12 Microwave Mistakes That Ruin Your Food

There is little doubt that microwaves have revolutionized the way we prepare food. Aside from allowing us to cook, reheat, and defrost food quickly, they are more energy efficient than conventional ovens and offer a variety of settings to suit different culinary needs. Microwaves are also relatively compact, making them perfect for kitchens with limited space.

The microwave oven was invented by accident. In 1945, Percy Spencer, a self-taught engineer who worked for Raytheon, noticed that a candy bar in his pocket melted while he was experimenting with a radar set that emitted microwaves. After using microwaves to pop popcorn kernels, Spencer patented a method for cooking food using microwave energy. The following year, in 1946, Raytheon produced and sold the first commercial microwave, which was almost 6 feet and weighed over 750 pounds. Smaller household microwaves entered the market in 1967, quickly becoming a must-have kitchen appliance.

Today, around 90% of U.S. households own a microwave. However, despite their popularity, microwaves are often misused, leading to underwhelming culinary results. With this in mind, here are some of the most common microwave mistakes and how to avoid them!

Inappropriately covering your food, or failing to cover it at all, before placing it in the microwave is an easy mistake to make. However, as simple as this misstep can be, it can have dire consequences. When food is left uncovered, it can splatter as it heats up, not only wasting your dinner but also creating a huge mess that is likely to be pretty time-consuming to clean up.

Covering food with the wrong type of lid can also lead to problems. For instance, an airtight lid can become impossible to open once the food is cooked. In addition, placing a completely closed container filled with liquid in the microwave can lead to a buildup of pressure and an explosion. For optimal results, it's best to use a microwave-safe lid that keeps food semi-covered. Not only will this prevent any splatters, but it will also help to distribute the heat evenly, ensuring that your food cooks thoroughly without any cold spots. If you don't happen to have a microwave-safe lid, you can always cover the container with a kitchen towel or even use a paper towel.

Between breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, your microwave sees plenty of action. This is why it's important to clean it on a regular basis, even if the appliance doesn't look dirty or have any splatters. To keep your microwave in tip-top shape, remove any crumbs or accidental splatters by wiping it down with a damp cloth or paper towel at the end of each day.

The more often you use your microwave, the more frequently it will require a deep clean. If you rely on the appliance for cooking and reheating on a daily basis, it's best to clean it thoroughly at least once a week. However, if you only use your microwave occasionally, you can probably get away with deep cleaning it around once a month.

Before deep cleaning your microwave, it's important to consult the manufacturer's use and care manual to check if you need to unplug it. Be sure to clean all the walls of the microwave, including the top inside surface of the appliance, the tray, and the keypad. Never use harsh cleaning products, such as oven cleaners, so as not to damage the surface of the microwave. Instead, opt for more natural cleaning ingredients like a mixture of lemon and vinegar or baking soda and water.

While microwaves are perfect for reheating leftovers and making certain dishes, they aren't suitable for everything. Some ingredients simply don't fare well in the microwave and can even explode inside the appliance, posing safety concerns.

If there is one thing to remember, it is to never, ever microwave hot peppers, since they can produce capsaicin, which can irritate the eyes. If you absolutely have to heat them up, do so in the oven instead of the microwave. Microwaving tomato pasta sauce is also problematic, since its dense texture doesn't let steam escape easily, making it pop and splatter.

Another huge no-no is heating hard-boiled eggs, as the pressure created inside the shell can make them explode, creating a huge mess. Other foods that can explode in the microwave are unpeeled potatoes and Frankfurter hot dogs. In the worst case scenario, the food may even catch fire, creating a fire hazard inside your home.

Just like microwaving an egg can build up pressure inside the shell, so can foods with skin, resulting in an explosion. In fact, even a peeled egg can burst inside the appliance. This is because microwaving causes moisture inside some foods to turn into steam, creating pressure that has no way to escape.

