Alternative uses for the microwave?
I do a couple of non typical things in the microwave.
I use it for blanching vegetables such as green beans in the pricked packet they are sold in and then rinse with hot water afterwards.
I use the microwave to make creme caramel because life is too short for cooking anything au bain marie. I zap 10 minutes on half power, then turn down to the lowest setting and zap at 10 minute intervals until the middle is firm. This takes usually three zaps so takes less cooking time than au bain marie in the oven too. Similarly I use the microwave for recipes calling for melted chocolate.
I make a pretty good facsimile for oil free potato chips by thinly slicing potatoes in the food processor, then laying in a single layer on a large plate lined with silicon mesh or silicon baking paper. Season and zap for 6 minutes on high. Remove any that are golden brown. Zap stragglers at 1 minutes intervals being careful because the margin between golden brown and burnt is quite narrow. These harden to a crisp when cool.
Any other tips for kitchen hacks on less conventional things to do with the microwave?
I use it for blanching vegetables such as green beans in the pricked packet they are sold in and then rinse with hot water afterwards.
I use the microwave to make creme caramel because life is too short for cooking anything au bain marie. I zap 10 minutes on half power, then turn down to the lowest setting and zap at 10 minute intervals until the middle is firm. This takes usually three zaps so takes less cooking time than au bain marie in the oven too. Similarly I use the microwave for recipes calling for melted chocolate.
I make a pretty good facsimile for oil free potato chips by thinly slicing potatoes in the food processor, then laying in a single layer on a large plate lined with silicon mesh or silicon baking paper. Season and zap for 6 minutes on high. Remove any that are golden brown. Zap stragglers at 1 minutes intervals being careful because the margin between golden brown and burnt is quite narrow. These harden to a crisp when cool.
Any other tips for kitchen hacks on less conventional things to do with the microwave?
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Eggs, the only other thing I can think of. Maybe try Crock-Pot cooking. Simple, you can buy liners for easy cleanup plus it's chilli season!1
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I also do bacon rashers in the microwave. Put the rashers on a plate, cover in paper towels and zap being careful not to burn. They come out very crisp because the microwave cooks high fat elements faster than low fat.
That's why I am not crazy about doing eggs in the microwave. Yolks tend to cook faster than whites.1 -
I store my socks in my microwave.
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School children can carry their books in a microwave.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/teen-carries-textbooks-in-microwave-to-protest-school-s-backpack-ban-1.4146721
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I cook my weeks worth of sweet potatoes in there. I just poke holes, wrap them in wet paper towels and wrap them in cling wrap and cook them for like 2-3 mins on 2 sides1
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I use it to quick blanch veggies or to quickly melt butter anything. Other then that, not more more.I also do bacon rashers in the microwave. Put the rashers on a plate, cover in paper towels and zap being careful not to burn. They come out very crisp because the microwave cooks high fat elements faster than low fat.
That's why I am not crazy about doing eggs in the microwave. Yolks tend to cook faster than whites.
Thats not true. Do this.
- lube a coffee mug so that the egg does not stick
- crack an egg inside and cover with paper towel
- full power one minute (but this will depend on your microwave) or until you hear the first pop
- take out the mug and slide out perfectly poached egg (set white, runny yolk)
I do this all the time at work for breakfast.
I tried for a minute and got a hard yolk and a hard white. Tried again for 30 seconds and got a hard yolk and a runny white.0 -
devnicholson312 wrote: »I cook my weeks worth of sweet potatoes in there. I just poke holes, wrap them in wet paper towels and wrap them in cling wrap and cook them for like 2-3 mins on 2 sides
But potatoes dont have sides
But if you turn them over half way through cooking they cook evenly. I do my sweet potatoes this way, too, but I don't wrap them.0 -
I use it to quick blanch veggies or to quickly melt butter anything. Other then that, not more more.I also do bacon rashers in the microwave. Put the rashers on a plate, cover in paper towels and zap being careful not to burn. They come out very crisp because the microwave cooks high fat elements faster than low fat.
That's why I am not crazy about doing eggs in the microwave. Yolks tend to cook faster than whites.
Thats not true. Do this.
- lube a coffee mug so that the egg does not stick
- crack an egg inside and cover with paper towel
- full power one minute (but this will depend on your microwave) or until you hear the first pop
- take out the mug and slide out perfectly poached egg (set white, runny yolk)
I do this all the time at work for breakfast.
You microwave eggs at work? That's pretty heinous....like the dude that sits behind me eating a tuna sub at his desk yesterday...4 -
I use it to quick blanch veggies or to quickly melt butter anything. Other then that, not more more.I also do bacon rashers in the microwave. Put the rashers on a plate, cover in paper towels and zap being careful not to burn. They come out very crisp because the microwave cooks high fat elements faster than low fat.
That's why I am not crazy about doing eggs in the microwave. Yolks tend to cook faster than whites.
Thats not true. Do this.
- lube a coffee mug so that the egg does not stick
- crack an egg inside and cover with paper towel
- full power one minute (but this will depend on your microwave) or until you hear the first pop
- take out the mug and slide out perfectly poached egg (set white, runny yolk)
I do this all the time at work for breakfast.
I tried for a minute and got a hard yolk and a hard white. Tried again for 30 seconds and got a hard yolk and a runny white.
In a mug? Serious?
My always come out like this.
Show us your actual egg right after cooking, not some copypasta'd professional photo. Also, take a picture of the mug you use. Different clays, potteries, or plastics will cause the eggs to cook differently.2 -
My neighbor turned an old microwave into their letterbox.1
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I use it to quick blanch veggies or to quickly melt butter anything. Other then that, not more more.I also do bacon rashers in the microwave. Put the rashers on a plate, cover in paper towels and zap being careful not to burn. They come out very crisp because the microwave cooks high fat elements faster than low fat.
