Did you know that your microwave can do more than reheat leftovers, pop popcorn, heat pre-packaged meals, and make a hot beverage? Omnipan. Chef Avenue. Modern Accessible Cookware
There is a micro-trend for microwave cooking going around these days (no pun intended)!
Your microwave is a versatile kitchen appliance, though, and there are many advantages to using it for cooking your food.
Saves Time
It’s designed to quickly and easily cook food.
When it cooks food, the microwave uses a magnetron to make radio waves. These radio waves send energy directly into the food molecules, causing the molecules to vibrate quickly and allowing the food to heat rapidly.
The turntable inside your microwave allows the radio waves to cook your food evenly.
Retains Nutrients in Food
Microwaves cook food by using the water content inside the food. You don’t need to steam food in water like on the stovetop.
Since microwaves cook food fast and only need a little bit of water to cook it, the food’s nutrients are retained. When you steam vegetables in the microwave, rather than on the stovetop, they remain healthy.
Easy To Clean
The self-clean setting on any oven takes hours to run through its cleaning cycle. Then comes the difficulty of scrubbing off burnt-on food.
Microwaves take less time and even less effort to clean. All you need to do is wipe down the inside of your microwave with a damp sponge. In only a few minutes, your microwave will be clean.
No Preheating or Preparation Required
Before cooking food in the oven, you need to preheat the oven, and before cooking food on the stovetop, you need to prepare your pot, like boil water or heat oil.
You don’t need to do either of these when using the microwave for cooking your food, saving you lots of prep time.
Compact Design
Many kitchens are small and don’t have room for ovens since they take up a lot of space.
Microwaves are perfect for small kitchens because their compact design allows them to sit on your kitchen counter. They also come in a variety of sizes, making them an ideal appliance to have.
Multifunctional
Microwaves are incredibly versatile and can do more than just cook food.
You can defrost food in the microwave. Within a few minutes, your food will be ready to cook instead of leaving it on your counter or in the refrigerator defrosting for hours.
You can bake desserts like chocolate mug cakes. Combine the ingredients according to the recipe’s directions. Place it in the microwave to bake instead of in the oven.
You can use its timer for other appliances or household tasks.
Conserves Energy
Microwaves are more energy-efficient than ovens or stovetops.
Using less energy means you’ll not only be saving money on your electricity bill, but you’ll also be helping the environment by reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and conserving Earth’s natural resources.
Controlled Cooking Temperatures
When cooking in the microwave, you can set the temperature to cook your food, and it’ll remain that temperature until it shuts off. Oven temperatures will change if you open and close the oven door.
A microwave’s turntable allows the food to cook evenly. On a stovetop, you have to stir your food constantly for it to cook evenly.
Auto Power-Off
You cannot multitask while cooking food on a stovetop. You have to stand next to the stove stirring your food to make sure it doesn’t burn or get overcooked. When it’s done cooking, you have to turn the stovetop off.
When using your microwave, you can set the timer, allowing you to step away from the microwave to do something. And when your food is done, it’ll automatically turn off, so your food won’t get burned or overcooked.
Long Life
Your microwave can last for many years if you take good care of it. You won’t need to replace it constantly, so it’s an excellent long-term investment.
It’s also fairly inexpensive to maintain your microwave.
Microwave-Safe Containers
Always only use microwave-safe containers when cooking food in your microwave.
Plastic containers will melt if put in the microwave. Metal containers could catch on fire if put in the microwave, including the metal handles on take-out containers.
Luckily, there are a plethora of microwave-safe containers on the market.
A line of versatile, innovative, and microwave-safe cookware called Omnipan just landed last month. Omnipan is made with high-performance, food-grade, 100% pure silicone material. It has a transparent lid, so you can watch your food as it cooks. The lid also has dual-steam vents so that you can steam your food perfectly.
A little further down in this article, we have a delicious microwave-cooked bread recipe that uses Omnipan.
Omnipan is available for pre-order now.
Microwave-Cooked Food
You can cook almost anything in the microwave without needing any extra kitchen appliances. We have put together a special collection of Recipes Created for the Microwave. Now you can cook fish, potato chips, fudge, and bread in your microwave. Yes, you can even make bread in the microwave! Although it doesn’t have the crust or light brown color on top, this microwave-cooked bread is light and airy. It has a fluffy texture similar to Oriental steamed buns.
Once you make the bread in the microwave, here’s the best way to cut it.
And, here’s how you make it in the microwave.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon + ½ teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
¾ teaspoon sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup lukewarm water
1 ⅓ cups + 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
Directions
- Pour the water into the small Omnipan and heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds so it is slightly warmer to the touch.
- Add the butter, yeast, sugar, salt, and warm water to a bowl. Mix well to combine. Add in the flour, ½ cup at a time. Mix well before incorporating more flour.
- Dust your work surface with 1 teaspoon of flour. Turn out the dough onto the work surface and knead it for 8 minutes.
- Brush the insides of the large Omnipan with ½ teaspoon of butter.
- Place the dough inside the Omnipan. Cover it lightly with plastic wrap, leaving enough space for the dough to rise. Set aside for 1 hour.
- Remove the plastic wrap. Place the Omnipan in the microwave. Microwave on high for 4 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the bread is 200°F.
- Remove from the microwave, and let the bread cool in the Omnipan for 5 minutes. Then turn out onto a rack and let cool completely before serving.
Here are some tips for successfully making bread in the microwave:
- When measuring flour, spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)
- Use a low-protein flour like bleached flour. Bleached flour contains less protein than unbleached flour. This works well for microwave-baked bread.
- While baking the bread in the microwave, insert a knife into the middle to check the doneness. If the knife comes out clean, the bread is ready. If the knife doesn’t come out clean, the bread isn’t cooked through. Continue to microwave further in 30-second intervals.
Conclusion
Step outside of your comfort zone with your microwave. It’s a great kitchen appliance that’s often under-used. And with the right preparation, you can cook almost any food in the microwave. (Did you see our microwave-cooked bread recipe?)
Here’s a recap of microwave cooking benefits:
- It’s multifunctional, allowing you to use it for more than just cooking. You can defrost frozen food, bake cakes, and use the timer.
- It uses less energy than your oven or stove, so it’s environmentally friendly.
- Your microwave is designed to quickly and efficiently cook your food while also maintaining your food’s nutritional value.
- It’s easy to clean and has a compact design, so it’s perfect for any kitchen.
- Your microwave will last for a long time if you take good care of it.
- While your food is cooking in the microwave, you can multitask because it’ll turn itself off once your food is done. You don’t need to keep an eye on your food while it’s cooking.
- You don’t need to take time to preheat your microwave. It’s always ready to use.
- Your microwave can control and maintain its cooking temperatures until it’s done cooking.
Do you have any microwave cooking tips that aren’t on this list? Or a favorite microwave-forward recipe you’d like to share with us? Drop us an email at info@chef-avenue.com. We’d love to hear from you!
