Why do some people hate microwaves?

[FlyingRamenMonster]

At work, every now and then someone comes in and orders a burger and asks for a patty straight off the broiler, no microwaving. Sometimes they ask us to put the patty through twice. Our patties are not designed to be put through the broiler twice. They become charcoal BRICKS after being put through the broiler twice. Also, with no microwaving, you end up with a really hot patty while everything else is cold, and your cheese is unmelted. Not nice. So I guess there are two parts to this question:

1. Why do some people want no microwaving?
2. Why do some people want their meat cooked twice?

I guess it could be some hippy thing about microwaves destroying nutrients, or they might be wary of germs or something, but really, if you want healthy and sanitary, what are you doing at Burger King? :dubious:

[Ghanima]

Because MICROWAVES carry TOXINS and cause BRAIN DAMAGE and destroy the LIFE-FORCE of your precious, precious food. I read it in a flyer I saw on campus once, so it must be true! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[chaoticbear]

I think that it probably has more to do with freshness. Despite the timers in the holding cabinet, and despite the quick turnover of meat, if it's heated in the microwave, that customer has no way to tell how old it is (other than the fact that it'll probably be rubbery if it's been sitting in the cabinet long enough.)

(I'm speaking from an ideal situation here, I don't know if your BK likes to circumvent procedure, but I'm guessing not. If your store had a reputation for never throwing old meat away, I could understand her complaint)

[Mr. Wiseguy]

I'm not a huge fan of big chain hamburgers, but I'd hazard a guess that it's because the meat's going to taste best when it's cooked fresh.

[chaoticbear]

As for the cooked-twice thing, either some of them are GERRRRMophobes, or they like their meat burnt and flavorless. We got the same request all the time at McDonald's. (not the microwaving thing, McD's meat isn't ever microwaved, unless it's bagel ham, but that's already cooked and so we warm it up in there.)

[Jeep's Phoenix]

I once encountered a lady who would not even allow the microwave to be turned on when she was in the house. She seemed to think that cooking food in a microwave was the equivalent of putting your meal in the local nuclear reactor.

[Nava]

Gramps hated them just on general grounds.

OK, this is Gramps' list of motivations, in no specific order. He likes:
1) soccer
2) sex
3) bothering people

And he is afraid of:
a) death
b) God
c) std's


He basically saw "hating microwaves and thus getting the wife to not buy one" as a way of achieving his #3 like. A few months back he had a minor stroke; he's still not as dexterous as he used to be but a lot more than most 91-year-old guys. Mom bought a microwave while she was there helping through the hospital stay and had it delivered to their place; he grumbled and griped and yelled and screamed, and she said "that's ok, Dad, you don't have to use it. You use the old pot, I use the microwave whenever I'm here, and Mom can use whatever she wants."

He still shoots glaring glances at The Thing, but he's been known to admit that yes, it's easy to use one-handed and the old pot isn't.

[davenportavenger]

Meat just doesn't taste as good if it's cooked on the microwave compared to meat cooked on the stove. It's more rubbery and less flavorful. I cook meat in the microwave if I'm warming it up, but if I'm going to a restaurant (yes, even BK) I want a fresh piece of meat. And bread/buns are destroyed if you put them in the microwave too long, they get hard spots on them. It's best to put the buns in a bread warmer or toast them in an oven/toaster for best results.

(Aside: BK is by far my least favorite fast food place. Wonder why? Maybe there's an overall lack of industry standards.)

And there are some people (my mom included) who like their meat BLACK. Because if you eat meat with any pink on it at all you will DIE. No arguing with these people.

[Ethilrist]

I once encountered a lady who would not even allow the microwave to be turned on when she was in the house. She seemed to think that cooking food in a microwave was the equivalent of putting your meal in the local nuclear reactor.
... or that being near one in operation was the equivalent of putting your head in a reactor, the theory being that unless you've tested it, personally, you have no way of knowing whether or not you're getting nuked.

The fact that there are people there all day every day using the thing probably wouldn't register on her logical radar...

[Kalhoun]

My dad didn't like them, I suppose because they were "new fangled" and "machine-y". But he also had someone doing all his cooking. So when my mom died, we bought him one. I taught him how to cook and now he makes enough for 2-3 meals and nukes the leftovers. He's very happy.

My son, on the other hand, dislikes them because he has an emotional attachment to food and food preparation. There's no love in microwave cooking. He'll re-heat, but hates anything that begins it's life in the microwave. Where's the stirring? The tasting? The hovering over the stove? Nope. He likes the pomp and circumstance of a home-cooked meal.

[panache45]

I once worked with a woman who considered herself to be infinitely more sensitive than everyone else. She claimed that microwaved food tasted "grainy" because the microwaves skipped some of the molecules in the food, so something like every other molecule was a different temperature.

