Does anyone else here not own a microwave

[Bald Rick]

I’ve got 2, as one isn’t enough!

All veg is cooked (steamed) in it, does it much better, and uses much less energy too.

Agree about baked potatoes, start them off in it, then half an hour in the proper oven.

Which reminds me of the first time I realised that the then future Mrs BR wasn’t very domesticated. I didn’t have a microwave in my house back then, and she was astonished to learn you could bake a potato in a conventional oven. Not long after that she bought a new set of kitchen knives for me because my set were blunt...

 

[talltim]

As above. How do you guys heat up leftovers without access to Chef Mike

Never understood the leftovers thing. We just cook the right amount

 

[Darandio]

I don't have one and don't plan to get one. I am not sure that they are that healthy.

Interesting. Are we talking unhealthy because of the way they cook food? Or because you would need to wrap your head in tin foil to avoid the microwaves zapping your brain?

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All veg is cooked (steamed) in it, does it much better, and uses much less energy too.

Although we use the microwave a lot I just couldn't do this. An actual steamer is the best piece of kit we ever invested in.

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As above. How do you guys heat up leftovers without access to Chef Mike

The only leftovers we ever have are from Sunday lunch and we all know they go in the frying pan not the microwave.

 

[pdq]

As long as you know what foods cook well and which ones don't, a microwave is a great addition to the kitchen. We wouldn't be without it (nor the dishwasher for that matter).

When I make chilli I do about 5 litres (that's how big my biggest pot is) and freeze it all in takeaway containers. Results in a tasty, quick, easy, healthy, home cooked meal: zap a spud for about 2/3rds its cooking time, coat it in olive oil and a bit of salt, then into a hot oven, while reheating the chilli.

Veg is also excellent cooked in a microwave. White Cabbage with a couple of tbsp of water and a knob of butter is especially good.

 

[Busaholic]

From the above, if I were a free agent again (emoji unspecified) I'd probably get a not-too-expensive one, but whether it ever got used more than annually I wouldn't like to speculate. No-one will ever convince me that edible baked potatoes and microwaves are a good fit, however.

 

[Darandio]

I didn't want to get involved in the baked potato poncery but I certainly wouldn't say cooking a fresh spud from start to finish in the microwave and labelling it as a baked potato is a good thing. The frozen Bannister's ones aren't a bad product at all though, pre-baked in the oven then frozen and you just heat them up. They are not as good as a proper oven baked potato but as a quicker alternative they are pretty decent.

 

[pdq]

The main issue with microwaves and potatoes is that the skin doesn't crisp up. If I've got a couple of hours then the oven wins. If I haven't, crisping in the oven for 20mins after cooking in the microwave is a pretty good compromise.

 

[route101]

No I don't. I prefer ready meals in oven, I don't have many ready meals now. Only product ive come across in rustlers burger which are awful, that need to be done in microwave.

 

[py_megapixel]

In my opinion, the best way to cook baked potatoes is a slow cooker. It's something a family member does and I'm not sure if they are finished off in the oven or not, but they are wonderful. I've never tried cooking them like that myself.

I prefer my potatoes tender rather than crispy on the outside, if you see what I mean.

 

[John Griffiths]

We've got one, but use it mainly for reheating left-overs. No dishwasher - don't see the point, and not enough room anyway.

 

[TheBigD]

Still got the Sainsbury's basic one I bought in 1990. The white plastic has turned yellow but it still works ok on the rare occasions I use it.

 

[dgl]

We have a Sharp combi-microwave that we got given a while ago, has a grill and convection oven as well as the microwave and either can be used in combination with the microwave (at up to 70% microwave power). It also has a few auto settings which use a combination of the settings (and originally a couple of metal racks that sit on the turntable to aid these modes) and you can do a combination of settings/times so that you could for example have microwave and oven for 10 minutes and then oven only for 10 minutes after that.
It also has proper metal shelves like a regular oven for grill/oven only modes.

Makes excellent jackets in about 30mins, plus you can use it to give microwave stuff a crispy top.

 

[Domh245]

Never understood the leftovers thing. We just cook the right amount

When I said leftovers at least, it probably was not the right phrase. It's almost always where I've cooked and have (deliberately) got additional portions out of it as opposed to serving and then leaving some on the plate.

 

[Bald Rick]

An actual steamer is the best piece of kit we ever invested in.

We threw ours out, as it was difficult to steam different items to different times. Not a problem in the microwave.

Got to go - just off to steam the veg for the Sunday roast!

 

[Essan]

I don’t have a microwave in my kitchen and realized that must be rather rare nowadays. Does anyone else here not own one?

I don't. And have used one probably 2 or 3 times this century (when staying in a youth hostel)

Used them all the time in the 1980s though

 

[Bevan Price]

I am now with my 2nd microwave, which replaced its predecessor about a year ago (when that failed after about 30 years use). Its main use is to cook meat (steak, burgers, sausages, etc.), and microwave chips.

I had not expected to be able to cook meat well in a microwave, but when my grill failed after a rather short life, the alternative had been try the microwave, or have no meal. Despite reports to the contrary, beef turns brown when cooked in the microwave. Took a while to get used to the settings on the new microwave, including turning some microwave chips into charcoal when I used a rather "high" setting.

I know I could fry meat in a pan, but you get much less fat when meat is cooked in a microwave.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm baffled by this concept of a microwave being unhealthy?

It's a very old-fashioned and lacking in understanding view that some people think that your food becomes radioactive.

