How to use a microwave oven safely

Kitchen test site

Maybe it’s a rare experience, maybe it’s a new try

●Container: in High-temperature-resistant containers such as plastic, glass, and ceramics can be used in the microwave oven, but metal or metal-coated containers cannot be used.

●Thawing: If cooking frozen food, defrost it first. When defrosting, you should pay attention to using a low power setting to defrost evenly. Generally, do not overheat to complete defrost, which may cause the food to be partially cooked. Moreover, there should not be too much food defrosted at one time, and the thawed food pieces should not be too thick. The thickness of meat products should not exceed 3 cm, and the thickness of other foods should not exceed 5 to 7 cm. Otherwise, uneven thawing may occur up and down.

●Nutrition: When cooking in the microwave, add as little water to the dish as possible. The purpose of adding water is to prevent the vegetables from burning. Generally, one or two tablespoons of water is enough. The standard for adding the right amount of water is that there is no water left after the dish is cooked. Also, cover when cooking or heating food. This takes a short time and reduces nutritional losses. Therefore, in order to shorten the cooking time as much as possible, if conditions permit, try to buy a microwave oven with high power.

●Dehydration: During the peak season of fruits and vegetables, you can use a microwave oven to keep some of your favorite fruits and vegetables fresh, such as cowpeas, eggplants, sherry, radish slices, pineapple slices, apple slices, mushrooms, etc. Method: Wash the fruits and vegetables, control the water, slice large pieces of rhizomes, put them in the microwave, use low power (1-3 minutes) to heat them until the vegetables lose part of their water and become wilted, take them out and let them cool before using a fresh-keeping bag. Seal it and store it in the refrigerator for a long time, or simply dry it on the balcony for a few days and it will quickly become a real dried vegetable.

●Seasoning: Salt has a special effect on microwaves. Use as little salt as possible in cooking, especially meat, because salt will make the meat rougher. If the taste is light, it is best to cook it in Add after cooking.

Microwave easy

Recipes

● Boiled eggs

1. Wrap the eggs in "tinfoil" (the shiny side is inside, Don't wrap it too tightly, just leave a little), put it in a deep cup, add water to cover the egg noodles, cover it, and cook it over high heat for 8 minutes to turn into a half-cooked egg.

2. After 8 minutes, stop heating, but still leave the eggs in the oven. Take them out after 5 minutes, and they will become fully cooked eggs.

●White porridge

1. About 300 grams of rice and seven cups of hot water.

2. Wash the rice and put it into a container, add hot water, and set it on high heat for 20 minutes.

●Curry Chicken

Wash about one and a half pounds of chicken legs, wipe dry and chop into pieces, add one tablespoon of curry powder, two tablespoons of oil, one and a half cups of hot water, and one and a half cups of coconut milk. , 2/3 teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of sugar, a little pepper, two tablespoons of peanut butter, half a teaspoon of chicken powder, mix well and marinate for one hour.

Add a pound of peeled and diced potatoes to the chicken pieces, add a tablespoon of curry powder, an appropriate amount of minced garlic, minced dried onion and seasoning, mix well, put it into a deep vessel, and cover it Cover and cook over high heat for 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft, remove and wait for three minutes.

Avoid misunderstandings when using microwave ovens:

1. Don't preheat the meat until it's semi-hot, leaving it until later to microwave it until it's done. Although this can shorten the cooking time before eating, the bacteria in the half-cooked food are not killed. Even if it is placed in the refrigerator, the bacteria will still grow. When you reheat the food in the microwave for the second time, because the time is too short, it may not be able to kill all the bacteria, which may result in a bad stomach. Therefore, if busy home cooks want to save cooking time, they can still cook the meat, put it in a shallow container, or wrap it in a frozen food plastic bag, freeze it, and defrost it in the refrigerator or microwave before eating. Best to heat and eat.

2. Meat and poultry that have been thawed in a microwave oven cannot be refrozen. Because it is defrosted in the microwave, the outer layer actually begins to heat up at a low temperature. At these low temperatures, bacteria may have multiplied to dangerous numbers. Although refreezing stops reproduction, it does not kill living bacteria. Therefore, meat that has been thawed in the microwave must be heated until it is fully cooked. If not eaten, it must be stored in the refrigerator.

3. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture survey report: People often defrost or heat leftovers in the microwave and then forget about them, leaving them there for hours. If you forget to take it out for more than three hours, it is best to discard it and not eat it to avoid food poisoning.

