Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cooking and microwave

Is it worth the trouble to vent our range hood outside?

odinsdream — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:55:50 -0800

Is it worth the trouble to vent our range hood outside? We are replacing our old range hood with an above-range convection microwave which can either vent outside or back into the room. Is there a good reason I should go to the trouble to vent it outside?

There is a pathway above the cabinets and it's a short distance to an outside wall, which I'd have to cut a hole in from the outside. I cannot easily reach the exterior wall from inside. I'd have to do most of the cutting work from the outside and fish the vent pipe over to the hole.

What benefits would I gain from venting outside?

Help me figure out how to microwave an egg

Coventry — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:10:57 -0800

If I cook an egg in the microwave it explodes, often with spectacular and messy force. If I microwave one fully immersed in water, will the same thing happen, or will the water absorb all the microwaves, so that the egg will effectively be boiled? One of the prior answers dredged up by Ask Metafilter's automation suggested cracking the egg before microwaving it, but I've had eggs explode even when I've cracked and beaten them.

I'm staying in a hotel room with a microwave, and I'm trying to figure out how to make my usual breakfast. In the past I've had eggs explode with such force that a fair portion was blown through the grill and into the microwave chassis, and I'd prefer to avoid that here. Plus, I don't have any convenient containers for controlling the potential blast.

I need my ventilation to suck

jclovebrew — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:28:25 -0800

Do over-the-oven microwaves with exhaust inherently suck? (no pun intended) I moved into a house that has one of these and this is my first experience with one. It is connected to a duct and vents to the outside. The problem is that it hardly moves any air at all. Last night I cooked a beef fillet and the kitchen area filled with smoke. I like cooking and roasting coffee often, so this is a problem that I need to address ASAP. From some cursory googling, many people seem to think the microwave exhausts are inherently crappy - that is, they will never move as much air as a proper hood. Is this really true? What are your experiences?

I have no problem replacing the whole thing with a proper hood then just doing a counter-top microwave, but if I can get away with an over-the-oven version that works effectively, I'd prefer that due to the space savings.

The Microwave of Death !?!?

dancestoblue — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:04:03 -0800

Is cooking (or re-heating) my food with a microwave destroying the food, sucking out nutrients that would not be removed by heating on the stove top in a stainless pan? I've heard this here and there, dated an Earth Mother South Austin Woman who was/likely is certain that I may as well put nuclear waste products AND rat poison in my food, pretty much heard the same about twenty minutes ago from a woman working in the vitamin/supplements department at Whole Foods, yet another Austin Earth Mother type; just the fact that I said the word 'microwave' caused her to get a big frowny face, looked like she had gas or something. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I like to toss broccoli with just a shade of water into the microwave for a couple of minutes, or re-heat my rice and beans or soup or whatever. Related: Does cooking vegetables in a pressure cooker rob them of needed nutrients? I just Googled and found widely varying opinions, and all of them certain of their validity: Either "Microwaves Are Death !!!" (insert heavy, unhappy music here, music that starts on its own upon opening the page) or "Hey, what the heck, those folks are nuts; microwave cooking is the best thing since sliced bread."

So I'm coming here to get the bottom line.

If you are of the "Microwaves Are Death" community, do you now or have you ever owned Birkenstock sandals, or were you considering purchasing some this afternoon?

If you are of the "Microwaves Are Just Swell" camp, are you smoking a cigarette as you read this, and/or maybe sucking down a MacDonalds Quadruple Bacon Burger of Death supersized with fries and a diet coke?

All kidding aside, I trust this community. Give me the news, gang.

Thanx!

I want my home-made microwave foods to be crisp, but how?

vytae — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:50:51 -0800

I want relatively crisp reheated food from the microwave. Can can I buy or make something to do this for me, like that silvery-coated paperboard that comes with frozen foods? Many bread-related frozen foods come with microwave crisping devices - frozen personal pizzas have round trays, hot pockets have wrap-around sleeves, and Lean Cuisine paninis come with the "revolutionary grilling tray". I know I can put together a healthier, cheaper melt sandwich or mini pizza if I make it myself, but the only source of heat in my office kitchen is a microwave. Without the magic crisper thing, I get soggy, unappetizing food.

