# 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:** 2
**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, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/21 "2003-06-06T13:39:23Z")
And I used to think bacon was another one you shouldn’t nuke, but there are now microwavable bacons out there. Heck, you can even make an omlette in the microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Kiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Kiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiger)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/22 "2003-06-06T13:50:22Z")
Butter in a foil wrapper flames up nicely. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/23 "2003-06-06T13:52:10Z")
It’s called[superheating.](http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/microwave.html#10) ---
**Author:** ![Zydoll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Zydoll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zydoll)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/24 "2003-06-06T14:36:15Z")
Actually, you _can_ microwave cakes. I myself have never tried it, but I have seen several recipes for microwaved cakes (and cookies!) Here are a few: [http://www.allbaking.net/msgbrd/board\_31/2002/JUL/11545.html](http://www.allbaking.net/msgbrd/board_31/2002/JUL/11545.html) [http://www.recipesource.com/desserts/cheesecakes/09/rec0973.html](http://www.recipesource.com/desserts/cheesecakes/09/rec0973.html) [http://www.goodnuke.com/recipes/fabulouscake.htm](http://www.goodnuke.com/recipes/fabulouscake.htm) [http://www.primasoft.com/recipes/recipes/recipe1943.htm](http://www.primasoft.com/recipes/recipes/recipe1943.htm) ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/25 "2003-06-06T14:37:42Z")
Cooking rice in a microwave is easy- you need: tupperware box 1 cup rice 1.5 cups water salt put all ingredients in tupperware box and microwave on full for 12 minutes (YMMV) Needs a little hot water at the end of cooking to loosen the rice (it will have stuck together), but otherwise perfect rice every time and no need to watch the stove ---
**Author:** ![Big-Ole-Steve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Big-Ole-Steve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big-Ole-Steve)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/26 "2003-06-06T14:52:45Z")
My worst “Woops, can’t do that in a microwave” was anchovies. I generally buy a can of them to eat along with my pizza (instead of cooked onto the pizza, thus I can limit the “eww salty!” effect to my own taste). Once I had half a can, and half a pizza, left over, so I stuck them in the fridge. THe next day, the anchovy oil had solidified, and the fishes themselves were cold and hard…which was just nasty (even nastier than regular anchovies) so I stuck them in the microwave for a few seconds to get the anchovies a bit warmer, and get the solid oil melted. Umm, yeah, apparently, the superthin cartlidge bones in anchovies are highly excitable. Because they behaved like fireworks fuses…burning from the exposed end down into the center of the fish…and not just burning like a fire…but an excited burn, again, likea fireworks fuse. This caused the “meat” of the fish to be “blown” off of the bone, and all over the oven. The result was a dirty, smelly microwave oven, little bitty bits of stinky fish-flesh, and the remaining “steak” of the fish that smelled like fire. Yeah…That was a 1 time mistake. I ASSUME since nobody here’s mentioned it, that anchovies actually on a pizza don’t react this way, presumably because they were baked on? Maybe the baking does something to the bones so that they won’t react so violently? I dunno. But yeah, don’t pull anchovies fresh out of the oil and put them right in the microwave, or else be ready to scrub. Steve ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/27 "2003-06-06T14:55:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by r\_k \* > \*\*I wouldn’t say that _nothing_ that needs baking can be microwaved - baked potatoes come out just fine (although the skin isn’t crispy). \*\* That’s not a baked potato. It’s a steamed potato. However, most people don’t even realize there’s a difference. Hint: baked potatoes aren’t cooked in foil. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/28 "2003-06-06T17:11:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stan Doubt \* > \*\*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. \*\* Particularly entertaining if your Marshmallow containing food is a “Peep” (marshmallow chick). I imagnie there’s a stop action animation film out there somewhere about the Peep that devoured a city. I don’t much care for anchovies but I just may get some to observe the fun first hand. ---
**Author:** ![breaknrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@breaknrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breaknrun)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/29 "2003-06-06T17:32:04Z")
Hmm, I thought this was gonna be a thread about what foods taste like crap out of the nuke box. Anything with dough. the dough always comes out rubbery. I’ve never tried cooking eggs but anything that only takes a few minutes stove time , i’ll cook on a stove. microwave food never tastes good to me, esp reheated chinese. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/30 "2003-06-06T17:36:11Z")
Bread. Yeah, you _can_ microwave it – but it gets soggy and disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![alimarx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@alimarx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alimarx)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/31 "2003-06-06T17:37:26Z")
Slim Jim®s _shrink_ to about half their size. And scream while doing so… Throw a bar of _fresh_ Ivory® soap in there. The only way I can describe it is ‘dry suds’. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/32 "2003-06-07T07:51:57Z")
Actually, you can put metal in a microwave, depending on its composition, thickness, and overall size. In the 1970s Swanson distributed frozen microwaveable breakfasts (pancakes or french toast, with sausages), in aluminum foil trays. Yes, microwaveable in the foil trays, as the package assured us nervous microwave owners. Sure enough it worked every time, with no harm to the microwave. And they were delicious. Nowadays of course, they put frozen foods in microwaveable plastic trays. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/33 "2003-06-07T09:54:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stan Doubt \* > **In fact, you can microwave just about any food, but a microwave doesn’t ever cook crunchy food well.** Well, [these](http://www.rudolphfoods.com/micro.htm) are pretty crunchy… ---
**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 7, 2003, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/34 "2003-06-07T10:15:46Z")
There’s a relatively new Campbell’s soup that you can eat “on the go” (that might even be its name). And it has metal on the inner band at the top of the container! :eek: Microwaves fine, btw. (Anyone else here saying “nuke” for “microwave”?) ---
**Author:** ![Loneraven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c0e974/32.png) [@Loneraven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loneraven)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/35 "2003-06-07T10:17:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*And I used to think bacon was another one you shouldn’t nuke, but there are now microwavable bacons out there. Heck, you can even make an omlette in the microwave. \*\* You need special microwavable bacons? I just used ordinary bacon - prick it a few times and throw it on a plate. It crackles a bit and comes out fine. ---
**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 7, 2003, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/36 "2003-06-07T10:24:49Z")
I dunno, I’ve never microwaved them either way. So no, I don’t _need_ them. I don’t need anything! I’m invincible! ---
**Author:** ![Loneraven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c0e974/32.png) [@Loneraven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loneraven)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/37 "2003-06-07T10:28:41Z")
Nope, all you need’s an entire thread of people telling you what you can’t do with your microwave. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![i\_like\_bacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@i\_like\_bacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_like_bacon)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/38 "2003-06-07T14:25:11Z")
um did someone say \*\* bacon\*\*??? back in the 80s they sold special microwave bacon pans that had ridgey things on them so the fat would have somewhere to go. in my experience tho, the microwave bacon is sort of limp and nasty. maybe the nuke variety is better, i don’t know. home canning, deep fat frying, toasting and anything calling for crust development : angel food cake, popovers. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/39 "2003-06-07T14:33:56Z")
Duncan Hines used to have a line of small cake mixes which came with the pan and sleeve for you to bake the mix in a microwave. They came our very well; however, I haven’t seen any of those mixes in years. ---
**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 7, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003/40 "2003-06-07T14:45:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by i like bacon \* > in my experience tho, the microwave bacon is sort of limp and nasty. > [@](#): > > maybe the nuke variety is better, i don’t know. What’s the difference? 😕 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-cant-you-microwave/180003.md?page=3)