and reservations — to the world and help others bask in the glow of their microwave ovens.
My 11 notes of appreciation follow. (I tried to make it an even 10!) Comment below with your love — and hate — letters to microwave cooking.
1. Choose Glass or Ceramic over Plastic
If you’re trying to use less plastic — even multi-use utensils — microwave-equipment is the best place to start. Heating plastic can increase the rate its toxic chemicals release, even if the containers say they’re microwave-safe. Covered glass and ceramic dishes naturally vent just the right amount of steam and silicone lids (these are great) turn most tableware into cooking vessels, too. (Here’s more about steaming vegetables in the microwave.)
2. Know Your Boil Times
Steam is the engine that drives how microwave ovens cook. Sure, you can go back to your manual and memorize the wattage at different power settings. (Sure, that’s definitely going to happen.) Or you can see how long it takes to boil 1/2 cup tap water in your machine. That visual tool will be in the back of your mind any time you put something on the turntable and start pressing buttons. Mine boiled in 1 minute on 10 (full power) and took 1 minute, 40 seconds on 5. On 1 at 5 minutes the water was only 100°F so I gave up. Good to know.
3. Use all the Power Settings
Funny thing about this knowledge: Your confidence as a microwave cook will rise as the power level lowers. Prepare to be amazed at what happens to the texture of microwaved food when you modulate the heat. Makes perfect sense: We don’t always set the oven to 500°F or cook on the stove at a rolling boil. But manufacturers make it too easy to choose time over setting. (Don’t get me started on those “convenient” buttons for hot dogs and whatnot.) Once you run the full spectrum of power levels, you’ll even be happy thawing stuff in “the machine.”
4. Braise Quickly or Stew Longly
I love simmering vegetables in tomatoes, salsa, soy sauce and water, or broth. So much that I often can’t wait for them to cook on the stove. Turns out the microwave oven has got this. Once you jump the psychological hurdle of setting the timer for 10 minutes or more and lowering the power a couple notches as described above, anything from crisp-tender to super-soft vegetables to fish, meat, or poultry is possible. With minimal fuss. Finish the dish with a pat of butter or drizzle of oil and that’s it. I know others have success with grains, rice, and beans too, but the techniques seem to involve more stopping and stirring, which is a bit of a turn-off. (Open to hearing the pro side, though.)