Microwave Buttons

[C is for]

I realize I must be in the minority in this, but I never ever hit zero. It's too far down. Ten seconds? Try 11 or 12. One minute? 111, or 123. I usually reheat my leftovers for 47 seconds, and it works great and makes me all Alias cool.

Yep. I even hit 8 when I'm microwaving something for 58 seconds. I'm all about efficiency, clearly.

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[thebigcheese]

I don't use the numbers much at all. The preprogrammed stuff is all I need for most things.

[TheAnswerIs42]

I use the 7 and 8 buttons because I am indecisive. It seems like a lot of times I think I'll do 30 seconds (for example), and then the instant I press the 3 I think, nah. Needs more time. So I do 38.

[Yarjka]

I have this bad habit of just hitting a random sequence of numbers when I put anything in the microwave, so if I don't remember that my food is in there, it could easily cook for many minutes more than necessary. So far that's never happened with anything (except for one time with a hot dog).

It's probably a good thing that we don't have a microwave anymore. We left ours in the move thinking we'd buy a new one when we got out here and we just never bothered. We have an electric tea kettle that takes care of the hot water, and most of our leftovers can either be heated up on the stove or eaten cold. To be honest, I haven't missed it.

[Dragon Lady]

I have this bad habit of just hitting a random sequence of numbers when I put anything in the microwave, so if I don't remember that my food is in there, it could easily cook for many minutes more than necessary. So far that's never happened with anything (except for one time with a hot dog).

It's probably a good thing that we don't have a microwave anymore. We left ours in the move thinking we'd buy a new one when we got out here and we just never bothered. We have an electric tea kettle that takes care of the hot water, and most of our leftovers can either be heated up on the stove or eaten cold. To be honest, I haven't missed it.

Fair enough. It's not hurting you. Microwaves actually kill some nutrients. So you're eating healthier! Wooo!!

[Darth Fedora]

DL: Microwaves can destroy nutrients, but it's the heat that does it, not anything specific to the microwaves themselves. In fact, microwaving is usually recommended over other cooking methods, as far as vitamin retention goes, because with a microwave's shorter cooking times, the vitamins are actually exposed to less total heat.

[Sky Bones]

My current microwave doesn't have buttons. It has a dial. I'm not sure if I should feel ripped off or special.

[krebscout]

So...is a slow cooker a nutrition killer?

[Yarjka]

All cooking kills nutrients. You are physically and chemically altering the food, so it then becomes a processed food. It's not a bad thing - it's just a give and take. You give up some nutrients to have food that tastes better, looks better, or is easier to eat. A potato loses nutrients if you boil it, but you lose a lot more nutrients if you don't boil it because then you wouldn't eat it. In some microwaves, the heat distribution isn't completely even, and so you end up overheating certain parts of the food and underheating others. That overheating can make the food less nutritious, but you give up some of that for the ease and convenience of the microwave (which is much faster at reheating leftovers than the stove).

[Dragon Lady]

I'll eat potatoes raw. (Though typically just a piece here and there as I'm chopping them up.)

[NerdGirl]

I don't own a microwave, mainly because I have very little counter space and there is nothing a microwave can do that something else can't do better, and those other things don't usually have to live on the counter when they are not in use. But when I go to my parents' house and use their microwave, I like to have the time be all the same digits, usually 1:11 or 66 seconds.

[Marduk]

Personally, I don't use the microwave in my apartment hardly at all (except for oatmeal. It takes too long to make breakfast on the stovetop.) but I do use the one at my parent's house when I cook dinner there. Things like baked potatoes take way too long in the oven, or occasionally I will find out we have many more guests than originally expected and I have to hurry and thaw more meat. It isn't the ideal, but without it some would be left without dinner.

As for the numbers, I like round numbers. When I put things in the microwave, it almost always is for a time that ends in 5 or 0.

[bobtheenchantedone]

We actually have two microwaves in our kitchen, and use them both at the same time at least once a week. Or it's nice when the one is blocked by dirty dishes or needs to be cleaned.

I use the instant minute and the instant 30 second buttons pretty much exclusively.

[Sky Bones]

I'll eat potatoes raw. (Though typically just a piece here and there as I'm chopping them up.)

