Microwave discussion

[wonderwoman]

Tex wrote

I follow pretty much the same routine as Gloria. I try to keep meat frozen, (whether raw or cooked), and then defrost it in the microwave.

To everyone here, do you believe there is a danger in using a microwave to defrost, cook, or reheat foods? Many people, including some here on this board, no longer use a microwave because of the danger of radiation. I know my daughter who is a real health nut has not used hers in two years. I use mine daily. I would like to see some discussion on the use of a microwave. Who uses one and who doesn't and why.

[cjbndtsn]

I use mine more for defrosting hamburger only or any of my Udi's muffins and bread. Then I use it to nuke them 10 to 15 seconds just to give them a warm feeling if they have been in the fridge. Freezer a bit longer. THey are delicious that way. I never warm up leftovers in it and NEVER use plastic containers to warm up food. Alot of folks do that but if there was something I would warm up it is always in a glass dish. Chicken and Pork I defrost in ziplock bags in a sink of luke warm water.

That's my microwave use!!!! Thanks for asking to get others views and uses of the microwave.

[PJ]

Great topic! I am uncertain about the radiation studies but have been hearing a lot about the possibility of how microwaves might be destroying nutrients in food.

To err on the side of caution I now use my microwave to quickly heat water only and I reheat food the conventional way.

To thaw fish, seafood, or meat quickly I just take it out of the freezer in ziplock bags and thaw it for a bit in a sink full of cold water just u til the ice crystals melt, then cook immediately.

That's just what I do but what do I know?

Pam

[Leah]

I use my microwave all the time. My brother in-law is a scientist and says it's perfectly safe since what it does is "shakes the molecules" to make heat..... or something like that. Since I went to cooking school, I don't "cook" in it, but I do reheat (in glass) things covered in paper towels all the time. I just have too many other things to worry about when it comes to food preparation to worry about this....... just me :)

Leah

[gluten]

Hi, I never use the microwave for cooking only to reheat. There is always a radiation danger when standing to close to the microwave as the door may not seal properly. The stove is better to reheat food but the microwave saves time. However, they do not tell you what is does to the nutrients in the food. Jon

[brandy]

I use mine all the time also (particularly for cooking bacon in the morning). I don't put any plastic containers or saran in the microwave. All of my microwave cooking or reheating is on/in glass containers w/ wax paper wrapped on top or paperplates with wax paper wrapped on top.

I'd starve without my microwave.

Brandy

[DebE13]

I don't like to use my microwave. I use it to reheat my coffee or warm leftovers if in a hurry. I only use pyrex and never plastic containers. Teflon scares me too but it's convenient. When possible, my preference is cast iron.

[JFR]

I haven't used a microwave in over 5 years. I really don't have a need to. I have wondered about the health risks and I have plenty of time to just use the stove or an electric kettle for water which heats it up very quickly so my microwave is in a closet. I thought about getting rid og it just last week but couldn't quite bring myself to do that.

Jean

[JFR]

I haven't used a microwave in over 5 years. I really don't have a need to. I have wondered about the health risks and I have plenty of time to just use the stove or an electric kettle for water which heats it up very quickly so my microwave is in a closet. I thought about getting rid of it just last week but couldn't quite bring myself to do that.

Jean

[Christine.]

I use it for defrosting and heating but not for cooking. I occasionally put a freezer bag in the microwave. Is there a belief that plastic gets infused into the food?
Christine

[cjbndtsn]

Christine,
I had heard that about plastic in the microwave a couple years back. I could also (mentally anyway) taste plastic in warmed up food. I don't know if there is any real truth to it but once something gets mentally in my mind then I become a fanatic about it. (thats my OCD I think...LOL) The leftovers or whatever just really seem best in glass. However now that I have had the MC and have gone GF I just really dont use it much for cooking and warming up stuff. Defrost burger or a few seconds to warm up a muffin.

[Gloria]

My recollection is that it's not healthy to let plastic get soft (such as Saran Wrap) and touch the food when the food is cooking. It's been years since I've read about it, so I could be wrong.

I use glass dishes in the microwave, but I cover the dish with a large plastic dome which doesn't touch the food.

Gloria

[Fish2575]

Cathy, I can taste plastic in food stored in plastic containers too. My family thinks I am crazy.

My guess is that it is better not to use the microwave, but I don't know what I would do without mine. I pretty much only use it for defrosting and reheating, but I do that a lot. I put all of my bone broth in the freezer in glass cups and reheat to drink. I really hope it is not leaching all of the vitamins out of it, but worrying about it is not on the top of my list of things to be concerned with at this moment.

[Gayle]

Charlotte said:

I know my daughter who is a real health nut has not used hers in two years. I use mine daily.

