I have a microwave but I’m an amateur.
My friends’ microwave/oven hood broke so they bought a microwave and plunked it on the counter. Later, they fixed the microwave/oven hood.
shrug Okay, I can see getting used to the counter MW and ending up with two.
Now they have three. WTF!? How much simultaneous microwaving can you possibly do? They have 1.5 MW’s per person!
[SIZE=“1”]They also have a double oven. Shit. You. Not.[/SIZE]
Set to 4 minutes, cook. Wait 2 minutes to cool. Set to 3 minutes, cook. Wait 2 minutes to cool.
Squeeze potato, too firm still? 3 more minutes, cook. You do not set it on 10 minutes or you get an over cooked dry or even exploded potato.
It helps if your microwave is one that rotates and changes the direction of rotation each time the door is opened.
I can’t imagine life without one! I’m a procrastinator, and I’m not very patient. So quite often, I’ll put off eating until my stomach cries for food. And if I can’t pop something into the microwave and have it quick, I get cranky.
That makes sense. I was totally doing it the wrong way.
They say that when you bake a potato, poke holes in it so it doesn’t explode. I learned the hard way that this is really good advice. It was like watching a really big piece of popcorn popping.
[ol]
[li]Prick the skin in multiple places with a fork[/li][li]Rub the skin with olive oil, just a drop, enough to cover the whole thing in the thinnest possible coat[/li][li]Put in a covered, microwave-safe dish[/li][li]Cook until tender; experiment to learn how long this takes in your oven and remember it will vary depending on the size and firmness of the potato[/li][li]Serve absolutely immediately, microwave to plate to fork[/li][/ol]
We got our first microwave in 1986, just before our second child was born, specifically to warm bottles. When she was in school in Germany two years ago the kitchen on her floor didn’t have one and she have one, and she had to learn to cook without it. It was quite an education!
I wrap them in a wet paper towel, seems to keep them moist.
The one in the house I’m renting broke about a year ago. I went several months before replacing it. The primary difference was in the amount of dishes to be washed. If you have a leftover meal in the storage container you can just pop the whole thing in the microwave, and then eat it from the same bowl. No need to dirty an extra pot, and then a plate, because the pot is too hot for the table. . .
And sicne I bought it I don’t think I’ve had to buy aluminum foil at all, where I was going through a roll every month for a while there.
I do also cook from scratch in it, though most things get up to temperature in the microwave and then move to the countertop infrared for crisping. It’s the perfect combination, and cuts cooking time by 2/3 compared to conventional oven. (I’ve never tried a convection, so YMMV.)
What I really want is one of the newfangled convection ovens which include a microwave element. Just makes perfect sense to do it all at once.
My microwave broke last year and I was astonished by how inconvenient it was to have to cook everything conventionally until I got a replacement.
I had one years ago, but when it broke I just never got around to replacing it. I obviously don’t need one.
I love my microwave, but as said above, it’s mostly for prepping food that’s going to go into a bigger dish. I think the only “meal” I would ever get out of one is instant oatmeal (and only for boiling the water) or a heated-up sandwich for a light lunch.
My uses:
[ul]
[li]Soften butter, or melt it.[/li][li]Popcorn.[/li][li]Boiling (or simply heating) water.[/li][li]Defrosting meats, but only as a last resort.[/li][li]Steaming vegetables.[/li][li]Steaming a potato if I don’t want to wait for a proper baked one (microwaved potatoes are not baked)[/li][li]Reheating certain types of leftovers (but not others).[/li][/ul]
I have two microwaves now and have had up to four. Everything can be cooked in a microwave, but not every microwave can cook everything. I keep an older MW that is large and has no turntable. These are good for bread or a whole turkey. The cooking pattern is even and it handles the size needed without banging a container on the sides from a turntable.
I use mine every day at some point. Usually for reheating leftovers for lunch, but I like some veggies steamed in the microwave. And rice is great in the microwave.
I do have one, after not having one for 10 years or so, and realized how useful they were. I usually only use it for a couple of things: reheating meals, steaming veggies, and cooking frozen meals. But for those things (and a few others I’m forgetting), they are definitely worth the convenience and low price to have around.
Don’t have one - not enough space left over in my tiny kitchen after the dishwasher and the oven which I consider much more essential. As far as I can see, microwaves are quick & nice for re-heating oven dishes, and everything else you can just as easily re-heat/re-fry on the stove.
ETA: I don’t buy frozen meals. I can cook.
I have one, but if I had to dump an appliance that would be it. I really just use it for warming up leftovers.
Now, my dishwasher, I would NEVER live without a dishwasher.
I don’t have to eat cold pizza anymore. Popcorn is a lot neater and quicker. It used to take a lot of work to cook popcorn.
I’m in my late thirties and have had one for the past ten years or so. We never had one as a kid. I only ended up with mine because I inherited from my grandmother. I only use it for:
[ul]
[li]Making hot chocolate[/li][li]Defrosting the occasional thing[/li][li]Cooking the occasional pre-prepared microwaveable meal[/li][/ul]
I probably only use it a couple of times a month at most.
ETA:
I guess I also occasionally use it for reheating leftovers.
Well, that’s one of the 13 people (as of my post) who don’t have one. What about the rest of you?
I personally try to figure out a way to cook anything I can in the microwave. Cooking already takes a lot of time if you are making anythign actually tasty, so I want to save time by doing what I can get away with in the microwave. I don’t do it often, but I will even cook hamburgers in the microwave, especially if I’m just going to stick it in a soup I’ve already made or slather on a bunch of condiments with the burger on a sandwich. And, depending on the bacon, microwaved bacon can be superior (if it cooks crunchy on the stove, it will still be chewy in the microwave.)
I lived with friends for a couple of months who didn’t have a microwave, and it was…not my choice. I don’t use my microwave a lot (like others: steam veggies, quick defrost, reheat leftovers), but I did miss it a whole lot. I agree that many leftovers *are *better heated on the stove or in the toaster oven, but as soon as we got our own place and our microwave back out of storage, I realized that I’m happy with the slight deterioration in texture as a tradeoff for speed.
I do a combo of the methods mentioned above, with a twist. I wrap the potatoes in damp paper towel (after poking the mandatory holes) and nuke a few minutes at a time until very nearly done, then I remove 'em, oil and salt the exteriors and toss 'em in the toaster oven on the highest oven temp it can handle for 2-5 minutes. This crisps the skin nicely.
Done this way, it takes a teeny bit more time than microwave alone, nowhere near the time it takes to bake them, but much more closely mimics potatoes from the oven.