Luckily, there is an easy way to prevent high-water-content foods like eggplants, potatoes, and sausages from blowing up. Simply poke a few holes in their skin with a fork. This will let the hot air and steam escape as the item cooks, averting a potential mess inside your microwave. Interestingly, this principle also applies to ready-made microwave meals. Piercing the film on the container with a fork gives the steam a way out, stopping the film from popping and splattering food all over the inside of the appliance. That said, it's never good to go overboard with the piercing, as too many holes can tear the film.

Thawing meat can be tricky, particularly if you don't have a lot of time. While ideally you would defrost your protein by leaving it in the refrigerator overnight, sometimes this just isn't possible due to changes in dinner plans or just bad memory. After all, who hasn't forgotten to transfer meat from the freezer to the refrigerator a day before cooking? In such cases, microwaving meat can be a solution, provided that you do it the right way.

Defrosting meat in the microwave without cooking it all the way through is a major mistake. If you are only planning to thaw — and not cook — the meat in the appliance, it's important to transfer it to the grill or oven right away. Thawing meat in the microwave and placing it back in the refrigerator could have serious consequences. This is because simply thawing the meat may not destroy all the bacteria. It can also put the food in the temperature "danger zone" between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit that allows bacteria to thrive.

To thaw meat in the microwave, remove it from its original packaging and transfer it to a microwave-safe dish. Set the appliance to "defrost" or 20% to 30% power. For optimal results, place smaller meat pieces in the center of the plate and larger ones on the outer edges of the plate where they receive more heat. Remember to reposition food or break it into smaller pieces to ensure even thawing. As a rule of thumb, most meat takes eight to 10 minutes per pound to defrost.

When it comes to microwaving, some containers just aren't up to the task. This is why you should never microwave food directly in the packaging you purchased it in, unless otherwise indicated on the label. Most microwave dinners, for example, come in microwave-safe packaging. If you need to transfer the food to another container, use microwave-safe plastic, glass, or ceramic dishes. Other microwave-safe materials include oven cooking bags, straw and wood baskets, parchment paper, and most paper plates.

There are several materials that should never be placed in the microwave, as they can release harmful substances into your food or damage the appliance. Unless labeled otherwise, metal can create sparks, damaging your microwave, or even causing a fire. Even small metal elements on a plate or glass shouldn't be heated in the microwave as they reflect the microwaves inside the appliance. Some other non-microwave-safe materials include aluminum foil, bamboo, and styrofoam. It's also best to avoid microwaving plastic food storage containers, such as butter and yogurt tubs.

The keypad or dial on your microwave is not there by accident. It has been designed to give you control over cooking time and power levels. That said, microwaves work very differently from conventional ovens. Unlike your kitchen oven, which uses heating elements, a microwave transforms electricity into radio waves. The appliance's magnetron transmits these waves at a frequency of 2,450 megahertz, which are absorbed by the water, sugar, and fat in the food, allowing it to reach high temperatures.

When the microwave is on its highest setting, the magnetron operates at full power. If the appliance is turned to a lower setting, the magnetron switches itself on and off to control the cooking intensity. This means that a microwave set at 50% power produces microwaves only 50% of the time.

It's important to remember that not all food should be cooked on a high setting. For instance, cheese, eggs, and most meats can become tough if exposed to high heat. Defrosting food products, softening butter, or melting chocolate should also be done on lower heat levels. Meanwhile, soft food items with a lot of moisture like vegetables, fruit, and poultry can be cooked on a high setting.

Microwaves heat food with electromagnetic waves, which are absorbed at different rates by different ingredients. For instance, foods with a lot of water tend to heat faster in the microwave, while drier foods heat at a slower rate. This can result in uneven cooking. In addition, the outside of the food heats up faster than the inside because the microwaves penetrate only around an inch and a half into the food. This can leave your meal not only unappetizing but can also lead to the survival of bacteria in the cold spot areas.