I do not believe that a microwave oven is dangerous -- unless the integrity of the door system has been damaged. A leaking microwave door system would definitly be a problem. BUT -- That is very easy to check.

The microwave oven has many uses at our house, and it is used daily. But I would not say I use it to “cook”, as quickly generated heat just does not allow flavor(s) to develop properly – IMHO.

We are surrounded by high-frequency technology all the time.

To my way of thinking, the onus of responsibility rests with your daughter to fully explain her reasons for making her decision regarding use of her Microwave oven. Is it an old oven? Would it not be affordable for her to replace an old oven? Has she in her life time been exposed to frequent radiation sources so that she feels that carries a high residual load? She should be able to give a cogent description of what and why she believes what she believes, … and name the source(s) of her information.

Also, is she consistent in recognizing other sources which employ various high-frequencies in her surroundings? For example, does your daughter have a wireless router for the computer(s) in her home? Does she sit in the same room as the router? Is she using a cell phone all the time? If indicated, would she avail herself of medical scanning technology such as CTs or MRIs? Just a few examples of technology which uses high-frequency waves for energy.

This is really Joe’s area -- so he is the person that should be explaining all the ways that radio-frequencies are used which we now all live with. If I am recalling correctly, the sensing array that Joe was involved in designing, used optical (light-frequency) as its energy source, instead of the higher frequency radio-frequency waves which microwaves use. But there would be some similar concernes about keeping the energy directed and contained.

Also, if a person is concerned about energy conservation today, they will preferentially use the microwave oven when practical --- instead of the more traditional methods of food preparation using electric or gas which uses more energy to generate heat, and then additionally, also adds heat to the atmosphere of the dwelling. Adding another source of heat by using a stove instead of a microwave may be acceptable when using a furnace for heat in cold weather, but it is a somewhat counter intuitive thing to do when trying to keep a home cool by using air-conditioning in hot weather.

Just my thoughts.

Gayle

[Joefnh]

Charlotte the issue of microwave ovens is probably one of those topics that comes up in the context of fear or distrust every so often.

Microwaves are just that "waves" of energy. Everything is composed of waves...waves in the ocean, sound waves, light waves, radio waves etc.... Everything has some form of energy that rises and falls like a wave in the ocean, that's why we use the term "waves"

Your regular old oven or wood stove uses infra-red radiation waves or what is normally called plain old heat....but guess what it's waves also.

The only difference between any of these 'waves' is just the distance between the peaks of the waves, nothing else.

As far as the term radiation this is an area that is often and very wrongly confused with 'ionizing radiation' like what is given off form an atomic bomb. Radiation just is a term that means the energy like heat from a fire is radiating outwards. The stuff to be careful of is ionizing radiation, like what is used in X-rays (CT scans) and other types of nuclear medicine. BTW an MRI does not have any radiation of any type and are the safest of any of the medical imaging scans. Microwave ovens are NOT ionizing radiation and are quite safe.

Now when we talk about microwaves, this is a type of radio wave and as was discussed is actually on more or less the same channel as your cell phone or your wireless Internet box in your house, it's just in the oven the levels are a lot higher in intensity.

Why do radio waves cook food....it's actually quite simple, it's called resonance. Since all food contains some level of water, the frequency or 'channel' if you like of the radio signal inside of a microwave oven is set to resonate channel or frequency of the water part of any food directly. This resonation just simply converts the radio wave into heat by vibrating the water molecules.

When you use a regular old gas or electric oven it does the same thing by vibrating the molecules in the food causing it to heat up....this is how it works throughout the universe. When you lay out in the sun, the waves from the suns light vibrate your molecules in your skin and it feels warm. The only reason we use microwave ovens is that they vibrate the molecules much more efficiently by tuning into the water molecules that all food has, so this saves energy and time in heating up your food.

It's really that simple, it's not radiation like form an X-ray at all or a radiation source like uranium.

To test if your microwave is leaking is actually pretty easy, you can buy a little meter at the hardware store that you can wave the wand around and see a needle on a meter move telling you the level of the energy leaking, if any....or if your like me you will go to the hardware store and purchase a small roughly 6 to 12 inch long fluorescent light bulb that costs about $5. Take the bulb and with the lights out and the oven running on high, just slowly wave the bulb around the door seals and see if you see the bulb start to light up...if it does you need a new oven....it's pretty rare that these leak anymore and to any level that you care about.

Overall I would not be that concerned at all about these ovens....what you should be concerned about is as was pointed out is cooking or re-heating with any plastic wraps or containers, always use glass in a microwave or regular oven. The plastics are made of a lot of volatile organic compounds that when heated up, out-gas these chemicals into your food.

I hope this explanation helps....overall relax, we have a lot of bigger issues to deal with than this.