The invention of the microwave in 1945 might have made Betty Crocker roll in her grave. But since then, over 97% of households, including mine, in the US have a microwave. They are fast, convenient, easy to use, perfect when you\u2019re on-the-go or just-got-back-from-the-bar. But these focused beams of microwave emissions \u2013 are they safe, can they cause cancer, and will they cook my burrito cook evenly? Let\u2019s find out\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: They emit waves of energy, micro-waves (electromagnetic radiation \u2013 EMR), that cause water molecules in the food to vibrate, this vibration releases heat energy, which then cooks the food. The water content of food is really critical, microwaves excite liquids more strongly, so liquid foods (e.g. fruit pie), will cook faster and more evenly than meat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: Yes, but, let me be clear. The microwave, the EMR can damage living cells and tissue. But your Microwave, the unit, cannot. The reason is because the microwave oven is surrounded by strong metal boxes that do not allow the waves to escape. You\u2019ll notice two features, the grid stuck to the back of the glass door \u2013 the holes are so small, they don\u2019t let microwaves out, and an automatic turn-off switch that stops the magnetron, that produces the microwaves, when you open the door. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: Yes, but the waves carry a LOT less energy. Even if you put your cellphone directly on top of your frozen dinner, it wouldn\u2019t release enough power to generate the heat require to heat for cooking, no matter how long you left it there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: No, actually most studies show that microwaving preserves more nutrients than traditional cooking methods. All heating methods will reduce nutrients, the key factors are \u2013 how long, how high, how much liquid is used in the cooking method. Microwaving is quick, the temp is generally low, and it requires little to no liquid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: If the food has a lot of liquid, such as pies, soups, foods with sauces, or is not very thick, it will cook pretty evenly in a short time. But if it\u2019s thick (e.g. burrito), then you want to increase the surface area, so cutting them into pieces, allows for it to heat quicker in a shorter amount of time. Remember, the faster it cooks, the better, so leverage the way a microwave works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Avoid Plastic Containers <\/strong>\u2013 many plastic containers have hormone disrupting chemicals like BPA or phthalates, they can seep into the food when heated. This goes for all cooking methods, do not use plastic!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steaming Is Best <\/strong>\u2013 use a little bit of water, a steaming tray, and cover this will not only shorten the cooking time but help to preserve the moisture in foods.\u00a0 Microwaving will dry out foods.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t Use For Old Food <\/strong>\u2013 we\u2019ve all had the slice of pizza that has been left \u201cquestionably long\u201d in the fridge, microwaves may not be as effective in killing bacteria and pathogens, because the heat tends to be lower.\u00a0 So not that you SHOULD eat that slice, but if you do, throw it in the oven!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wave Off The Microwave? The invention of the microwave in 1945 might have made Betty Crocker roll in her grave. But since then, over 97% of households, including mine, in the US have a microwave. They are fast, convenient, easy to use, perfect when you\u2019re on-the-go or just-got-back-from-the-bar. But these focused beams of microwave emissions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29204,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[181,180,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-tips","category-higher-education","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}