# Metal put into a Microwave Oven **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017 "2020-01-26T20:56:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/21 "2020-01-27T22:57:39Z")
Campbell’s makes a ready-to-eat soup which is intended to be microwaved. The can itself is some type of fiber or cardboard but it has a metal ring all around the top. It has never caused any arcing or other issues. One of the local grocery stores here now sells most prepared foods in trays that appear to be made of aluminum, which they claim are safe for both oven and microwave use. I’ve never believed that it could be truly safe and effective in the microwave and have always either used the oven or dumped the stuff into a ceramic casserole dish. But obviously the answer to metal in the microwave question is that “it depends”. The trays are indicated as being recyclable so I throw them in with aluminum beverage cans, food cans, and the like. How they differ from old style metal containers that were strictly prohibited from microwave use I have no idea. [This article](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/fsis-content/internet/main/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/appliances-and-thermometers/microwave-ovens-and-food-safety/ct_index) seems ambivalent – small amounts of aluminum foil are OK, metal pans are not, and food entirely wrapped in foil is not OK because the microwaves will not reach and heat the food. Therein my problem with the aluminum trays. Unless they are made of some kind of magic metal, most of the heating would probably be through the open top and not through the bottom or sides, hence uneven heating at best. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2020, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/22 "2020-01-28T13:16:28Z")
We were looking t microwave ovens this weekend, and I noticed that most models have a nice, gleaming meta rack smack dab in the middle. These are apparently accounted for in the design so they don’t cause problems: > **[What Is the Metal Rack in the Microwave For?](https://www.leaf.tv/articles/what-is-the-metal-rack-in-the-microwave-for/)** > > Although keeping metal out of the microwave is a key part of cooking safety, some models now sport a gleaming center metal rack. These are actually safe because the metal used is tuned to the metal in the cavity of the oven. The racks attach to... > **[Metal in the Microwave and Other ‘WTF?’ Tech Moments](https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/metal-in-the-microwave-and-oth-90861)** > > Moving into my apartment, I was perplexed when I checked out my appliances. The stainless steel fridge and dishwasher were great upgrades, but the microwave made me pause. I spotted a rack inside, just like in a conventional oven. Ever since trying... Ages ago, at my first job, someone put up a sign saying that not putting metal in a microwave was a myth. You CAN do it, provided you know what you’re doing, and do it correctly. as noted, those individual soup contains have metal rings in them, and metal rims on cups don’t seem to cause problems. But just putting metal at random in a microwave is asking for trouble > **[Is It Dangerous to Put Metal in a Microwave? (with pictures)](https://www.wisegeek.com/is-it-dangerous-to-put-metal-in-a-microwave.htm)** > > If done properly, it is entirely safe to put metal in a microwave. The way to safely put metal in a microwave is to make sure that... You don’t need metal to cause problems. One of my bosses at a job several years ago thought he would avoid the problems with exploding eggs in the microwave by putting his egg into a cup filed with water. He figured that the water would heat first, boiling the egg in itys shell and preventing problems. Ha! The egg not only exploded all over the microwave (producing an incredible stink), it also blew off one of the hinges on the door. He had to get a new microwave oven for the office. Did I mention that this was a high tech firm, and he was an engineer? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/23 "2020-01-28T14:50:49Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > The upshot seemed to be that the surface area of the food had to be much larger than the surface are of the food. Err … that should read: \*\*\*… the surface area of the food had to be much larger than the surface area of the foil. \*\*\* Thanks, all, for allowing me to skate on that :smack: ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/24 "2020-01-28T16:26:47Z")
I put a plate with silver trim around the circumference. It would sometimes spark and once I got nasty burn (enough to cause a blister) when I touched it. Forgot to mention, if you leave a metal utensil in your food, be careful. It can get really hot from contact with the food. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2020, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/25 "2020-01-28T18:36:11Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Take a grape and cut it almost in half so that there is just a tiny bit of skin holding the two halves together and lay it flat on a plate and it will usually arc. Mixed vegetables will arc if they were grown in soil with a high mineral content. There were unexpected fireworks when I used the microwave to mellow out some lightly salted chopped onion. