Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 41 total)
  • Use of Microwaves
  • SaxonRider
    Full Member

    As a 70s kid, the microwave oven was just taking off as a common household appliance. By the 1980s, they were everywhere, and – for a time at least – used for everything, from boiling water to making popcorn to actual cooking of ‘proper’ food.

    Mrs SR and I had one in our house until about 2000, but due to underuse, gave it to a friend and haven’t seen one since other than in the kitchen where I work.

    Are they still as ubiquitous as they once were? If you have one, could you live without it? Are you better off with one than you would be without one?

    In light of the ‘induction porridge’ post, I am wondering if I am missing out on something!

    binners
    Full Member

    simon_g
    Full Member

    Is this the culinary equivalent of a “I don’t own a TV” thread?

    Managed OK for a couple of months when we moved in and found the built-in one would work as an oven, but not as a microwave. We did get it fixed though.

    Mostly used for defrosting things – we often make twice as much as we need of something and freeze the rest. Baby is now on solids so we batch-make fruit and veg to puree so can mix and match each day. I make my porridge in it in the mornings too, quicker and saves washing a saucepan.

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    jivehoneyjive
    Free Member

    Eek!! Use of Microwaves!!

    ads678
    Full Member

    Mine gets used for popcorn and heating up stuff we’ve cooked and frozen for the kids.

    FuzzyWuzzy
    Full Member

    I only really use mine for heating ready meals (the microwave part anyway), it’s a convection oven to which is handy for small stuff as it pre-heats much faster than my normal oven.

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    Genuine question – Can you poach an egg in the microwave?

    Quite fancy a bit of poached egg on toast action at work. Got a Toaster, Kettle and microwave. Can I poach the egg without any specialist kit?

    midlifecrashes
    Full Member

    Quite fancy a bit of poached egg on toast action at work. Got a Toaster, Kettle and microwave. Can I poach the egg without any specialist kit?

    Yes, boil the kettle. Pop it in.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Genuine question – Can you poach an egg in the microwave?

    You can get poachers – little plastic bowls with lids. Crack ’em in with a spoonful of water, prick the yolk and nuke for two minutes on about 50% power.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    + for defrosting tupperwear meals and also for beans/soups at work as its either kettle or microwave in the office….

    and at home i use it for the same things when cooking for 1.

    Its also good for doing corn on the cob and baked potato insides quickly before chucking them on the BBQ for final cooking.

    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    Can I poach the egg without any specialist kit?

    Yes,you have all the gear,boil the kettle,pour in to a cup,spin the water round,dump egg in cup and then microwave on high for 1 minute.

    Please come back and tell me how it goes 😈

    scandal42
    Free Member

    Got rid 6 months ago, don’t miss it.

    wrecker
    Free Member

    We just replaced ours with a small cheap one as it’s only used for heating up the boys milk. That boy loves his milk.

    lonesomewanderer
    Free Member
    jivehoneyjive
    Free Member

    Never tried poaching eggs with water in the microwave…

    Just pop a knob of butter into a mug (or better still a ramekin), pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt it, then crack the egg into the mug, piercing the yoke with a fork.

    Depending on the Microwave, poaching an egg normally takes between 40 seconds and a minute, (a bit more if you have multiple eggs in at the same time)

    Keep a keen eye on it, as even pierced, they can explode spectacularly if you’re not vigilant.

    You can also use your microwave to create some freaky ass plasma shee-it

    (Disclaimer: I managed to melt a hole in my cousin’s microwave doing this)

    edlong
    Free Member

    Last time we needed one, and would have replaced it if it went “bang”, was when we had baby bottles that needed sterilising.

    It did eventually go bang, I’m guessing 6 – 8 years ago. We were going to replace it when we came across the right ‘deal’ but after a while of not having one, we realised that we didn’t miss it, so we didn’t bother.

    The bit we did / do miss, with it having been a combination jobby, was having a spare (conventional) oven, but mainly that’s once a year (Xmas dinner cooking) so not really worth buying just for that, for us.

    momo
    Full Member

    We don’t have one, mainly because of the lack of useful worktop space in our kitchen. I do use the one at work a lot for heating lunch and breakfast up though.

    wiggles
    Free Member

    Mine broke and it wasnt replaced for a few years as we just didn’t really miss it much. Father in law gave us one recently as he moved and didn’t need it, not really had much use since we have had one back in the kitchen.

    binners
    Full Member

    I’m just remembering that you really can’t cope without a microwave when you’ve got a baby. It really got some hammer when ours were tiny

    andytherocketeer
    Full Member

    If I had one, I wouldn’t “use” it, but would “abuse” it.

