What not to microwave at work?

So what kinds of food should I avoid microwaving around coworkers who might hate me if I stink up the place? Or for other reasons?

Please share!
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Replies

  • any sea food, raw broccoli
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    No fish, no cabbage, no burnt popcorn, some ethnic foods are known to be especially odoriferous, nothing stinky or messy. If you make a mess clean it up.
  • PrincessMel72
    PrincessMel72 Posts: 1,094 Member
    FISH - DO NOT DO IT! People will hate you!
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    As said above, any fish just no. Also eggs.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    Popcorn can be questionable in some offices. It's not that it's a bad smell, but it permeates the building. And it is a very very bad smell if it burns, such as the time that someone accidentally put 30 minutes instead of 3 in a former workplace of mine. The microwave was permanently damaged.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    The whole office smelled like sauerkraut the other day. I could have murdered someone. agree with above stuff too.

    My coworkers once got mad at me for instant maple and brown sugar oatmeal. I had NO idea that it was that strong.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    Fish/seafood. Cabbage. Curry. Bacon.

    Our office suite was next to the kitchenette and there was a guy that came in and made bacon in the toaster oven Every. Single. Morning. It was brutal. Mostly because he never shared.
  • BlueSkyShoal
    BlueSkyShoal Posts: 325 Member
    A lot of offices don't allow popcorn. We've had multiple instances of it setting off the smoke alarms. And when the alarm goes off, the floor has to be evacuated just to be safe. You can imagine the dirty looks the popcorn-maker gets after an incident like that, lol.
  • Fit_Trekkie
    Fit_Trekkie Posts: 27 Member
    i microwave what i want, when i want. lol. i also have opened cans of tuna in the office kitchen. i do it with the faucet on washing away the drainage but it still smells. i also don't care what the kitchen smells like from the last person and the only time anyone in the office comments on anything is when something smells good. we have an open kitchen in our work space so we all smell everything that gets cooked. but we also have a diverse staff and people are pretty tolerant.

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  • danigirl1011
    danigirl1011 Posts: 314 Member
    Eggs or egg whites. i didn't even think they smelled bad, but got *kitten* at from my boss that 3 different people complained about me. bummed about it.
  • KiwiAlexP
    KiwiAlexP Posts: 186 Member
    Fish Curry! We had a shared offic with the microwave in one corner - the boss heated up his fish curry but being the only person with an office didn't have to smell it the reast of the day.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    Broccoli and cabbage family veggies are the ones that people complain about most where I work. They grilled steaks today at work. It is still cold here so they grilled in the garage, but it seeped into the building and has smelled like grilled steak since 11:30 this morning.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    Gremlins. Very messy!

    Also agree with the above - fish, cabbage, broccoli, anything overly smelly. And if it's something that is going to splatter, be a peach and cover it, please!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Meh...I break all the rules. I eat a lot of fish, so that's usually getting heated in the microwave...I also steam broccoli in the microwave because it's the easiest thing to do besides a salad which I also do a couple times per week. I reheat my omelettes as well. I often eat Kimchi in my office.

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    The smell of fish microwaving makes me wretch. I used to work in a company where a large portion of the workforce was hispanic and during Lent on Fridays, there would be literally 10 microwaves going at a time reheating fish for hours. The rest of the time that cafeteria smelled like heaven on a plate. But on Lenten Fridays I had to run through the cafeteria to get to the door, it smelled like death had puked up fish poop. :astonished:

    I hate it when people make popcorn, but honestly that's just cause it makes me hungry and I'm jealous.
  • whoffmann
    whoffmann Posts: 16 Member
    aluminum. Also tin, and iron ingots.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I had a boss who banned popcorn from being cooked in the microwave. Maybe some brands are worse than others. I've made Newman's popcorn at home and it didn't stink up the house. It may have less ingredients than other brands and I'm always careful to not overcook it.
  • brittyn3
    brittyn3 Posts: 481 Member
    You do you. Eat what you want to eat.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    By all the things listed above, I would only microwave water for tea. LOL.

    (that's actually all I do in the lunchroom. any food that's not mine tends to stink.)
  • EHollander89
    EHollander89 Posts: 169 Member
    I sometimes will bring fish fillets to work and reheat in the microwave. I did ask around with my co-workers after the first time bringing fish just to be courteous, and no one was bothered. I also usually ask before popping popcorn. Sometimes frozen meals might smell funny, but it usually fades quickly. I work in a small office, so it's easy to check in with my co-workers about something like this. We've all made friendly accusations against each other of reheating something stinky, so it's not a big deal in my office. The times when I am most cautious is when my co-workers have guests in for meetings in our conference room or when the big boss will be in the office near lunch time. I don't want to disturb guests or the big boss! lol
  • JenHuedy
    JenHuedy Posts: 611 Member
    I microwave whatever I want, including plenty of fish and broccoli. Often at the same time. It's a lunch room, it's going to smell like food. If the microwaves were in the work area where people were forced to be around I might be more considerate.

    The only exception is popcorn. Big "NO POPCORN" signs on all the microwaves because the fire alarms have been set off too many times by people who don't have a 3 minute attention span. Never once have I craved popcorn at work. Now I want some every time I see one of those flipping signs.
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    Clawsal wrote: »
    So what kinds of food should I avoid microwaving around coworkers who might hate me if I stink up the place? Or for other reasons?

    Please share!

    SEAFOOD!!!!! Good GOD why do people do this????
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    A guy in my office would bring in smoked catfish, put it in the fridge at the beginning of the week, and warm it up for breakfast in the morning. Made the refrigerator and the office smell like rotten fish. It is the worst.
    I'd add broccoli to that list, too.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    edited March 2017
    IDK I used to care. Now I come in to work at 3pm most days with my uneaten salmon lunch and yell "puttin' fish in the microwave!" and do my thing. Nobody's complained yet.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    I microwave eggs with raw broccoli and other vegies, and lots of curry type spices at work.... And everyone wants my lunch. It can't be that bad!

    I wouldn't do fish...
  • cicalejo64
    cicalejo64 Posts: 15 Member
    NOOOO FISH! My office was close to the employee kitchen and I shared a vent with it. Fish always caused the largest complaints. The odor permeates and it also stays in the microwave.
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    I work in a hair salon so every smell from the micro permeates the whole shop! No seafood bleh
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
    As far as i'm concerned, I'll microwave whatever I like. What smells bad to me might smell good to someone else and vice versa. The smell goes away quickly anyway.

    I'm also not keen to comment on what people are eating as I don't know why they are eating that. Perhaps the cheap fish fillets were all they could afford to bring this week. Perhaps they are struggling with allergies, or are making changes for their health. Some people cook a lot of their cultural foods and that is just what their leftovers are. Not my place to judge.

    Leave the microwave messy, however, and that's a different story.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Food smells.
    Maybe you should ask your coworkers what smells bother them.