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/26 "2020-01-29T10:37:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > You don’t need metal to cause problems. One of my bosses at a job several years ago thought he would avoid the problems with exploding eggs in the microwave by putting his egg into a cup filed with water. He figured that the water would heat first, boiling the egg in itys shell and preventing problems. > > Ha! > > The egg not only exploded all over the microwave (producing an incredible stink), it also blew off one of the hinges on the door. He had to get a new microwave oven for the office. I see on YouTube an instruction to just put a small hole in the egg. Nope. If you put a small hole in the air-sac, the shell doesn’t explode. But the egg still does. If you but a large hole in the shell, and pierce the yolk several times… you’ve still got a problem. Assuming that you’ve got the big hole in the shell and the pierced yolk — the egg cooks from the outside in, sealing up the hole that you made, and still burps. And then it seems safe, but is hot steam inside. So you break the egg, beat it, and put it in a microwave-safe dish — and still burps in the oven and is dangerously unevenly heated when you take it out. … it’s not just microwaves. Our single-white-male tenent blew the door off the conventional oven while heating an unopened can 🙂 Later, his girlfriend came over to help him muck out his kitchen with a shovel… ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/27 "2020-02-03T06:14:53Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > So you break the egg, beat it, and put it in a microwave-safe dish — and still burps in the oven and is dangerously unevenly heated when you take it out. One of my fave easy man-meals: Open a small nuke-able container. Add a tablespoon or two of cooked beans or marinated artichoke hearts or whatever. Crack an egg onto that. Pour in a bit of egg whites and stir all that. Lay a slice of cheese atop that, and then a single maize corn tortilla. Put two or three low-fat sausages on the tortilla. Snap-on the container’s lid. Microwave for about 3.5 minutes, depending. Spoiler: it won’t explode. ---
**Author:** ![Kovitlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/28 "2020-02-04T15:28:14Z")
It’s an issue. I recently got about 6 bronze-colored hand-me-down glass plates. I mean, they’re coated glass, but the inside is a rich bronze color. I assumed they were microwave-safe, since they WERE glass, and I assumed most all plates are MW safe. Nope. I’ve accidentally thrown them in with leftovers on them a couple times, only to see lightning fire off inside my cheapo little microwave. I usually panic and hit the cancel button. So far it’s been okay, and the machine still works fine. The plates haven’t been microwaved for more than the 2 seconds it takes me to realize what I did, but at least one of them has visible black marks over one side. I know I’ve accidentally microwaved a spoon once, too. If it’s only in for a literal 1-2 seconds, your microwave will \*probably \*be okay. Don’t fool yourself into thinking it isn’t dangerous, though. ---
**Author:** ![Kovitlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/29 "2020-02-04T15:40:21Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > So you break the egg, beat it, and put it in a microwave-safe dish — and still burps in the oven and is dangerously unevenly heated when you take it out. I’ve made scrambled eggs in the microwave quite a bit in the past. Beat the egg with the milk, add cheese or whatever else you want, and nuke it. Don’t leave it in real long, of course, but I’ve never had any eggs explode. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/30 "2020-02-04T15:42:58Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > My son had a microwave that came with a metal rack. But it didn’t have sharp edges and there was no arcing. Us, too. The large over-the-stove GE microwave that we had installed when we built our house 15 years ago came with an adjustable stainless steel metal rack inside (made of heavy-gauge wire). I was surprised to see this (having heard the admonition to never put metal objects inside a microwave oven, but figured it was designed to work inside the oven. Interestingly, it sits on plastic supports so that the rack does not actually touch the walls of the oven. Anyway, we’ve never had any issues with the rack. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/31 "2020-02-04T18:26:41Z")
I’ll tell you what not to do. There’s a fast food chain called Arby’s which is best known for their roast beef sandwiches. All of their sandwiches are served in wrappers that are paper on the inside and foil (I assume aluminum) on the outside. At my first job a coworker decided to reheat his Arby’s sandwich in our break room’s microwave. The foil heated up immensely, setting the paper side of the wrapper on fire, and the microwave was in flames. Needless to say the oven was ruined. He was definitely a doofus. If the wrapper was just foil, and didn’t have a paper side, I doubt it would have been that much of a disaster but who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/32 "2020-02-14T10:28:15Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’ll tell you what not to do. There’s a fast food chain called Arby’s which is best known for their roast beef sandwiches. All of their sandwiches are served in wrappers that are paper on the inside and foil (I assume aluminum) on the outside. > > At my first job a coworker decided to reheat his Arby’s sandwich in our break room’s microwave. The foil heated up immensely, setting the paper side of the wrapper on fire, and the microwave was in flames. Needless to say the oven was ruined. He was definitely a doofus. > > If the wrapper was just foil, and didn’t have a paper side, I doubt it would have been that much of a disaster but who knows? Um… That job wouldn’t happen to have been at an electronics company near Dixie and Eglinton in Mississauga, Ontario, would it? Because I may or may not have done exactly that… without the flames though. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017/33 "2020-02-14T12:29:23Z")
I have used a microwave egg cooker like this one. > **[Nordic Ware Microwave Egg Boiler, 4 Capacity, White](https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Microwave-Egg-Boiler/dp/B0007M2BN0)** > > Buy Nordic Ware Microwave Egg Boiler, 4 Capacity, White at Amazon. Customer reviews and photos may be available to help you make the right purchase decision! It has two halves, the top half lined with aluminum, and a metal tray that holds four eggs. The metal in the top half reflects the microwaves away from the eggs so that steam pressure doesn’t build up inside of them and they don’t explode. Water in the bottom half steams them from below. I have had no problems using it to hard boil eggs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metal-put-into-a-microwave-oven/847017.md?page=1)