Using google I've discovered that these coated paperboard things are called "susceptors" and I've found a couple companies that manufacture them for the food industry, but so far nobody seems to sell them directly to the consumer. Do you know where I could buy them? Or, can I make something at home to help crisp up my microwaved foods? I would experiment with aluminum foil, but I'm nervous about setting my kitchen on fire.

I've seen the Waveware Microwave Crisping Dish, but the reviews don't inspire much confidence. If you know anything more about this or similar products, I'd love to hear it.

Good microwave cooking recipes for Christmas candies, jams, etc

GlowWyrm — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 04:59:55 -0800

Surprisingly good microwave recipes anyone? I'm looking for microwave recipes for jams, candy, etc. that you've actually made and turned out surprisingly well for being cooked in a microwave. I'm particularly interested in any recipe that can be made and put in containers for Christmas gifts.

Do convection microwave ovens work?

Nelson — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:17:44 -0800

Do convection microwave ovens work? I'm designing a dream kitchen for a house in San Francisco. Part of the plan is two electric wall ovens, with one being a convection microwave. Something like this Thermador. Most of the time we just need a regular oven and the occasional use of a microwave to reheat something. But we'd like a second oven for big meals; Thanksgiving dinner, that kind of thing.

I have no experience with convection microwave ovens. Do they work as practical substitutes for regular ovens? Can you bake a pie in them? Roast a turkey? Slowly cook a casserole? Or are they just glorified microwaves that aren't really good for cooking anything?

(I found two previous Ask Metafilter threads with positive comments on convection ovens: here and here.)

Cooking without actually cooking...

weaponsgradecarp — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:06:49 -0800

I recently started college, and having discovered the utter boredom that is dining hall cuisine, have begun to crave home cooked food, or at very least, ME-cooked food. So what can I cook with a bare minimum of kitchen hardware? I made guacamole this week, after a serious craving for Rosa Mexicano's Guacamole en Molcajete...It turned out decent enough and definitely hit the spot. To make this, I bought some tupperware bowls (large-ish ones), a couple knives, a couple wooden spoons, and some smaller tupperware-ish things for holding leftover onion and whatnot. Between that stuff, and the stuff I brought from home, my cooking supplies amount to:

two tupperware bowls
two square 5 inchx5 inch or so gladware containers
an 8" serrated knife
a paring knife
some regular silverware
a salt shaker
a pepper grinder
a cheese knife (evidently my mom thought i would be breaking out some fromage classy enough that i would need such a tool)
a pizza cutter (Again, mom)
a can opener
an ice cream scoop
a couple of heavy plastic microwaveable plates, bowls, cups
two coffee mugs

as far as food supplies, generally, I have on hand:
orange juice
hummus
green tea (teabags)
ramen
easy mac
ak-mak crackers
pita
pita chips
tortilla chips
apple sauce
canned pinapple

With these supplies, plus other reasonably priced groceries, what sorts of things can I cook without cooking, so to speak, as I lack such things as a saucepot, frying pan, or baking dishes...

Basically, all I came up with is ceviche...
any helpful ghetto fabulous recipes from the collegiate or post-collegiate masses?

rotating and microwave ovens

crunchland — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 12:00:35 -0800

So, if your microwave oven has a carousel, is it necessary to stop the cooking halfway through and rotate the food, like most prepared food packages suggest? And do you place the item in the middle or slightly off to one side of the carousel? I did a google search and came up with conflicting information.

I'm thinking that if you put something slightly off to the side, in the rotating, whatever cold spots there might be in the direct center of the oven would never be in the same spot.

Microwave Popcorn

hootch — Wed, 25 Feb 2004 14:49:45 -0800

I bought some microwave popcorn that pops fine at work (a newer microwave with a popcorn button), but at home, with popcorn from the same box, I end up with a shriveled bag. The microwave at home isn't so new as to have a popcorn button, but it's not totally ancient either. I'm guessing there's some trick to it that involves NOT following the instructions provided on the bag, but I have no idea what they might be. Any ideas?