# What do you use your microwave for?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 30, 2001, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271 "2001-07-30T21:44:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2001, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/1 "2001-07-30T21:44:29Z")
[This](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=79691) thread got me thinking about microwaves. I’m young enough to have had one most of my life - I think my parents bought their first one back in '78, when I was 8. I really don’t use mine a ton, but when I _do_ need it, I reaaaallly need it.
I use mine, in order of most common to least common, for:
1. heating up milk for my coffee every morning. Why dirty a pan to heat up a couple tablespoons of milk? I just pour it in my mug and zap it for 30 seconds or so.
2. zapping butter to make it spreadable or liquid. 30% power will take refrigerated butter to room temp in about a minute. I also need melted butter for recipes and popcorn.
3. Popcorn. Ever since some kind doper told me about the microwave popcorn popper, I use the microwave exclusively for popcorn.
4. Reheating frozen stuff. Reheat frozen pizza to room temp, then put it in a fry pan and it tastes like you just got it delivered. I also freeze leftovers in single serving sizes, and you gotta have a nuker to reheat them.
5. Defrosting meat. My nuker has a defrost setting, and it works pretty well for thawing meat. I’m never organized enough to take meat out of the freezer in the morning for dinner use, so this is invaluable.
What do you use yours for?
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2001, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/2 "2001-07-30T22:40:42Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Athena \*
> I use the microwave exclusively for popcorn.
According to numbers 1, 2, 4, and 5, that’s not what you meant to say. 😃
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2001, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/3 "2001-07-30T23:41:50Z")
Right now I use it to encourage me to drive around to stores to look for that blasted glass plate.
You see, no one in the known universe seems to have microwave glass plates for sale. The plate that rotates on the bottom of the oven.
Even if they did, you would have to get the specific plate.
So I made one myself. Its kinda weird but it works.
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### Author:  [@WEW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WEW)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/4 "2001-07-31T01:58:12Z")
1. Popcorn
2. Heating leftovers for the kids (they never finish a meal)
3. Thawing meat
4. Melting butter for baking
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/5 "2001-07-31T02:58:26Z")
Reheating, thawing, softening, melting - just about everything but actually cooking. Does anybody actually _cook_ things in a microwave (popcorn doesn’t count)?
If you set it for 0% power, it becomes a $200 timer. So that’s another thing I use it for - to time stuff that’s cooking on the regular stove.
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### Author:  [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/6 "2001-07-31T03:40:28Z")
I use mine to cook stuff.
Only problem is, it’s like an E or something - way more powerful than the instructions on food packages are planned for. So everything gets burned.
It also works quite well as a large television-shaped clock. as I believe has been noted. Like Harry Hill before me, I also use my computer mainly as a light.
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### Author:  [@Pessor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pessor)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/7 "2001-07-31T10:08:23Z")
Potatoes
That’s pretty much it.
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### Author:  [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/8 "2001-07-31T10:29:41Z")
1. heating up Mumtaz curries
2. steaming vegetables
3. defrosting meat
4. heating up milk for coffee
5. poaching fish
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/9 "2001-07-31T11:48:01Z")
I’ve cooked entire meals in mine. I’ve got a model that has a delayed start timer so I’ve been known to put stuff in set to be ready upon my return. It’s almost as good as having a cook. At one point, we had 2 - my big one plus an over-the-stove model that came with the house - made big dinner parties so much easier.
Generally, tho, I use it to cook veggies, defrost, rewarm stuff, make popcorn…
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### Author:  [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/10 "2001-07-31T14:13:51Z")
Mostly the Ramen Cup-O-Noodles. Mmmm…
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### Author:  [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/11 "2001-07-31T15:37:52Z")
1. Reheating stuff
2. A timer
3. Sterilizing baby bottles, although not anymore (kids grow so fast)
4. Making pseudo hot-fudge out of chocolate chips, vanilla extract, half-and-half, and margarine
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### Author:  [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/12 "2001-07-31T19:00:52Z")
“Don’t you remember when Mom used to microwave our underwear on cold days?” - Bart.
Thank you, please return to your normal activities.
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### Author:  [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/13 "2001-07-31T19:06:25Z")
Defrosting, warming up leftovers, heating water or milk, melting chocolate and butter, and cooking vegetables.
It’s also the only clock in the kitchen that flod2k can’t reach and reset. Must get a real wall clock some time.
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### Author:  [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/14 "2001-07-31T20:00:56Z")
Ah, a subject close to my heart. We lived very close to Amana, IA and got into the first consumer test of the RadarRange, so we had one of the first 25 microwave ovens in the world. We discovered all sorts of things, like that gold-edged china would explode in the microwave. We tried all sorts of irrational things, like microwaving a huge thanksgiving turkey. Turned out pretty good too, although it was a pain in the butt because you have to put foil over certain parts to slow down cooking.
But nowadays, I mostly use it to boil water for coffee, reheat leftovers, and cook frozen dinners. I particularly recommend Healthy Choice single-serve frozen pizza which comes in a box with Micro-Crisp, it’s the only frozen pizza that cooks well in a microwave.
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### Author:  [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2001, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/15 "2001-07-31T20:54:31Z")
Superheated water experiments, mostly.
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### Author:  [@El\_Gui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Gui)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2001, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/16 "2001-08-01T05:34:24Z")
as a timer . . .
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### Author:  [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2001, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/17 "2001-08-01T10:57:30Z")
Mrs.B. uses it to thaw bacteria.
That’s not a critique of her cooking. She works in a biochemistry lab, silly.
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### Author:  [@tevya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tevya)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2001, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/18 "2001-08-01T12:05:31Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Chas.E \*
> \*\* although it was a pain in the butt because you have to put foil over certain parts to slow down cooking.
> \*\*
You can put **foil** in the microwave? Isn’t this dangerous? I assume you are talking about aluminum foil. Perhaps you are talking about something else? If not, I guess I’ve been wrong all this time–which is a definite possibility.
I use my microwave for:
1. Thawing meat.
2. Cooking frozen veggies (usually either spinach or broccoli).
3. Softening butter.
4. Popping microwave popcorn.
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### Author:  [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2001, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/19 "2001-08-01T12:45:01Z")
Disclaimer: Foil and microwaves are bad! Don’t do it!
I know Cecil did a column, ahh, [here it is](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a940923a.html). That having been said, you can sorta use foil in microwaves. Some things, like Mrs. Budd’s chicken pies come in foil pans, but you nuke them inside the box. Also, microwave popcorn has uses something similar to concentrate the heat and pop the corn. Again, it can be really dangerous, leave it to the professionals.
–Pete
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### Author:  [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2001, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-use-your-microwave-for/74271/20 "2001-08-01T15:48:54Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by tevya \*
> **You can put foil in the microwave? Isn’t this dangerous? I assume you are talking about aluminum foil. Perhaps you are talking about something else? If not, I guess I’ve been wrong all this time–which is a definite possibility.**
Yes, it is safe to put foil in a microwave PROVIDED that you do it correctly. You can’t wrap something in foil so it is entirely enclosed, you just cover something on one side so it receives less energy. In the case of the turkey, you have to cover the drumsticks and put a couple of strips of foil over the breast, so these areas don’t cook before the rest of the bird.
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