    Grape rockets. arcy sparky grapes mostly, but not completely cut in half. Super heated water. Plate of grated cheese to map out the hot and cold spots. etc.

    medoramas
    Free Member

    Don’t have one for the last 12 years, we managed to cope quite well even when our daughter was born 😉

    However now we’re looking for a bigger house – maybe if the kitchen’s big enough we might have one. The popcorn thing…….

    seosamh77
    Free Member

    I use it for heating up last nights curry and that’s about it.

    freeagent
    Free Member

    We’ve got one and use it for –

    Warming up baked beans/tinned spaghetti for kids dinners
    speeding up Jacket Pots (5 mins in microwave halves the oven time)
    defrosting stuff

    We don’t actually cook anything in it.
    If we didn’t have kids I’d do without it.

    cokie
    Full Member

    Soup at work is my main use.
    Sometime soup at home if I fancy a quick meal.

    edhornby
    Full Member

    beans in a plastic pot save washing dried bean juice out of a metal pan

    porridge – as above

    baked potato, fast cook in the microwave, finish the skin in the oven

    P-Jay
    Free Member

    As above really, I think most people have one, but they’re not the wonder machine everyone thought they were in the 80’s.

    Like a few others have said, I had one for years, I was used mostly as a stand to stack stuff on, my Wife used it to warm beans and other tinned stuff, I hate them and won’t use them.

    Then we had a baby and now it’s a sterileisor, bottle warmer and baby food emergency defroster.

    I wouldn’t make actual food with it though, it’s disgusting – my Mum thought it was THE best way to make scrambled eggs and if you’re too lazy to spend 10 mins stirring a pot and like eating yellow foam I guess it is.

    medoramas
    Free Member

    I remember when they started appearing more often in Poland (just after the communism died) people were talking how wonderful they are.

    My mum’s friend bought one and was telling her: “you can warm up an ice cream so it’s boiling hot, but it won’t melt!” 8)

    TheBrick
    Free Member

    I don’t own a tv or a microwave which make me not just a ****, but a total ****.

    I would like to pick up a microwave at some point, possibly a vintage one with a beard. Then I can become a postmodern ****.

    BillMC
    Full Member

    When they first came out I was at a friend’s for dinner and she did the whole meal in the microwave. It was kin awful. I only used mine for defrosting and 20 second blasts to cook garlic cloves (a post pub delicacy). Gave it away to free up kitchen surface space and have enjoyed its absence. Breath’s probably a bit fresher too.

    gummikuh
    Full Member

    I cook my poppadum’s in mine, easier than deep frying. Just got to move them around a bit.
    Great fun watching them buckle and writhe in agony!!

    esselgruntfuttock
    Free Member

    Ours gets plenty of use just warming things up, must save some £££’s by not using a larger electric oven/gas hob, never mind the time it saves as well. Hmm…35 mins in oven or 7 in the microwave?

    torsoinalake
    Free Member

    garlic cloves (a post pub delicacy)

    Say what now?

    DezB
    Free Member

    Spinach. Don’t you people eat spinach?

    elliptic
    Free Member

    Use it all the time for steamed veg, potatoes, precooked rice, baked beans, soup, lunch at work.

    Can’t imagine why anyone would want to stand around faffing with saucepans all day, if I didn’t have a microwave I’d be living off toast.

    allthepies
    Free Member

    I use mine loads, way more than the oven.

    jonba
    Free Member

    I also use mine way more than the oven. For heating up liquids and frozen foods it is far more efficient (time wise). I also own a TV, use facebook, prefer my garmin GPS to OS maps and like Coca Cola. However, for balance, I own an aeropress and a rigid singlespeed mtb.

    benp1
    Full Member

    I use ours, a lot!

    Cooking veg (in a microwave steamer), cooking rice, often cooking salmon fillets, heating baked beans, making scrambled eggs, heating up cold coffee, heating up milk for the kids, heating up leftovers, making hot chocolate

    Mine can be used as an oven and a grill, – but those functions rarely gets used.

    I would struggle to live without mine. It is an amazing time saver

    Klunk
    Free Member

    perfect basmati rice every time, 2-3 tablespoons per person rince well then boil in a pan with a pinch of salt (don’t worry about the cup of rice to a cup of water nonsense or what ever it is) for about 8-10 minutes. drain and stick it straight in the fridge. Once it’s cooled a tad fluff with a fork. Leave it in the fridge until your ready to serve 2 mins in the microwave, Done.

    smatkins1
    Free Member

    I’ve not had one now for 6months and not really noticed a need for it. It was useful for making unsupervised porridge on a morning though.

    Drac
    Full Member

    We’ve not owned one for about 7 years now after the last one went pop, we didn’t bother replacing it and never missed it.

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