Too cold to enjoy or too hot to eat?
With some foods, I have better luck microwaving at half power for twice as long.
I do that too so it’s not fried on the edges and cold in the middle.
This is the correct answer. Full power is fine for liquids, but for solid food, twice the time at half the power. Perfectly heated food.
Having to wait is correct. That’s not stopping too late. That’s doing it right.
Of course, EVERYONE thinks that they do it right, but I want to take a moment to explain why morphballganon actually IS right.
A major purpose of heating the food is to kill bacteria, and most bacteria die at a temperature that is too hot to put in your mouth. If it’s “just the right temperature to eat” you’re gambling with food poisoning.
If you’re depending on your microwave to sterilize your leftovers they are too far gone and should be disposed of.
I microwave at lower power settings for longer times, and I stop to stir and taste at regular intervals. My microwaved food is usually the temperature I want it to be.
Using low power on a microwave almost feels like cheating. For anyone unaware, a microwave can only be on or off, so setting a microwave to 50% power really just makes the microwave run for only half of the total runtime. A minute at 50% will be on for 10s, off for ten, etc.
It cooks way better, especially things like stews or other semi-liquidy things that tend to get hot and cold spots.
Edit: looks like my info is old considering my microwave is from 2004, lol. In 2006, LG patented using an inverter to drive the magnetron. The main benefit (according to the patent documentation) is that it’s cheaper to produce. A secondary benefit is that you can, in fact, provide lower power to the magnetron. Seems like a handful of producers must be paying LG to use that method, but probably more will start when the patent expires next year.
I haven’t seen one in the wild, but they are out there.
That used to be correct. I bought a microwave with an inverter and it can actually heat constantly at different power levels. Curiously, it has a 0 Watt power level as well 🤷🏻♂️
I guess maybe it’s so you could do like a programmed cook that does have a 0 watt period?
Double the time, half the power. It works so well. The difference between 1 minute and 2 doesn’t bother me, I’m off doing something else.
I know how my microwave works and so can time it.
At work it’s usually outside lava and inside arctic.
At work double the time and halve the power, it will cook more evenly for you. Even cheap microwaves normally have a power setting.
Cooks at 800W anf need to wait 3min.
Personally I don’t have a problem to wait longer but I think m co workers would crucify me xD
Neither… I tend to underdo it, check it, then put it back in.
Neither, I always microwave precisely when I mean to.
Cook for half the time and stir. One stir is a minimum.
Stirring helps to distribute the heat better and avoid this dilemma
(Depending on the model) if you microwave, for example, on 50% power for 2 minutes, it will alternate 10 sec of cooking and 10 sec of not cooking for 2 minutes, so in the end neither of your scenarios come to fruition
Sometimes the plate is burning hot and the food is cold. Best of both worlds.
Guess what, that plate is not microwave safe.
My microwave safe corel plates still get hot where the food is. That could just be normal thermal convection.
Yeah, that’s normal - ceramic and glass will get hot from the food or steam, just if the plate itself gets hot, it’s absorbing microwaves itself.
I know because I used to have a mug that would get hot when microwaved, and one day it exploded.
I use Sensor Reheat. 😎
Hey now, not everyone can afford the Jaguar of microwaves
I usually start with too cold and when I put it in for a bit more, I get it lava hot.
I find it disgusting when something is not at the right temp. So I’d rather wait and have it heated thoroughly.
Figured it was better to use the unfreeze mode instead. Or use a very low wattage like 250watts for longer. That way food doesn’t loose all it moisture.
I leave it in for too long because you’re supposed to let it sit and warm the whole thing evenly.
Then I forget about it until it’s a little too cold.