4． Do not use ordinary plastic containers to heat in the microwave. Although the plastic itself is not heated, hot food can cause the container to become very hot. These plastic containers may release toxins at high temperatures and contaminate food.

5. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and consumer advocacy groups are warning people about plastic wrap that can release toxins into microwave ovens. Although no one has been poisoned yet, the possibility of poisoning still exists. In 1987, the United Kingdom conducted a test and found that DEHA, a chemical in plastic paper, penetrated into food when heated in a microwave oven. DEHA penetrates more into high-fat foods because fat can be very hot in a microwave oven. High doses of DEHA can cause cancer in mice.

What you need to pay attention to when using a microwave oven

Although the use of a microwave oven is simple and easy, you should also pay attention to some correct maintenance. When using it, you must pay attention to the following points:

1. The bottom of the furnace should be placed stably to prevent aging and deformation when opening the door, which may affect the sealing.

2. Do not place it near heat sources, home appliances, sunlight or moisture to avoid reducing performance.

3. The cooking time should be appropriate. The cooking time can be determined according to the food heating requirements in the instruction manual. The cooking time can be slightly reduced to prevent overheating and dehydration of the food.

4. The microwave power supply should have a dedicated line and a correct and reliable grounding.

5. When using, metal utensils and flammable containers should not be placed in the microwave oven. When using plastic containers, high-temperature-resistant containers should be selected. Porcelain with gold and silver edges should not be used. It is best to use special glass containers.

6. When the microwave oven is working, you should stay away from the furnace body. Although there is safety insurance, you must also prevent microwave radiation from harming the human body in the event of occurrence.

7. When operating, do not put your eyes close to the window for observation, because the eyes are most sensitive to microwave radiation.

8. After using the microwave oven, be sure to cut off the power and unplug it to prevent idling and damaging the magnetron.

9. To clean the microwave oven, you can use a wet towel or add a little detergent to wipe it. If the stain is too stubborn, you can also boil a cup of hot water in the microwave and let the steam steam to soften the stain before cleaning. . Adding a slice or two of lemon can also remove odors from the furnace.

9 taboos for using microwave ovens

1. Avoid using ordinary plastic containers: First, hot food will deform the plastic container, and second, ordinary plastic will release toxic substances and contaminate the food. , harmful to human health. Use special microwave utensils to hold food and put it in the microwave for heating.

2. Avoid using metal utensils: because iron, aluminum, stainless steel, enamel and other utensils placed in the furnace will interact with them when heated by the microwave oven. Electric sparks are generated and microwaves are reflected, which not only damages the furnace body but also heats undercooked food.

3. Avoid using closed containers: When heating liquids, wide-mouth containers should be used, because the heat generated by heating food in closed containers is not easy to dissipate, causing the pressure in the container to be too high, which can easily cause explosion accidents. Even when cooking shelled food, be sure to pierce the shell with a needle or chopsticks in advance to prevent it from bursting, splashing and staining the furnace wall after heating, or splashing and injuring people.

4. Avoid overtime heating: Put food in the microwave to defrost or heat it. If you forget to take it out, if the time exceeds 2 hours, you should throw it away to avoid causing food poisoning.

5. Avoid heating meat until it is half-cooked and then reheat it in a microwave oven: bacteria will still grow in half-cooked food. When you reheat it in a microwave oven for the second time, it is impossible to remove the bacteria due to the short time. Kill them all. Frozen meat products must be defrosted in a microwave oven before being reheated into cooked food.

6. Avoid freezing meat that has been thawed in a microwave oven: because after the meat is thawed in the microwave oven, the outer layer of the meat has actually been heated to a low temperature, and bacteria can breed at this temperature. Although refreezing can stop reproduction, it does not kill living bacteria.

Meat that has been thawed in the microwave must be heated until fully cooked if placed in the refrigerator.

7. Avoid fried foods: high-temperature oil will splash and cause fire. If a fire accidentally breaks out in the furnace, do not open the door. Instead, turn off the power first and wait until the fire is extinguished before opening the door to cool down.

8. Avoid placing the microwave oven in the bedroom, and be careful not to cover the heat dissipation window grille on the microwave oven with objects.

9. Avoid working in front of the microwave oven for a long time: after turning on the microwave oven, people should stay away from the microwave oven or at least 1 meter away from the microwave oven.