Cooking Tips for Microwaves

 But these wonderful machines aren’t just for popping a bag of popcorn or heating some water up for a cup of tea. There are plenty of things you can do to help make healthy and delicious meals fast and simple.

 Older microwaves had a difficult time cooking things all the way through. Even though a microwave cooks from the inside out, the original versions did not have the rotating plate that you set food on like the newer models today. This meant you had to physically turn your food every few minutes to get an even cooking temperature. Now, you don’t have to worry about turning your food as often and you can cook more of a variety of foods that you may not have thought possible before.

 Steaming vegetables has become very popular over the last few years and doing this in a microwave is much faster and less of a hassle than steaming on the stove. The one thing you should remember is to make sure that the vegetables are all cut approximately the same in size and thickness. Then, you need to arrange larger pieces around the outside edge and the smaller pieces on the inside. You should also use a fork or knife to pierce veggies like potatoes that have skins to keep them from cracking open from the pressure building up inside.

 With dishes that will require stirring, you should place a smaller bowl inside a larger bowl (both microwave safe, of course) and pour the liquid you are cooking in the larger bowl. Having this smaller open space will allow the food to basically stir itself, in a way, as it is cooking. Make sure you cover your food as well to avoid spills and splatters from making your microwave a mess.

 When it comes time to clean, you can get rid of offending smells by placing a cup of water with a slice of lemon in it on high for two minutes. The citrus will take out any offending smells and help clean your microwave.