It’s no secret that modern appliances make our lives considerably easier. With the help of our refrigerator, oven, blender, microwave, and other devices, we can prepare food faster and with less effort. Microwave ovens have been steadily gaining popularity over the last few decades – they are great for making cooking even a quicker and more efficient process. However, there are some ground rules for using the microwave, and the most important one is to avoid putting certain foods into it. Want to know what to never reheat in a microwave? Find out below.
1. Mushrooms
Most mushrooms are a valuable addition to anyone’s diet, because they are extremely rich in protein and low in carbs and fat. However, if you’re making a mushroom dish for a family dinner, try to finish it in one setting, because reheated mushrooms lose most of their valuable protein and other nutrients, becoming essentially useless for your digestive system and fitness. Additionally, microwaved mushrooms lose a lot of moisture and simply no longer taste good.
2. Metal packaging
While certain materials like glass and silicone can be put into a microwave without any fear, other textures become dangerous. For example, metal, as well as materials containing metal, get so heated up during microwaving that they can actually result in an explosion. For this reason avoid microwaving dishes and containers with metal decorations, as well as cutlery and foil. Get a special microwaveable container and use it to safely reheat all of your food.
3. Clothes
When you’re in a hurry, but your only pair of socks is still wet from washing, it seems like a good idea to put them into a microwave and let them get dry and warm in a matter of minutes. However, this decision can result in a blast – some clothing materials don’t react to well to being microwaved. Even if it doesn’t come to an explosion, microwaves can still melt or shrink your clothes, which is why it’s best to avoid microwaving your stuff altogether.
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4. Frozen fruits and vegetables
Frozen produce is a genius, time-saving invention. You can stock up your freezer on frozen vegetables and fruits and not worry about buying groceries for some time. But when the time comes to use some of the frozen goods, a lot of people prefer to simply use their microwave, claiming it’s fast and efficient. In fact, using a microwave to defrost produce can turn certain nutritional elements into carcinogenic substances. For maximum safety let your frozen fruits and vegetables thaw at room temperature or using your fridge.
5. Frozen meat
Freezing meat and storing it in the freezer is another way to significantly reduce shopping and cooking time. However, if you’ve ever tried to defrost a chunk of meat in a microwave, you already know that it can take so long for the meat to defrost that it actually starts to cook on the edges while the middle is still rock hard. Additionally, meat loses a lot of its B12 vitamin content due to microwaves, and is under threat of being contaminated with bacteria. Better let your frozen meat defrost in the fridge.
6. Eggs in shell
While there are a lot of great things you can do with eggs in a microwave, including scrambled eggs and fried eggs, the one thing you should never do is cook raw or hard-boiled eggs while they’re still in the shell. Since eggs produce a lot of heat and steam when they’re microwaved, and the steam cannot go out through the shell, the risk of an explosion is very high – at the very least you’ll need to clean the mess inside the microwave from an exploded egg, and in the worst case scenario the blast can damage the microwave.
7. Hot peppers
If you want to dry some hot peppers and store them for a long time, better do it by hanging them outside for the sun to do the job. Microwaving hot peppers will, in fact, do no harm to the peppers themselves – although there is a slight risk they will catch on fire. However, when you’re done microwaving the peppers and open the microwave door, the cloud of hot smoke from the peppers will irritate your eyes and throat, which is clearly not fun and can seriously damage your health.
