[cerise]

I'm not a Pro, but I do sometimes use it to steam/cook vegetables, make popcorn & reheat foods. Here are some other interesting uses.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-reci.../tools-products/14-surprising-uses-for-your-microwave-10000001035388/index.html

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[chef bilby]

A little off topic but relevant none the less - I met a bloke in Darwin who in the 80's removed the door of his microwave as he was sick of opening the door each time he used it  , he now has massive burns and tumours on his arms from this . Poor bugger.

Found this on The Darwin Awards Web Site

My father-in-law tinkers and most often fixes things. I have seen him take apart toasters, motors, electronics, and power washers. He often has several projects on the go. One day he came home with a neighbour's broken microwave and disappeared into his workshop to suss out out the problem.

A while later I heard weird noises coming from the workshop, and peeked in. The microwave was now working fine but its front door was missing. The machine was running, and he had his head tucked inside the oven...

I ran in and pulled the plug!

He did not take himself out of the gene pool, but the microwave incident may have increased the odds of cancer. Years later he developed a brain tumor, which was successfully removed. He still tinkers today, but we keep a closer eye on him.

Personally I think they have no place in a Commercial Kitchen but crikey they are handy. 

 

[michaelga]

I'm totally FOR using the microwave to cook many types of dish. This took 15 minutes to cook on full power, turned half way through The taste and texture was absolutely amazing and as you can see there is nothing wrong with the colour or caramelisation.

IMG_1193.JPG

• willpower
• Jul 29, 2013

IMG_1197.JPG

• willpower
• Jul 29, 2013

Can you please explain / post more on how you do that?

tyia

 

[willpower]

I'll PM you since the last time I put a recipe on here I was issued with a warning from site admin.

 

[genemachine]

Haven't used mine except for quickly thawing some frozen stock in years. At least not in the microwave function. Mine also works as convection oven, which gets more use if the primary oven is filled already.

 

[french fries]

I gave my microwave away. I just don't like it. Even for reheating or defrosting I didn't like it. I haven't had a microwave in .... 3-4 years? And I don't miss it a bit. 

The friend I gave it away to was so happy she bought me a toaster oven. That I use often (grilled cheese sandwhich, toasts, quesadillas...). 

 

[mrmexico25]

I use my microwave for one thing, melting chocolate. I find it easier than the double boiler.

I've heard some recipes of microwave cake, but haven't got the stones to try one haha. Plus, I generally suck at pastry.

 

[berndy]

I use mine almost daily when I cook for my wife and myself . I cook whatever vegetables we are having he old fashioned way on my stovetop and then ,when done I plate them as nice as I can and then the plated veggies go into the micro wave oven and stay they there until dinnertime . Once its time to eat I'll cook my meat or fish and then reheat my plated vegetables to join the fresh cooked protein just before we are ready to sit down and enjoy the meal. Am doing it like this for years now and feel that my micro wave oven is extremely  helpful and saves me lots of time. 

 

[kaiquekuisine]

Hmm , no i dont use a microwave to cook food , i just use it to reheat things thats it....

That or melt butter for popcorn or heat milk or even tea if im to lazy to light the stove.

Aside from that it may make some peoples lives alot easier , you know some people even make cakes in those things , but i prfer to use mine just to heat things. 

Takes the joys of cooking for me , if i was to start using a microwave to cook bacon , cakes , etc... XD 

 

[foodpump]

I'm totally FOR using the microwave to cook many types of dish. This took 15 minutes to cook on full power, turned half way through The taste and texture was absolutely amazing and as you can see there is nothing wrong with the colour or caramelisation.

IMG_1193.JPG

• willpower
• Jul 29, 2013

IMG_1197.JPG

• willpower
• Jul 29, 2013

Like MichealGA, I'm curious to see the recipie.

Now I may just be a cook, but I do know that with direct heat methods (ie sauteing) you get pretty good caramelization on proteins.

With convection heat (roasting) you get decent caramelization, but not as good as with direct heat.

Again, I'm just a cook, and a cook who has spent the last 7 years in the pastry kitchen at that. Butt-tum, uhh... well microwaving is neither of those methods. Microwaving works by "exciting" the water molecules--that is the water molecule jump all around inside the item being nuked which causes friction. Friction causes heat. But all this heat comes from within the item being cooked, there is no direct heat source being applied externally. Thus, I don't see how you can get decent caramelization on the outside of the protein. True, you can B.S. the caramelization with gloppy, sugar rich, dark brown, and oily sauces and coatings, but a good sear will develop real caramelization flavours, with no need for sugar.

All that being said, I repeat my opinions on the humble nuker: It has it's place in commercial kitchens, it is great for any liquid item, great for vegetables and most starches, downright nasty for any dry item like pastry (nuked Quiche, anyone?), and grounds for termination if used for cooking $20.00 a'la carte proteins.

If you do some research on it, the humble nuker was discovered by accident by the English when designing radar and navigation systems during WWII. Seems one of the scientists had a Mars bar in his lab breast pocket and noticed it melted when he leaned across microwave fields.........

