# What foods can't you microwave? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 6, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003 "2003-06-06T03:58:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/1 "2003-06-06T03:58:21Z")
Technically, I guess you can microwave any food. Whether that food would be edible - or even safe - is another story. Eggs come to mind. If you stick an egg in the microwave, my guess is it’ll explode. Not much fun, especially if you’re the egg. What other foods can’t you microwave? For the purposes of this thread, let’s assume we’re microwaving with the intent of eating the food. (It’s here because I’m assuming there are factual responses.) ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/2 "2003-06-06T04:49:28Z")
You can microwave an egg, just crack it open first. In fact, you can microwave just about any food, but a microwave doesn’t ever cook crunchy food well. If you microwave a marshmallow or certain other foods containing marshmallow, they may expand a hundred times their original volume. They may also stick to the inside of the microwave, leaving a gnarly mess. ---
**Author:** ![Chagto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@Chagto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chagto)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/3 "2003-06-06T05:09:37Z")
Actually, even after cracking an egg, its not the best idea. The egg will still explode, though not with quite as much flair, because the yolk itself it sort of sealed – it explodes, and leaves a lovely yellow residue all over the inside of the microwave. Best way to microwave em is to put em in a microwave safe small container, and prick the yolk with a fork. Also, never microwave plain water in a smooth mug/cup. It’ll probably explode if u touch it. ---
**Author:** ![sciguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@sciguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciguy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/4 "2003-06-06T05:18:58Z")
Actually, I know from personal experience that you _can_ microwave an egg. Of course, you can’t get it hard-boiled, but poached is fairly straightforward, and even scrambled if you stir the mixture every so often (or get one of [these](http://www.seenontvmall.com/cooking-kitchen/egg-wave.htm)). Cooking time is pretty constrained, though. It’s not hard to go from slimy to rubberized… Back to your question. From [how stuff works](http://home.howstuffworks.com/microwave.htm), the microwave frequency excites water, fat, and sugar molecules; so any food with a serious lack of all three won’t heat much. Although personally, you’d have a hard time convincing me a substance meeting that criteria counts as “food”. 🙂 I suppose beef jerky would count, since it’s dry and non-fatty. But who cooks jerky? Any food that depends on an out-to-in heat transfer would come out wrong, such as baked goods with a crust. Accessories (such as the Hot Pocket[sup]TM[/sup] sleeves mentioned in the above article) can bypass this. You probably wouldn’t care for a steak cooked in a microwave, since the outer surface won’t sear to trap the moisture. You’ll either get barely warm and bloody or cooked and dry. Finally, any food with an surface that can trap air and a moist interior would most likely lead to an explosion as the inner water gets vaporized and pressure can’t be released. Other than a shelled egg, I can’t think of any foods like this where you can’t create a release point by piercing the skin (like you do when microwaving a potato). So there you have it: what you can’t cook, what won’t cook right, and what’s dangerous to cook. Any other additions? ---
**Author:** ![nebco9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@nebco9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nebco9)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/5 "2003-06-06T07:07:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chagto \* > \*\* > > Also, never microwave plain water in a smooth mug/cup. It’ll probably explode if u touch it. > > \*\* I must be mis-reading something here. I’ve heated water in a mug for **years** to make instant coffee. The only problem I’ve ever had is if I heat it **too** long. Like anything else’ you can overcook it. So I wouldn’t say never ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/6 "2003-06-06T07:29:39Z")
I’ve tried making water explode. You’ll need a special glass that has never been washed before for smoothness, which will exclude anything in your cupboards. Then you’ll probably need upwards of 15 minutes on high for one cup of water. The most I had the patience to wait around for was a cup of water in for 5 minutes. Dropped some salt in, not one bubble - just a tiney brief “fitz” sound, barely audible. Hmmm, I’m not sure how making rice in the microwave would work… maybe add that to the list? ---
**Author:** ![nebco9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@nebco9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nebco9)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/7 "2003-06-06T07:41:13Z")
If I heat my mug of water more than about 2½ minutes it will boil-over when I put a teaspoon of instant coffee in it. Never did **explode** although I can see that it might if I heated it for a much longer time. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/8 "2003-06-06T07:48:57Z")
Maybe you have a “Radiation King” model microwave… mine’s not that powerful :D. ---