The effect of microwaving something is very, very similar to the effect of boiling it, with the exception that the heat is from the inside out.

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The frozen Bannister's ones aren't a bad product at all though, pre-baked in the oven then frozen and you just heat them up.

They are literally pre-baked potatoes. Pre-bake your own and chuck them in the freezer, it's maybe 1/4 of the price for exactly the same thing.

 

[Darandio]

They are literally pre-baked potatoes. Pre-bake your own and chuck them in the freezer, it's maybe 1/4 of the price for exactly the same thing.

Well I know what they are, that's the way I described them and i'm fully aware I can pre-bake my own. It's an alternative choice for convenience, that's all.

 

[gg1]

We have one, but the only thing it gets used for is re-heating food I've cooked previously and then frozen. Whenever I make curry, chilli, or stew I always batch cook, making anything from 3 to 6 extra portions for reheating and eating at a later date.

 

[xotGD]

My number one use of the microwave is 30 seconds to take the chill off my bowl of breakfast cereal. Much less faff than heating the milk in a pan.

We also tend to make meals that last two days, so the second portion gets heated in the microwave.

As an aside, the notion of cooking *then freezing* jacket potatoes has left me flabbergasted!

 

[507021]

I do have a microwave, but it's only used to heat up plates or cups of tea/coffee which have gone cold.

 

[najaB]

If you prefer simple meals, then a traditional hob doesn’t take much more time or effort and is much healthier.

That is false. All things being equal, fresh food cooked using a microwave retains more nutrients than if it is boiled or fried.

 

[Trackman]

The main issue with microwaves and potatoes is that the skin doesn't crisp up. If I've got a couple of hours then the oven wins. If I haven't, crisping in the oven for 20mins after cooking in the microwave is a pretty good compromise.

I buy the McCain ones, 5 mins and the job is good 'un and has fab reviews.
Got to think of the bigger picture, it save on electric and taste better.

Otherwise, I only use my microwave really for warming soup and cooking rice occasionally.
I had a quick 'A exam' of it the other day as it seems the inner walls are peeling away a bit - but they are throw away items these days.

 

[D365]

Never understood the leftovers thing. We just cook the right amount

"We" in my household is just me

If I buy a 500g portion of mince, it makes 2-3 portions of bolognese or chilli, the leftovers of which I can zap in the work kitchen over the next two/three days.

That is false. All things being equal, fresh food cooked using a microwave retains more nutrients than if it is boiled or fried.

I steam my vegetables. How does that compare?

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I don't own a microwave, I'm with @Bald Rick and own two.

I have a trusty old Panasonic from 1997 (microwave and grill), it still works fine but the oven in my electric cooker has broken. I could buy a new cooker (or get it fixed) but decided it was time for a new microwave anyway - the old one won't last forever and they don't give any warning that they are about to fail. So I splashed some cash and bought a new Panasonic (microwave, grill and convection oven). I bought it using my Coronavirus savings - no pub, no travel, no holidays etc. Now I discover that no-one gives cooking/reheating instructions for 1,000W machines!

I find it much easier for quickly and reliably heating milk and soup, and for cooking vegetables.

My elderly mother refused to have one in the house until she 'inherited' one from a relative. She was of the 'it makes your food radioactive' mindset.

I remember them installing microwave ovens for customer use in the buffet on Crewe station (platform 6) many years ago. You bought your burger from the counter and heated it yourself. It was quite the big thing at the time.

 

[Vespa]

I wonder if there is any correlation between people owning microwaves and dishwashers?

I have a microwave and but no dishwasher, I don't see the point as I use my hands and sink with fairy liquid, no space in my kitchen anyway.

I find it useful for heating up a milky porridge, baked beans and soups.

 

[Busaholic]

Never say never, never lasts a long time. I thought (and said) I'd never have a beard again (been 45 years since the last one) then I go into hospital for a delayed operation last month, expecting to come out that night, and only manage to make my escape a week later, complete with beard, which I'm unexpectedly keeping for the time being at least because so many different people have said it both suits me and makes me look younger, an important consideration when you're 72. So, now having read everything in this thread, I am seriously thinking of buying another microwave now they're quite reasonably priced. I've started reading up on reviews (always do) and will take my time making my choice: maybe a combi oven is the way to go?

 

[D365]

I remember them installing microwave ovens for customer use in the buffet on Crewe station (platform 6) many years ago. You bought your burger from the counter and heated it yourself. It was quite the big thing at the time.

I had no idea that "microwave cafes" had ever existed in the UK!

 

[crablab]

The effect of microwaving something is very, very similar to the effect of boiling it, with the exception that the heat is from the inside out.

Which is what makes it so efficient

That and you're not really "heating" the food. As you have a waveform, dielectric molecules (like water) try to align themselves with the field. As it's a wave, the field changes. And so the water molecules rotate/flip very rapidly and bump into others, and so turn kinetic energy into thermal energy, and that's what actually heats your food (the food itself rearranging itself).

Since microwaves are non-ionizing waves they can't knock electrons off, which is what can causes cancers. If you stuck your hand in a microwave, you'd just get a very nasty (and deep tissue) burn.

 

[Journeyman]

My wife is a bit scared of them, so apart from where we've lived in rental properties (8 out of our 23 years together), we've not had one. Can't say I've ever felt the need for one, and the one we had in our last rented place got used about twice in six years. I'm not even sure it worked properly.

As others have said, baked potatoes and microwaved potatoes are not the same things.