OPTIMISING THE USE OF MICROWAVE OVEN
Microwave oven is a common home appliance that is frequently used. Still, only a few people are able to make the most out of this modern and handy appliance. Since the mid 1950s, they have grown in popularity to the point that almost 90 per cent of the population has at least one in their kitchen. Of course, this doesn’t mean that all those people actually know how to use their microwave efficiently, or what all those nifty settings do.
Optimising the key punching
Instead of punching 1-0-0 for one minute, simply select 6-0 (60 seconds), while for 90 seconds just select 9-0 instead of 1-3-0. Thus, you will save that additional digit and your keypad will suffer less wear and tear.
Learn to duplicate the identical digit
This is another skill to reduce the punch movement on the keypad, by simply reusing the sane digits. Thus, for 90 seconds, punch 8-8 and not 9-0, or for 60 seconds simply hit 5-5. Those seconds have almost no importance for you but it will save you time every time you make use of it.
Find out the rotational period of the turntable of your microwave
You hate when your teacup handle in the microwave is faced to the rear, making in difficult to get the drink out from the oven. To prevent such cases, you should find out and keep in mind the rotation period of the turntable. It is preferable to get a microwave with a 5.5 or 11 seconds rotational period, because with the previous step the reheated item will always be positioned as it was initially. In case sophistication is not your style, you can try two-handled teacups.
Multiple microwaves multitasking for
You are wasting time and enduring radiation for minutes when you need to reheat several items in the microwave one after the other. It is much better to have more than one. With multiple microwaves you can reheat all you need for the entire family in a matter of minutes. However make sure you are not running too many devices simultaneously.
Tips for eficient microwave usage
Most people only use their microwaves to reheat leftovers or make a cup of coffee when they are in a hurry. But there are a few things that you should know about one of the most convenient appliances that you can have in your kitchen.
One thing everyone knows is that you shouldn’t put metal in your microwave. Of course, the older microwaves had real issues with this. Even if it was an accident that only lasted a microsecond, it could cause serious damage to your microwave and even to you sometimes. Today’s microwaves have worked around this and some will even shut down immediately once those blue sparks start to go off.
Microwaved food always heats up faster around the edges of the plate. When you are cooking, you should place the moister vegetables closer to the centre of the plate and the drier meats around the edges so that the drier meat picks up the moisture let off by the veggies. With things like casseroles and other deep dished foods, you should put a depression in the middle so that the heat will become more even and it won’t end up overcooking the outside edges while leaving the centre cold.
You should realise that the correct times in a recipe might not work for your particular microwave. Microwave power is different, depending on the wattage, and yours may be higher or lower than the one that was used for the recipe. You will have to learn the proper settings of your microwave by failing a couple of recipes now and then so keep that in mind.
When cooking or defrosting larger items, you will need to turn it over from time to time.
The good news is that almost every microwave these days has a timer beep that tells you when you should turn things over while you are defrosting something larger. This is important so that all sides of the food item are defrosted equally and you aren’t cooking one side and letting the opposite side stay half frozen in the middle which is bad.