She also said that digital music sounded "grainy" to her sensitive ears.

:rolleyes:

[crazyjoe]

My wife used to work with a real whacko. She insited that microwaving "changed the molecular structure" of foods. She wouldn't even drink microwaved water. She was a treat to take to restaurants. As ytou can imagine, microwaving was only one of her hangups. The wait staff woudl often have to endure a grueling question and answer game in order to serve her food.

The answer to your question is that some people are just fricking nut jobs.

[Sal Ammoniac]

Well, even the FDA acknowledges that reheating food in plastic containers can cause some migration of plasticizers into the food. This is highly dependent on the kind of plastic, kind of food, length of cooking, etc., and the FDA generally says, "Use approved containers and don't worry." I still worry. Needlessly? Maybe. Plus I won't let my kid sit with her nose pasted to the front window of the microwave. I know I'm being silly, but why take a chance?

[mks57]

Microwave ovens are one of the worst things that happened to fast-food restaurants. If I buy a hamburger, I want one fresh off the grill, not one that's been sitting in a tray of cold grease for the last 30 minutes. When microwave ovens were first installed, many managers and crews got lazy and used them as the solution to their production flow problems. These are the same people who would leave sandwiches under the heat lamps until they had turned into inedible bricks. What's really vile are the people who chuck the entire sandwich into the microwave, toppings and all. Microwaved lettuce and tomatoes are gross.

Sometimes I wish the ghost of Ray Kroc would return and lay his wrath down on all the poorly run burger franchises. Fast food does not have to taste like shit.

[chaoticbear]

Sometimes I wish the ghost of Ray Kroc would return and lay his wrath down on all the poorly run burger franchises. Fast food does not have to taste like shit.


Didn't we discuss this? McDonald's does. not. use a microwave for their meat.

While we're at it, the employees don't spit in the burgers, unless they want to get fired on the spot, which in my 5 year career, I've never seen. The meat actually comes from cows. No, it's not graded prime, but it's also not lips and assholes. There's a widely available formula; they use part dairy cows. Also, you're not special for knowing that the "secret sauce" is Thousand Island dressing. Nowhere in the restaurant is it called "secret sauce".

[Anastasaeon]

And there are some people (my mom included) who like their meat BLACK. Because if you eat meat with any pink on it at all you will DIE. No arguing with these people.

[minor hijack] You know, I used to be one of those people, mostly just because my mother was one of those people, and so that was my default setting. But then one day, someone explained to me about how the meat just had to reach a certain internal temperature (I've since forgotten), and to go to a decent steakhouse and order myself a big old slab of rare meat. I did die that day. And went to heaven. Then I came back down and ate another bite, and died again and again and again. And it was awesome. And I'd do it again. [/hijack]

There goes my vegetarianism for another week.

[mks57]

Didn't we discuss this? McDonald's does. not. use a microwave for their meat.


McDonald's is not the only burger franchise in the USA.

From the alt.mcdonalds FAQ:

11.) Q. What is "Q-ing", and how can I make sure my sandwich doesn't
get "Q-d"?

A. "Q-ing" is the McDonald's term for microwaving (the Q stands for
"Quality"). Recently, McDonald's has been taking sandwiches that
were special ordered (i.e., extra cheese, etc.) and sticking them
in the Q-er to make them hot. The sandwiches get hot, but let's
face it -- we don't go to McDonald's for microwaved food! To get
a special order, order it AND THEN SAY "Do not microwave this
sandwich in the Q-er. I want it made the old way, fresh off the
grill". Then, if they microwave it (if you can't tell the difference,
then don't worry about it), take it back and say "I asked that this
sandwich not be "Q-d". Please remake it the way I asked". This may
seem extreme, but you have to be assertive to get what you want in
this world!


MCDONALD'S WISES UP TO THE POOR TASTE OF WILTED LETTUCE
The GUARDIAN
By Mark Tran in New York
24th Dec 1996

For the "Arch Deluxe", its new burger aimed at adults, McDonald's will even break with its long tradition of slapping the lettuce and tomato along with the burger into a microwave, a practice that makes Big Macs taste of warm, wilted lettuce. At rivals, the trimmings are added by customers.

[t-bonham@scc.net]

Plus I won't let my kid sit with her nose pasted to the front window of the microwave. I know I'm being silly, but why take a chance?Wow. You really need to provide some more exciting things for this kid to do around your house.

Is there a public library in the neighborhood? Introduce her to "books".

[matt_mcl]

The Q-er?????????!

Oh, for the good lord Og's own sweet sake.

