Your post is fascinating and fun to read. My comment about the microwave is it's not suitable for stir frying! Sorry. And to me, I may be totally wrong here, food or water heated by the microwave seems to cool down so quickly, perhaps after the water molecules stop bouncing around. And you can't cook for a crowd using it. For a single person heating up frozen food, it's excellent in time saving and cleaning up. Thank you for this seed of science.
Great story. I always felt like there should be more to the microwave than just heating my chocolate milk. Considering it's efficiency we should promote more of this, but I think the Airfryer already took up the spot of premier cooking device for a family of one, and the microwave will never lose it's reputation as brainwave frying, dog-killing, sub-par cooking device for the dumb and uninitiated.
I do wonder if Pyroceram, or whatever it's coated with, would also leave toxic stuff in your food after a while? And would it, if produced in large quantities, also lead to massive environmental pollution with persistent and bioaccumulating pollutants? Just like Teflon does? Or would the alternate microwave loving history not only use less energy, but also pollute less toxic shit?
Every year I cook a hundred or more "fried" eggs in the microwave, and I've never had a yolk explode. Never.
Longer microwave cooking times are just enough to play a quick game of online bullet chess.
Browning question: I was taught never to run the microwave empty, as this would cook the magnetron. Is this just bubbe meise, or is there some truth in it? I've never dared to test a microwave to destruction.
My guess is that it's okay because "full of a pan" is not "empty". I think if there's nothing to absorb the energy, eventually the magnetron does, but the pan should be absorbing it here.
Thanks. it's amazing that Google can tell me most of what I want to know about anything, and I'm too damn lazy to use it. "The instructions are what you read when things break."
AI Overview says
Risks of Running an Empty Microwave
Magnetron Damage: In a normal operation, food or liquid absorbs the microwave energy. Without an absorber, the microwaves bounce off the interior walls and reflect back into the magnetron (the component that generates them). This feedback can cause the magnetron to overheat, melt, or burn out.
You are right to avoid eggs. Cooking eggs in the microwave is quite dangerous as they are prone to exploding in your face. (Despite lots of online misinformation, this applies to raw and cooked eggs in and out of the shell. This video is helpful: https://youtu.be/vdaKrT9x1Zc?si=O3jfN_Mvu5LG40L6)
Your post is fascinating and fun to read. My comment about the microwave is it's not suitable for stir frying! Sorry. And to me, I may be totally wrong here, food or water heated by the microwave seems to cool down so quickly, perhaps after the water molecules stop bouncing around. And you can't cook for a crowd using it. For a single person heating up frozen food, it's excellent in time saving and cleaning up. Thank you for this seed of science.
Great story. I always felt like there should be more to the microwave than just heating my chocolate milk. Considering it's efficiency we should promote more of this, but I think the Airfryer already took up the spot of premier cooking device for a family of one, and the microwave will never lose it's reputation as brainwave frying, dog-killing, sub-par cooking device for the dumb and uninitiated.
I do wonder if Pyroceram, or whatever it's coated with, would also leave toxic stuff in your food after a while? And would it, if produced in large quantities, also lead to massive environmental pollution with persistent and bioaccumulating pollutants? Just like Teflon does? Or would the alternate microwave loving history not only use less energy, but also pollute less toxic shit?
Very interesting. My dictionary got quite a workout while reading this post. Touche!
Every year I cook a hundred or more "fried" eggs in the microwave, and I've never had a yolk explode. Never.
Longer microwave cooking times are just enough to play a quick game of online bullet chess.
Browning question: I was taught never to run the microwave empty, as this would cook the magnetron. Is this just bubbe meise, or is there some truth in it? I've never dared to test a microwave to destruction.
My guess is that it's okay because "full of a pan" is not "empty". I think if there's nothing to absorb the energy, eventually the magnetron does, but the pan should be absorbing it here.
Thanks. it's amazing that Google can tell me most of what I want to know about anything, and I'm too damn lazy to use it. "The instructions are what you read when things break."
AI Overview says
Risks of Running an Empty Microwave
Magnetron Damage: In a normal operation, food or liquid absorbs the microwave energy. Without an absorber, the microwaves bounce off the interior walls and reflect back into the magnetron (the component that generates them). This feedback can cause the magnetron to overheat, melt, or burn out.
Nice piece!
So you had no luck with French poached eggs? A pinch of salt and teaspoon of vinegar, bring the water to the boil, then drop the eggs in?
You are right to avoid eggs. Cooking eggs in the microwave is quite dangerous as they are prone to exploding in your face. (Despite lots of online misinformation, this applies to raw and cooked eggs in and out of the shell. This video is helpful: https://youtu.be/vdaKrT9x1Zc?si=O3jfN_Mvu5LG40L6)