Thank you for sharing this! I remember liking America’s Test Kitchen and I’m commenting in hopes that I remember to watch this later when I’m able to. I’m already a big fan of using different power levels, though, which I’m guessing this is about. I wish more people would give it a shot and learn how to use it (and other little ‘tricks’) well!
No, that’s the magnetron. Normal microwave magnetrons have 2 power settings, on and off, and reducing the microwave’s power just means switching the magnetron on and off at different intervals.
An inverter just allows to keep the magnetron running at a lower power. Whether that has a better effect than just on/off-switching the magnetron I do not know, but it’s probably more energy efficient over long usage periods.
I would imagine having an inverter would allow you to avoid situations where individual parts heat too quickly during your heat cycle, but the advantage probably isn’t that big. Afterall, you could just heat it at a slightly lower power to stop whatever overheating effect you’re troubled with.
Not just that they have peaks and valleys, some things are simply not heated by microwaves. The ice crystals in frozen food are only heated by-proxy because the tiny amounts of already melted off water will heat up and melt more ice, so there is no benefit in blasting an ice cube at full power for 40 minutes.
Some have sensors that will really help heat food evenly and will adjust times and power levels depending on what you’re doing. Most are just default cook times, but if you haven’t tried it out, it’s worth it.
I watched a video the other day discussing the sensors in some Microwaves for popping popcorn. Most lower end units don’t have these sensors but the ones that do, can actually make pretty good popcorn.
Thanks, I couldn’t recall the name of the channel. He does some great content. I never cared about microwaves because I don’t use them, but I found myself watching a couple of long videos he did on them none the less.
I watched that same video, and it inspired me to upgrade my microwave game. I’ve had the same one for like a decade and it sucked. New one has all the bells / whistles and does air frying too. It’s night and day compared to the old one
Not directly, but they improve the low-power modes substantially, and using the low-power modes for longer times is the solution. Inverters aren’t strictly needed, but they do make it better.
Yup, totally agree. Changed my microwaving habits a few years back. 3 minutes at about 600 watts works like a charm for just about everything. Add a minute or so if you’re heating soup or something else with a lot of mass/water.
I always did 2 minutes at maximum power previously and it was always like the surface of the sun on the outside and cold on the inside.
I can take a McDonalds cheeseburger thats been in the fridge for three days and nuke it to like it was just handed over the counter fresh by using 20-30% power for 4 minutes
This is because all microwaves have terrible UI/UX. If you are supposed to use less than 100% then why do I have to hit 9 buttons every time I want to use less than 100% power? And only 1 button to use 100% power for a variety of different settings.
Why is it not you hit Cook, then enter Power, then enter time? Like every single other stove in existence
I usually just use high power. I should try this sometime, although I don’t tend to have issues with stuff having cold spots. Something I think that helps is stirring stuff half way through and letting it sit for a min after it’s done.
Stirring definitely helps. The exact setting to use will vary depending on the microwave, what is being heated, and how much of it there is, but my usual go-to for a starting point on a full, regular-sized bowl or plate of food is: 3 minutes at 40%, remove and stir or flip as appropriate, then another 2-3 minutes at 30-40% depending on how hot it was. This approach will end up heating most things evenly without drying them out or burning anything.
Some things can be more sensitive, so if I’m ever unsure about what would be safe, I’ll start at 30% for 1 minute just to get a baseline for context. Below 30% is usually only useful for frozen things. Soups usually require several stirs - you don’t want to let it sit still for too long, or use too high a setting, or it can explode.
100%. You can pretty much cook anything in a microwave, so long as you understand -how- it cooks, and how to use that to your advantage. Like, some of the best eggs I’ve made were from a microwave. Like non-microwave cooking, the general rule is “slow and low” and you’ll get decent results. But yea, it wont sear your steak, nor would I cook a steak in a microwave, as it would taste better, be less messy, and be faster to use an oven broiler xD.
PROTIP: Whenever possible, shape/place the food you’re heating like a donut. ( O )
Microwaves need to penetrate the food; if it’s a big lump, it’s hard to reach the stuff in the middle. By using a “donut” shape, you are creating more surface area, and spreading out the “middle” so it’s easier for microwaves to reach all the parts of the food equally
Among the other suggestions people have made in this thread, I’d like to add that just covering something and allowing the food to steam-heat makes a big difference. For instance I will usually poke a well in the middle of leftovers, put a tiny bit of water in (especially with rice, which dries out) and cover it with a plate. The water boils and heats it much better.
If your food is unevenly heated it’s probably because you need to adjust the cook time and power settings. Heating it longer at a lower power setting will let the heat spread more evenly.
Alternatively, check your microwave’s wattage. I always have to adjust microwave instructions to be about 10% longer because my apartment’s microwave is weaker than companies assume the standard microwave is.
That’s why you lower the power. Leave enough time for entropy to distribute the heat before dumping more energy into the food. The more heterogenous the food is, the more you need to lower the power (down to maybe even 200-400 W for mixed leftovers). And make sure all your foodstuffs are touching each other to allow heat to homogenize.
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