[FlyingRamenMonster]

It's best to put the buns in a bread warmer or toast them in an oven/toaster for best results.
We do have a bread warmer, and the meat sits in heated trays. The only reason I can think of for microwaving is to make the burger a more uniform temperature, instead of layers of hot and cold.
If I buy a hamburger, I want one fresh off the grill, not one that's been sitting in a tray of cold grease for the last 30 minutes.
Thing is, "fresh off the grill" is not really how fast food works. If everyone wanted a burger fresh off the grill it wouldn't be *fast* food anymore. The way I see it, if you care enough to worry about it you shouldn't really be eating at Hungry Jack's anyway. I think you'd be happier in a place where the goal is not to get you out the door in under three minutes. Besides, it seems burgers made their way would taste *more* like shit, not less.

PS - I agree with Matt. The Q-er? WTF.

[Who_me?]

I dislike microwaves because most microwaved food tastes like shit. I'd prefer the cheese cold over microwaved burgers. But, of course, I can always go to a fast food place that doesn't microwave stuff and get the best of both worlds.

Generally, at BK, they only nuke it for 10 to 15 seconds (my guess, could be totally wrong) so it doesn't make the burger inedible... just not as good as an unnuked burger.

[Who_me?]

The way I see it, if you care enough to worry about it you shouldn't really be eating at Hungry Jack's anyway. I think you'd be happier in a place where the goal is not to get you out the door in under three minutes.

I believe that Wendy's cooks the burger fresh and while it may take 4 minutes instead of 3... the extra minute is worth the better burger.

[Mangetout]

And there are some people (my mom included) who like their meat BLACK. Because if you eat meat with any pink on it at all you will DIE. No arguing with these people.But this is TRUE; I ate meat with pink on it once and I died a horrible and agonising death*. Don't argue with me!



*I got better

[JohnT]

At work, every now and then someone comes in and orders a burger and asks for a patty straight off the broiler, no microwaving. Sometimes they ask us to put the patty through twice. Our patties are not designed to be put through the broiler twice. They become charcoal BRICKS after being put through the broiler twice. Also, with no microwaving, you end up with a really hot patty while everything else is cold, and your cheese is unmelted. Not nice. So I guess there are two parts to this question:

1. Why do some people want no microwaving?
2. Why do some people want their meat cooked twice?

I guess it could be some hippy thing about microwaves destroying nutrients, or they might be wary of germs or something, but really, if you want healthy and sanitary, what are you doing at Burger King? :dubious:

Microwaved meat is rubbery.

I don't know about the other. Personal preference perhaps?

[chaoticbear]

McDonald's is not the only burger franchise in the USA.

From the alt.mcdonalds FAQ:



MCDONALD'S WISES UP TO THE POOR TASTE OF WILTED LETTUCE
The GUARDIAN
By Mark Tran in New York
24th Dec 1996

And look at the date on that. There is indeed a machine called a Q-ing oven. This oven is used to:
Defrost biscuits before putting them in the oven
Warm up pancakes and the McGriddle cakes (The former comes precooked, the latter is baked in the store)
Warm up bagel ham
Warm up cinnamon rolls
Heat up burritos

Your sandwiches do not go in the damn thing. Before the advent of Made For You, this may have been true, but that has been going on for at least 5 years now, because that's how long I've been there. (Actually, I finally left there and turned in my uniforms a couple of weeks ago, but that's a different story)

This is how an order works there:
You say: "I'd like a cheeseburger, and that's it."
Cashier says "Would you like anything to drink?"
You: "No, I told you that was it, idiot."
Cashier presses cheeseburger button, gives you your total.
There's a screen in the back (called the KVS, while we're spouting random McD's nomenclature trivia), which displays your cheeseburger.
The initiator puts a bun in the toaster
He pulls it out, puts it on a wrap, and your sandwich is assembled.
Someone puts meat from the UHC on it, and slides it into the HLZ, where the Drive-thru people take it to the window for you.

No microwave, (or Q-ing oven) anywhere in there.

[kanicbird]

Not so much a big deal with the 'cheese food' that most fast food places use, but if you use real cheese some peope (myself included) find it tastes better if the burger is hot and the cheese is cold.

As for putting htem through 2x, perhaps they need a puck for a hockey game.

[iamthewalrus(:3=]

My mom has an irrational fear of microwave ovens. I eventually refuted her claims of their danger (rise in cancer rates, molecular change, manufacturers won't have them in their houses), but she still "just doesn't like them." After I moved out, she gave the microwave away and uses the toaster oven to rewarm food.

She doesn't seem to mind being around them, and she isn't a hassle at restaurants or in other people's homes when they use them, she just prefers not to eat from them, and doesn't want to own one. In terms of random whacko stuff she (or others) believe, it's not worth it to keep arguing. At least she's not spreading ignorance about them anymore (or, at least, is smart enough not to do it in front of me).