Cooking potatoes in the microwave.

jessie747williams

Is it okay to cook potators in the microwave. Will they lose any nutrients from being cooked at such a high temperature.
Thanks

NovusDies

I remember reading an article years ago about the best cooking methods for preserving nutrients in different vegetables. I don't remember if the potato was covered but the writer believed the microwave was the best tool for a large number.

I don't worry about it though. Nutrition is not that hard to maintain if you eat a good variety of food. I cook things the way I want to eat them whether nutrients are lost or not.

Cahgetsfit

No idea. I don't own a microwave because tin-foil-hat-wearer.

But there's a chick here at work who cooks her sweet potato in the microwave every single morning.

Google it? I'm sure Dr Google will give you an answer. Don't know if it will be a correct answer, but your chances are about as good as answers from random people on MFP

BarbaraHelen2013

Short answer...yes, cooking in the microwave is fine. Just be sure to prick them if you’re cooking in their skins! Messy exploding potatoes!

Longer answer...It’s actually better for some foods than more traditional methods. For example, some vegetables which you’d boil in water normally retain more of their vitamins because in the microwave you use a lot less water. This applies to the water soluble vitamins (C and the B complex). Steaming is the only method better than microwave for these vegetables.

Microwaves don’t cook at a temperature any ‘higher’ than other methods. I guess it just seems so from the fact that it cooks faster than a conventional oven. That’s because it cooks in a different heat exchange method. Conventional ovens use convection heating. (A molecule at the edge of your food gets warm in the hot air of the oven, and passes that heat onto the molecule in the seat next to it, which passes it on to the next molecule, as it were, all the way to the centre of the food mass ). A microwave uses electromagnetic radiation energy which causes ALL the water molecules to vibrate which produces heat via friction)

Not the most scientific explanation, but I’m no scientist!

acpgee

Prick with a fork to allow steam to escape when cooking in the skin. About 8-9 minutes depending on size of potato. Start giving a squeeze every minute after 7 minutes to test for doneness.

earlnabby

acpgee wrote: »

Prick with a fork to allow steam to escape when cooking in the skin. About 8-9 minutes depending on size of potato. Start giving a squeeze every minute after 7 minutes to test for doneness.

It also depends on the microwave wattage. Most average sized potatoes are done in less than 6 minutes in my microwave (1000w).

FireyChimera

I cook golden potatoes and sweet potatoes in the microwave nearly every single day. Never have I had an issue with it or felt nutrient deprived. As someone said above me, boiling things in water reduces the amount of water soluble vitamins, so steaming and microwave can actually help preserve those nutrients. I cook 75% of my food in the microwave and nothing has happened and I am not lacking in nutrients Better to eat microwaved potato than fast food

LyndaBSS

I actually prefer the flavor of potatoes cooked in the microwave, unless I feel like roasting a variety of root veggies, then they go in the oven.

Carlos_421

jessie747williams wrote: »

Is it okay to cook potators in the microwave. Will they lose any nutrients from being cooked at such a high temperature.
Thanks

Just dont wrap em in foil first.


Jokes aside, cut a slice in them first so they dont explode. Other than that, you're basically just baking it.

lynn_glenmont

jessie747williams wrote: »

Is it okay to cook potators in the microwave. Will they lose any nutrients from being cooked at such a high temperature.
Thanks

I think your premise is off. What makes you think a microwave produces a higher temperature than cooking in a standard convection oven, which typically is heated to 350 to 400 F, or even a little higher, to bake potatoes? A microwave should produce temperatures equivalent to boiling potatoes, or roughly 212 F.

That aside, where would the nutrients go? Unless you put the potatoes in a bowl of water inside the microwave, there's no way for the nutrients to get out of the potato?

sgt1372

I don't eat them anymore but the best & quickest way to "cook" a whole potato IMO is in a microwave.

Just wash ILir, poke a few holes in it and cook it on high for 3-4 minutes (depending on size). Eat it skin and all. Can't possibly lose an nutrients cooking in this way.