While the turntable inside a microwave can help to distribute the microwaves more evenly across the food, it often isn't enough to prevent hot and cold spots. This is where agitating the food by turning or stirring it halfway through the cooking process can help. Moving the food around also shortens the cooking time. When repositioning the food, it's essential to follow basic safety precautions, as one Quora user advises, "It's important to be careful when stirring microwaved food as the dish and the contents can become very hot. Make sure to use oven mitts or a potholder to protect your hands and to carefully remove the dish from the microwave to stir."

Just as failing to stir or rotate food halfway through the cooking process can leave it with cold spots, so can overcrowding the plate or stacking items on top of each other. It goes without saying that smaller portions of food warm up faster, so it's best to distribute the food over the surface of the plate whenever possible. Microwaves only penetrate around an inch to an inch and a half into the food, so if you stack it, you may end up with overcooked edges and a cold center.

One trick for even cooking in the microwave, of which many people may not be aware, is placing the food in a donut shape on the plate. Since microwaves heat the outer areas of a plate faster than the center, arranging food in the shape of a ring with an empty center helps to reduce the risk of any cold spots. In addition, because a microwave heats up different foods at different rates, it's best to reheat one type of food at a time to avoid over or undercooking.

Oil and microwaves don't mix – or at least, don't mix well. In fact, adding oil to food before microwaving can result in an unpleasant, off-putting taste. This is because once oil hits its smoke point, it starts to burn, which can ruin a perfectly good meal. In addition, once oils reach their burning point, they not only lose their nutritional value, but also start releasing toxic compounds that can have a negative impact on your health.

Microwaves work by heating up water molecules, which is something that oil lacks. This means that heating oil in the appliance can take quite a while, making the microwaving process rather inefficient. In fact, it's the container that absorbs the heat first and then heats up the oil, which can lead to potentially dangerous situations.

If you decide to reheat deep fried or greasy food in the microwave, don't expect it to stay crispy. Whether it is chicken tenders or french fries, the microwave will steam the food, leaving it soggy and unappealing. This happens because microwaves work by agitating water molecules, a process that breaks down the crispy texture of fried food. If you absolutely have to reheat your fried chicken in the microwave, Lifehacker recommends placing it on parchment paper.

While nothing could be easier than boiling water in an electric kettle, there are times when this might not be possible. It is these times that a microwave may become your go-to option for heating water. Although quick and convenient, the process does come with some serious risks.

The main concern is that the process of heating water in the microwave can lead to superheating. This means that the water heats up beyond its boiling point of 212 degrees Fahrenheit, even though it may not look like it's boiling. This is when disaster can strike. Superheated water is highly unstable, meaning that even the slightest movement like dropping a tea bag into the cup can create an eruption of scalding water.

If you absolutely must heat water in the microwave, there are a number of safety precautions that can be taken to reduce the risk of superheating and potential burns. According to Taste, placing a wooden chopstick or stirrer in the mug provides a surface where the bubbles can form, letting the water boil normally. Another way to prevent superheating is to only heat water in short bursts, stirring it throughout the heating process.

As tempting as it may be to dig into your meal right after taking it out of the microwave, a little patience can go a long way. Letting your food stand after microwaving allows the heat to distribute evenly throughout the food, ensuring that the entire dish reaches a consistent temperature. After all, the last thing you want is cold spots in your meal or, even worse, hot spots that could cause nasty burns or scalds.

Microwaves produce heat by causing water, sugar, and fat molecules to vibrate at an ultra high frequency of 2.5 million times per second. These molecules continue to generate heat even after the food is removed from the microwave, thus increasing the temperature of the food. The resting time for different types of food varies depending on their density. For instance the "carryover cooking time" will be longer for dense foods such as a beef roast and shorter for lighter foods like fruit and bread. As a general guideline, let the food sit on your kitchen counter for approximately half the time that it spent in the microwave. If in doubt, you can always use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of your meal.