Microwave ovens?

[IamJen]

So, we ditched our microwave a few years ago, as it was old and I'd been reading about microwaves zapping the nutritional value of foods cooked in them.

Now, we've been thinking about getting one again as I see that the diminished nutritional value is not so very different (some times at least) than cooked food in general. Been feeling that desire to make things simpler too.

Does everyone here use a microwave?

 

[ledboots]

Yes I use it a lot.

 

[PTree15]

I have one, and I use it mainly for reheating leftovers and such.

 

[mlp]

I use it for reheating, and for quickly cooking a potato.

 

[AeryFairy]

Yeah, we have one. A really fancy one with a bazillion functions (because it was on some sort of mega sale), and the only function that we use is the 'start' button that adds 30 seconds to the clock it gets used a couple of times a week, I'd say - usually for reheating leftovers when we've made a one-pot meal. Sometimes I make microwave mug cake if I need a cake fix. And sometimes, if I'm feeling super lazy, I'll use it to cook soup or beans or whatever.

I could likely do without one, but it comes in handy sometimes.

Actually, on a slightly related note, I've noticed a lot of professional chefs using them for experimental cooking on some of the cookery shows I watch. I've seen them used to make bread and crisps and to temper chocolate recently.

 

[KLS52]

I don't know what I would do without a microwave. Ours died a few months ago and I ran out and got a new one within a few days. I do not "cook" in it, per se, unless it's rice, or vegetables. I mostly reheat in it. And make popcorn. Occasionally tea if I'm too lazy to put the kettle on. Stuff like that.

 

[beancounter]

Not only are microwaves convenient, they also save a lot of energy vs. a conventional stove/oven.

We use our MW mostly for reheating meals that had been previously cooked in an oven, and heating water for tea.

 

[mlp]

Yes, I use mine many times per day.

 

[PTree15]

I don't know what I do without a microwave. Ours died a few months ago and I ran out and got a new one within a few days. I do not "cook" in it, per se, unless it's rice, or vegetables. I mostly reheat in it. And make popcorn. Occasionally tea if I'm too lazy to put the kettle on. Stuff like that.

I reheat tea in it sometimes. Every now and then I'll pour a cup and then forget to drink it because I get distracted or something .

 

[RabbitLuvr]

I use mine daily. Mostly for reheating, and things like making Cream of Wheat or instant oatmeal for breakfast.

I *could* survive without one, but I prefer not to. I don't even know how to reheat something like rice without a microwave (don't tell me about the rice fungus that's going to kill me), and wouldn't want to reheat things on the stove and create more dirty dishes.

 

[Spang]

I use a microwave oven to cook frozen bags of vegetables, reheat delicious leftovers, and thaw buns when necessary.

 

[thefadedone]

Yes I use it several times a day. It's extremely convenient in the summer also when it's too hot to turn on the oven.

 

[SummerRain]

I have one but I only use it once a week, if that, to re-heat food I've made to re-heat baked beans if I'm feeling lazy. Don't tell my mum though. She's convinced microwaves will kill you, so she wont use one, so I staunchly defend them in her presence.

Maybe it's because I never ate microwaved food growing up, but I don't like the taste of things like vegetables when cooked in the microwave. Left-overs and flavourful things are fine because they don't taste any different, but plain things always taste a bit yucky to me.

 

[Spidergrrl]

We haven't had one in 9 years since we moved to the UK. I honestly don't miss it too often--just when we have leftovers of somehting like lasagna cos it's hard to reheat in the oven (dries out) and a ***** to do it on the stove top as it falls appart. So i just started making smaller lasagna.

Besides after Spiderman had cancer he has always said that he had enough radiation for a lifetime and didn't need any more.

 

[Second Summer]

Just came across this article today which explains a bit how microwave ovens work and heats food, talks about the claims about radiation leaks and causing cancer. A couple of quotes:

As far as nutrition goes, because microwave ovens cook food faster and with little added fat or water, the food retains more nutrients than other forms of cooking. In a 2010 Food Politics blog post, nutritionist Marion Nestle calls it like she sees it: “Eat a mixture of cooked and uncooked vegetables and the vitamins will take care of themselves. If you do cook, steaming is great and microwaving is better for preserving vitamin activity.” Most vitamins are heat stable, but if you are particularly interested in vitamin C, Nestle goes on to make the point that for that vitamin, “raw wins every time.”

And about causing cancer:

Back in April 2005, in a piece titled “Microwave Myths,” David Schardt traces the spurious charges back to unsubstantiated research by Swiss food chemist Hans Hertel (who, with seven other vegetarians, spent two months in a hotel consuming milk and vegetables cooked in a microwave, as well as other ways) in the late 1980s, and U.S. researcher William Kopp, who wrote a 1996 piece about the fact that Cold War research in the Soviet Union had proven the dangers of microwave ovens. Although the Soviet Union may have banned the ovens for a short period, Schardt reports, no countries ban them today. “The ‘evidence’ that microwaved foods cause cancer boils down to Hans Hertel’s and William Kopp’s claims,” Schardt goes on to say.

Jane Says: Everything You Know About Microwaves Is Wrong (takepart.com)

 

[Spidergrrl]

I doubt they cause cancer--but Spiderman likes to be sarcastic. I disregard about 50% of anything he says.

But we have not really missed one. Our kitchen is too small anyway. there would be no counter spece left if we had one.

 

[mary1]

I haven't had one for 10 years. I had a toaster oven for three years of that time and it was great! I miss that faithful old toaster oven...

I use the microwave at my bf's place though. Just for heating tea. I wouldn't really "cook" anything in there as I don't think food tastes as good cooked in the microwave than stove top/in the oven.

 

[hungryraccoon]

I think they are handy for certain things. I use it daily to quickly warm up my overnight oats (cold oats, blergh.)

Also I have some 'steam bags' for vegetables. When I'm feeling lazy, which is always, I will steam the vegetables in the microwave with these. An easy way to ensure you always have veg with your meals,

 

[RabbitLuvr]

I had a toaster oven for three years of that time and it was great! I miss that faithful old toaster oven...

My toaster oven rocks my world.

 

[Mr Crunchy]

My toaster oven rocks my world.

Waahh, mine just died this week. I use the mickey for making popcorn and that's about it. I use(d) the toaster for everything else. I was alive when microwaves became household items and I have never gotten used to food cooked in them. They heat unevenly and it does something to the consistency that makes the food seem like it's made of plastic.