Hey! I do that, too! My husband thinks it's really weird.

[Dragon Lady]

I'll eat potatoes raw. (Though typically just a piece here and there as I'm chopping them up.)

Hey! I do that, too! My husband thinks it's really weird.

At least I have an excuse. I was born in Idaho.

[thebigcheese]

All cooking kills nutrients. You are physically and chemically altering the food, so it then becomes a processed food. It's not a bad thing - it's just a give and take. You give up some nutrients to have food that tastes better, looks better, or is easier to eat. A potato loses nutrients if you boil it, but you lose a lot more nutrients if you don't boil it because then you wouldn't eat it. In some microwaves, the heat distribution isn't completely even, and so you end up overheating certain parts of the food and underheating others. That overheating can make the food less nutritious, but you give up some of that for the ease and convenience of the microwave (which is much faster at reheating leftovers than the stove).

Huh. I could've sworn that my archaeology class taught the opposite principle. Something about how the ability to cook meat was super beneficial to mankind because it made the meat more nutritious somehow. But maybe my memory sucks? That was several years ago...

[Darth Fedora]

I know a lot of facts about nutrition but I don't have a lot of time to find sources for all of these. Will you guys hate me forever if I just tell you things I know (that I've learned in BYU nutrition classes and read in actual textbooks)?

1. "Killing nutrients" is a little ambiguous. It can refer to the chemical breakdown of vitamins, which happens to many vitamins when they are exposed to heat. For this reason, microwaves, which expose food to less total heat than other cooking methods, destroy less vitamins.
2. "Killing nutrients" can also refer to the loss of mineral nutrients, like calcium and iron. These aren't typically destroyed by heat, since they're just individual ions without the delicate chemical bonds of vitamins that can be interrupted by heat. However, minerals can be lost if food is cooked or rinsed in water that is then discarded. For example, this is why you shouldn't rinse fortified white rice before cooking it--that will actually rinse off a portion of the minerals (and water-soluble vitamins) on the rice. This is also why steaming is better than boiling--less water means less opportunities for water-soluble minerals and vitamins to escape your food.
3. The kind of heating used in normal cooking does not "kill" macronutrients like carbohydrates, protein, or fat. When these are degraded, as in rancid or spoiled food, that's generally because of overexposure to air or microorganisms.
4. Cooking food, such as meat, can improve the overall digestibility and bioavailability of many nutrients. For example, a lot of meat would be too tough for our wimpy digestive systems to fully process if we ate it raw. That means that more of it gets pooped out before our guts are able to absorb all the nutrients. Cooking it begins cell and tissue breakdown (in the meat, not in us) that gives us a head start on digestion before we've even eaten it. Additionally, raw legumes have digestion inhibitors in them that will impair protein absorption. That's why legumes need to be cooked before eating. (Note: canned beans, tofu, and soy milk can be eaten without cooking because they've already been cooked/pasteurized during processing.)

Hopefully that clears up some questions!

[Marduk]

Well, and there's the whole "raw meats contain a lot more bacteria and other harmful organisms" than cooked meats. I don't care how nutritious something is if it gives me hepatitis when I eat it.

Ditto this argument to rinsing rice. I know where they dry the rice. I'd much rather have the insect debris and fecal matter washed off the rice, even if it means rinsing off some mineral nutrients.

[Craig Jessop]

I'll eat potatoes raw. (Though typically just a piece here and there as I'm chopping them up.)

Hey! I do that, too! My husband thinks it's really weird.

That's because it IS really weird. But I totally do it too.

[Dragon Lady]

Well, and there's the whole "raw meats contain a lot more bacteria and other harmful organisms" than cooked meats. I don't care how nutritious something is if it gives me hepatitis when I eat it.

Ditto this argument to rinsing rice. I know where they dry the rice. I'd much rather have the insect debris and fecal matter washed off the rice, even if it means rinsing off some mineral nutrients.

You could soak your rice instead. Not only does it make it healthier and easier to digest, but if you don't want sour tasting rice (since you should soak it in a slightly acidic liquid) you can then rinse it off (and yes, lose some nutrients). I mean, you can totally rinse it off without soaking, too.

I'm… not sure where I'm going with this. I think I need a nap.