**Author:** ![nebco9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@nebco9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nebco9)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/9 "2003-06-06T07:57:12Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by mmmiiikkkeee \* \*\* Dropped some salt in, not one bubble - just a tiney brief “fitz” sound, barely audible. \*\* That tiny “fitz” sound would be multiplied a whole bunch with a heaping teaspoon of instant coffee. Definate boil-over. If you don’t believe me give a try, but be prepared to clean up the mess. ---
**Author:** ![Fatman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d2c977/32.png) [@Fatman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fatman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/10 "2003-06-06T07:59:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Hmmm, I’m not sure how making rice in the microwave would work… maybe add that to the list? \*\* Rice can be cooked in a microwave. Anything that needs to be baked cannot be cooked in a microwave oven. The crust cannot get hot enough to brown, before the inside is burnt. This includes toast. Anything with metal should not be cooked in a microwave oven. That would include kabob with metal skewer, Cups with a metal band in the rim (gives new meaning to “hot lips.”) and lamb brochette. Without a special microwave oven safe container, it is not possible to cook popcorn. You cannot. for example, seal a bowl with plastic wrap and cook popcorn. Certain candies (usually used in baking) cannot be cooked in a microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/11 "2003-06-06T08:29:36Z")
Regarding scrambled eggs, I’ve never had a problem making them in the microwave. When my cooker was on the blink I did so regularly, using a plastic bowl. The trick is to use a fairly low power setting, and to stop heating before the eggs are done. Then give them another stir and leave them to sit in the microwave for a while - the residual heat will complete the cooking process without rubberising them. Bon appétit! I wouldn’t say that _nothing_ that needs baking can be microwaved - baked potatoes come out just fine (although the skin isn’t crispy). Cakes and bread are a no-no though, unless anyone says different? ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/12 "2003-06-06T09:32:48Z")
I tried to reheat some fried onions. They caught fire. I think it might have been OK if I’d only given them about 5 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![something\_clever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@something\_clever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/something_clever)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/13 "2003-06-06T09:55:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tansu \* > \*\*I tried to reheat some fried onions. They caught fire. I think it might have been OK if I’d only given them about 5 seconds. \*\* haha thats great dude! btw once in bachelor survival class back in highschool i saw a microwave book, it was from like… hell i dont know when it was made but it was pretty old… just when microwaves came out i think… it had microwave recipes for EVERYTHING, including steaks and other things you would never think of actually cooking (maybe reheating) in a microwave… cook times were in the HOURS… i never really thought it would be safe to leave a microwave running for over an hour, but nearly every recipe in this book required atleast 45mins to cook… ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/14 "2003-06-06T10:11:28Z")
Rice and pasta are fine, you just need to put them in a bowl of water and cook on max for about 10 minutes. Heating coffee is also easy (and doesn’t explode) if you bear in mind that it only needs one minute at most. I once bought a thing that claimed to be a microwave boiled egg cooker, which was just a plastic egg-shaped container that surrounded the egg with a layer of water. The problem was that either you didn’t cook for enough time and the egg came out raw, or too long and it… you’ve guessed it… exploded. I don’t really see the point of microwaving something that takes less than ten minutes using convential methods though. Baked potatoes are also good in the micro, there are two methods. One is to pre-cook the potatoes in the oven in bulk, store them and then heat them up when required. (This method was used in a restaurant where I used to work). The other - and my favourite, due its magical nature - is to puncture the potatos several times with a fork, run them under the tap - shaking most of the water off - and then wrap them up in kitchen roll. Nuke them for 7-12 minutes max and they’re ready. The one thing you should never do (or so I learned during a very brief stint as a trainee microwave repairman) is to run the microwave empty, as with nothing to absorb the microwaves you will burn out the magnetron, which accounts for about 99.9% of the cost of the whole gadget. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/15 "2003-06-06T10:33:35Z")
Staff Report on[Is boiling water in a microwave dangerous?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmicroboil.html) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/16 "2003-06-06T12:07:52Z")
Well, in all seriousness, I think I’ve found [one dish](http://bertc.com/wholecamel.htm) that you definately _can’t_ microwave. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/17 "2003-06-06T12:10:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by something clever \* > \*\*but nearly every recipe in this book required atleast 45mins to cook… \*\* You can tell the people who ate these meals because their tummies glow in the dark! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/18 "2003-06-06T13:02:58Z")
I’ve actually nuked steak before. Okay, I merely reheated it, and yeah it was tough. But edible. Douse that sucker in BBQ sauce, and it’s no problemo! ---
**Author:** ![Chagto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@Chagto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chagto)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/19 "2003-06-06T13:20:57Z")
regarding the cooking of eggs, i did[/d] mention that merely pricking the yolk will solve the problem, and i’m pretty sure scrambling will do that. regarding never heating water in a smooth cup/mug, i meant it as a sort of precautionary manner. the same way you would say never speed while driving, or never mix drinks. You can still do it, just beware. sorry i was a bit ambiguous.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Chagto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@Chagto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chagto)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/20 "2003-06-06T13:23:12Z")
u get one character wrong and the whole effect goes to hell. plz ignore all underlines in the previous post, as they kinda got themselves carried away [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003.md?page=2)