That's why I am not crazy about doing eggs in the microwave. Yolks tend to cook faster than whites.
Thats not true. Do this.
- lube a coffee mug so that the egg does not stick
- crack an egg inside and cover with paper towel
- full power one minute (but this will depend on your microwave) or until you hear the first pop
- take out the mug and slide out perfectly poached egg (set white, runny yolk)
I do this all the time at work for breakfast.
I tried for a minute and got a hard yolk and a hard white. Tried again for 30 seconds and got a hard yolk and a runny white.
In a mug? Serious?
My always come out like this.
I used a small bowl for dipping sauce. Will try next time in a mug.0 -
I use it to quick blanch veggies or to quickly melt butter anything. Other then that, not more more.I also do bacon rashers in the microwave. Put the rashers on a plate, cover in paper towels and zap being careful not to burn. They come out very crisp because the microwave cooks high fat elements faster than low fat.
That's why I am not crazy about doing eggs in the microwave. Yolks tend to cook faster than whites.
Thats not true. Do this.
- lube a coffee mug so that the egg does not stick
- crack an egg inside and cover with paper towel
- full power one minute (but this will depend on your microwave) or until you hear the first pop
- take out the mug and slide out perfectly poached egg (set white, runny yolk)
I do this all the time at work for breakfast.
I tried for a minute and got a hard yolk and a hard white. Tried again for 30 seconds and got a hard yolk and a runny white.
In a mug? Serious?
My always come out like this.
Show us your actual egg right after cooking, not some copypasta'd professional photo. Also, take a picture of the mug you use. Different clays, potteries, or plastics will cause the eggs to cook differently.
LOL this is my photo, just a normal coffee mug.... but thanks for chiming in
My point was that there is no such thing as a "normal coffee mug". Is it ceramic, pottery, stoneware, glass, or porcelain? Each will heat things different in a microwave. My pottery mugs work well for brownies in a mug but the stoneware does not, but my stoneware mug works the best for reheating soups.
The person you responded to says their mug is not working so it would be helpful if you tell him/her what type of mug does work.2 -
enterdanger wrote: »I use it to quick blanch veggies or to quickly melt butter anything. Other then that, not more more.I also do bacon rashers in the microwave. Put the rashers on a plate, cover in paper towels and zap being careful not to burn. They come out very crisp because the microwave cooks high fat elements faster than low fat.
That's why I am not crazy about doing eggs in the microwave. Yolks tend to cook faster than whites.
Thats not true. Do this.
- lube a coffee mug so that the egg does not stick
- crack an egg inside and cover with paper towel
- full power one minute (but this will depend on your microwave) or until you hear the first pop
- take out the mug and slide out perfectly poached egg (set white, runny yolk)
I do this all the time at work for breakfast.
You microwave eggs at work? That's pretty heinous....like the dude that sits behind me eating a tuna sub at his desk yesterday...
Why? Ever heard of a lunch room? What you think I do this at my desk? My lord please tell me thats not what you thought lol
I have coworkers who make mug eggs at work too, I don't see any problem with it. It's a kitchen. One of them just uses a carton of egg whites though not an actual egg.1 -
Dried poppadoms, take them up a bit first and then microwave until they puff up2
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Drying fresh herbs1
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I use it to quick blanch veggies or to quickly melt butter anything. Other then that, not more more.I also do bacon rashers in the microwave. Put the rashers on a plate, cover in paper towels and zap being careful not to burn. They come out very crisp because the microwave cooks high fat elements faster than low fat.
That's why I am not crazy about doing eggs in the microwave. Yolks tend to cook faster than whites.
Thats not true. Do this.
- lube a coffee mug so that the egg does not stick
- crack an egg inside and cover with paper towel
- full power one minute (but this will depend on your microwave) or until you hear the first pop
- take out the mug and slide out perfectly poached egg (set white, runny yolk)
I do this all the time at work for breakfast.
I tried for a minute and got a hard yolk and a hard white. Tried again for 30 seconds and got a hard yolk and a runny white.
In a mug? Serious?
My always come out like this.
I tried 40 seconds in a pyrex coffee mug and it came out better but yolk was still too set for my taste. Will try a ceramic mug next time.1 -
Why a coffee mug rather than a custard dish or other small bowl?2
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Forty seconds in a small ceramic rice bowl was not a success. The white under the yolk was still runny.
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Forty seconds in a ceramic mug fared a little better in that the yolk didn't explode, but yolk was still too set.
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tie-dyeing
surprisingly easy in the microwave if you buy the correct dye4 -
When I had a microwave, I stored my Crockpot in it. It also works well to store fresh baked items since I keeps the air out so they don't stale so quickly.2
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Heated water for a minute then put in the egg and zapped for 30 seconds. White a little runny in places but I got a runny yolk at last.
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Never tried microwaved eggs... hmm.
I use it usually for the lazy coffee when I'm out of the normal one (read - nuke some water and throw instant in it). Also for jacket potatoes. When I was doing the cauliflower pizza crust thing, the microwave was my friend. And polenta comes out real nice in there, too.
Not food related, but I nuke my soil mix for seedlings too
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SabAteNine wrote: »Never tried microwaved eggs... hmm.
I use it usually for the lazy coffee when I'm out of the normal one (read - nuke some water and throw instant in it). Also for jacket potatoes. When I was doing the cauliflower pizza crust thing, the microwave was my friend. And polenta comes out real nice in there, too.
Not food related, but I nuke my soil mix for seedlings too
What? Why?
Sterilization. I grow succulents and cacti for fun (bit of apartment gardening), and the damp, draft-free conditions of seedling sprouting are a perfect medium for mold otherwise.5
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z1hzatoE1tg
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