 

[michaelga]

Somehow I don't think I'll be seeing that recipe anytime soon...

 

[sparkys44]

I use mine to warm up leftovers, warm liquids that call for heating milk or other liquids that would not survive contact with hot sauces. Good for clarified butter, sometimes in the morning I'll leave my coffee out and it gets cold… 30 seconds and I'm back on hot again, I also only make one pot every 2-3 days and just nuke it the following day. It stays pretty well in the fridge, as I tend to be lazy in the morning and don't feel like grinding beans and cleaning out my pot every day.

As far as an appliance to cook with? I'd rather throw it out the window… /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif

 

[foodpump]

Somehow I don't think I'll be seeing that recipe anytime soon...

Now now, Micheal. The poster with the secret recipie has two choices:

A) Post the recipie on C.T. and immediately fly to Moscow, and hang out in the airport lounge until things cool off a bit.

Or

B) Bide his time until the world is ready to accept the truth and the secret recipie ogf how to sear chicken in the nuker.

Obviously "B" was chosen....:

 

[dcarch]

Now now, Micheal. The poster with the secret recipie has two choices:

A) Post the recipie on C.T. and immediately fly to Moscow, and hang out in the airport lounge until things cool off a bit.

Or

B) Bide his time until the world is ready to accept the truth and the secret recipie ogf how to sear chicken in the nuker.

Obviously "B" was chosen....:

I think there is no mystery.

I don't remember too clearly, some of you may remember. There are cookware which work in the microwave that bake. Basically the cookware gets very hot with the microwave energy and bakes.

dcarch

 

[foodpump]

Yup there is such cookware.

Thing is, the picture posted was of chicken in a clear glass Pyrex dish with a tight fitting cover in a micorwave.  Pyrex can get hot, but never hot enough in a normal nuker to sear chicken. Hot enough for chicken parts to turn anemic white and glue themsleves to the dish to, but never hote enough to develop a delicious golden brown colour  Not a lot of surface area in that pyrex dish for the chicken parts to come into contact with and develop a nice caramelized sear to either.  The walls on the dish are very high, which means that any moisture generated has a hard time escaping, (which is why fry-pans are shallow) which is counter-productive to developing a caramelized surface.

Maybe the mods can tell us why this one, particular, recipie can't be posted...............

 

[teamfat]

I did actually use the microwave the other day to soften up the brown sugar I used for my bo ssam.  Normally, like Sparkys44 mentioned. putting a little extra heat into coffee, or tea water, sometimes melting butter.  And also like Sparky alluded to in another thread, I think one of the biggest evils of the microwave is it makes it so easy for people to consume processed, pastuerized, food like substances in a jiffy.  Yum!

mjb.

 

[subchef]

They're good to reheat some things, most not! When I make tea, the water will always stay hotter longer, brew the tea better and result in better flavor if the water is boiled rather than microwaved. The defrost cycle never evenly thaws and most items will have cooked edges and cold to still partially frozen centers. For reheating a cup of coffee, popping corn or as one person said, melting butter, it's a wonderful item. But "Chef Mike" should not be depended upon for proper food preparation. Both my main oven and toaster oven have convection fans. Between those and a variety of pots and pans from well seasoned cast iron to teflon coated, they all out perform any microwave. As a side note, I've owned at least a half dozen at home and had access to several industrial models at work locations.

 

[oregonyeti]

For a while I used to nuke water in a pyrex container to make tea with, and brew the tea in it too. It was just easier to clean the pyrex container.

One time It was taking longer to boil than usual. I gave it a couple extra minutes, no luck. I opened the microwave's door and the water burst into explosive boiling just for a second. It splattered all over the inside of the microwave. If I had been holding the container when it did that, I would have gotten burned. The water was superheated, which is a rare thing, but I guess the pyrex container was smooth enough, and clean enough, and the water low enough in minerals, that it was able to exceed the boiling point without boiling, until the vibration set it off.

After that I would put a couple of cardamom pods in the water before heating, to avoid that happening again. But that was a while back. Now I just use a kettle to heat the water. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

 

[maxx]

I used to use one for reheating. Now though I refuse to use one at all. Microwaves are really detrimental to food. A good toaster oven is best for fast reheats. just one cautionary message below, if you search you'll find plenty more.

http://www.health-science.com/microwave_hazards.html

Glad to see that gullibility is still alive and well. The "health-science.com" page you linked to is what we here in England call "complete and utter bollocks". (Ever noticed how things that feel the need to call themselves "science" generally aren't? Health Science, Political Science, Social Science...).

 

[cheflayne]

Glad to see that gullibility is still alive and well. The "health-science.com" page you linked to is what we here in England call "complete and utter bollocks". (Ever noticed how things that feel the need to call themselves "science" generally aren't? Health Science, Political Science, Social Science...).

Welcome to the forums Maxx. Glad that you are here. If you have any constructive points to share on either the pros or the cons of using a microwave, I would love to hear them. Feel free to jump on in.