http://www.cookingmanager.com/microwave-myths/ Helping Home Cooks Save Time and Money in the Kitchen Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:43:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://www.cookingmanager.com/microwave-myths/comment-page-1/#comment-29 Hannah Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:56:23 +0000 http://www.cookingmanager.com/?p=101#comment-29 Guru: Thank you for your comments and clarification. I will be quoting you next week when I talk about utensils. I thought soft centers, like jelly donuts, were a problem because of the moistness. Guru: Thank you for your comments and clarification. I will be quoting you next week when I talk about utensils.
I thought soft centers, like jelly donuts, were a problem because of the moistness.

]]> http://www.cookingmanager.com/microwave-myths/comment-page-1/#comment-26 microwaveguru Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:06:01 +0000 http://www.cookingmanager.com/?p=101#comment-26 There are some errors in your comments. Microwaves do the heat water in foods, but they also heat other things. For example, the glaze on ceramic dishes can become extremely hot unless it has been properly formulated. This can cause serious burns - in my lab we measured temperatures up to 300 F on glazed ceramic coffee cups even though they were labeled "Microwave Safe". Also, you mentioned dry food burning, which is true - so it is obviously heating in spite of not having water or moisture. In fact, since this is energy transfer, anything, including glass or sand will eventually heat - the glass will melt, the sand will form glass... While you are correct that the microwaves heat from the outside, the issue is extremely complicated and may result in the energy concentrating in the center and actually heating the center much faster or to a higher temperature than the outside, which is always cooler because of the cold air in the oven. This explanation could go on, but would be too long for here. There are some errors in your comments. Microwaves do the heat water in foods, but they also heat other things. For example, the glaze on ceramic dishes can become extremely hot unless it has been properly formulated. This can cause serious burns – in my lab we measured temperatures up to 300 F on glazed ceramic coffee cups even though they were labeled “Microwave Safe”. Also, you mentioned dry food burning, which is true – so it is obviously heating in spite of not having water or moisture. In fact, since this is energy transfer, anything, including glass or sand will eventually heat – the glass will melt, the sand will form glass… While you are correct that the microwaves heat from the outside, the issue is extremely complicated and may result in the energy concentrating in the center and actually heating the center much faster or to a higher temperature than the outside, which is always cooler because of the cold air in the oven. This explanation could go on, but would be too long for here.

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