Skip Navigation
98 comments

  • You should check out this video, it’s very eye-opening when it comes to how microwaves work (only linking to YouTube because I couldn’t find a decent Invidious source): https://youtube.com/watch?v=UiS27feX8o0 (edit: https://materialious.nadeko.net/watch/UiS27feX8o0)

    It depends on your model of microwave.

    Personally, my wife and I intentionally deprived ourselves of a microwave in the house because we recognized that it makes us more prone to heavily processed foods (we’re not crazy “5G/microwaves give you cancer”people or whatever). We just recognized that we like eating whole foods and having one on hand makes it tempting to start buying a lot of garbage foods.

    • Funny you should say that about whole foods. I only use my microwave to cook (steam) fresh or frozen vegetables (not in a plastic bag), and to reheat meals I cooked myself. I never buy microwave foods because they always come out nasty, cook unevenly, taste horrible, and the box is 10 times the size of the contents. I do sometimes pop popcorn in the microwave, but I use a paper lunch bag and regular popcorn. WARNING: NEVER walk away if you use this method, it will start on fire if you don't watch it.

      • Yeah, I’m not 100% “microwaves are bad.” I actually miss it sometimes because it was easier to make breakfast burritos in bulk then reheat them in the microwave.

        But yeah, microwaveable dinners and the like are pretty gross.

    • I came to upvote the TC link comment and my mission was a success

    • I hoped for the link ;D

    • Same. Haven't had one for over 3 years now and I'm not sure I'm missing anything good. I make popcorn in a stock pot with ghee, powdered salt, and a little turmeric for color. Sometimes a little nutritional yeast or jalapeno powder. My popcorn game has never been better.

      • That sounds amazing! I’ve been craving popcorn lately but never learned how to do it sans microwave.

      • How do you handle leftovers? Probably about 80% of the food I eat wasn't cooked on the day I eat it

    • Interesting …. I had a similar thought process for an air fryer. When I first got it, it was true: I rationalized that I got chicken strips rather than nuggets so they were less processed. However over time I started to use it better. While I still cook frozen fries occasionally, most of the time I use it for actual chicken

      Air fryer is convenient for roasted or hasselback potatoes

      I also got tired of manufactured marinara, so making pasta is usually in a lemon butter garlic or pesto sauce, and I’ll cut chicken into strips, marinate, and throw in the air fryer

      Looping back to the microwave, same deal. There were times when it just facilitated over-processed food but now I probably use it most for defrosting. This morning i used it to soften some apples in cinnamon and brown sugar to put in pancakes.

      I’ve definitely had major changes in my approach to cooking, so hopefully I can stay on my current path

    • Exactly my feelings. Yes, you can quickly blitz veges in a microwave, but it's just as easy to pop in a plastic pack of lasagne. And from-scratch meals taste so much better.

  • No. I buy kernals dirt cheap and make it on the stove with ghee

    • I eat popcorn with glee

    • Same, stopped doing microwave stuff years ago, it's really easy in the stove and you can completely control the amount of salt/butter or whatever flavour you like.

      I use peanut oil and often nothing else.

  • The microwave that came with my house

    This is probably the reason why your popcorn button actually works. If your home already has a built-in microwave, it's likely a higher quality one than what you could pick up from the hardware store. Most consumer-grade microwaves, regardless of the brand or model, are all identical, as they all use components sourced from one single manufacturer that makes one single version of them. The only thing that's different is the plastic shell they put it all in and the logo they slap on the front, but the important things like the magnetron and control boards are all the exact same hardware.

    But the microwaves that are usually built-into the home? Those are the good ones. Those are the ones where the builder spent some good money, because it was included in the design spec to begin with. Care went into the selection of that microwave. That microwave is more likely to have the moisture sensors needed to actually have functioning popcorn, reheat, and defrost settings that do more than just assume an appropriate time/power setting.

    Having a proper microwave is a totally different experience. I had one at an old apartment of mine that was amazing. It had a button that just said "Reheat", and required zero other inputs from me. I could put my food in, regardless of what kind of food it is or what quantity I was making, and press the Reheat button once, and it would bring it to the perfect temperature, hot all the way through. I wish I could've taken it with me when I moved out.

    • Panasonic inverter microwaves are the best in the industry for residential. They’re the only ones that can control the microwave power level without cheapening out and turning it on and off only. The over the range microwaves aren’t any better unless they’re an Advantium type that cooks with light and convection fan.

  • Yes, but I never let it run for the full amount of time. I have to stand there and listen for when the kernels stop popping, otherwise it will burn.

  • I spent the extra money for the sensor cook, so damn right I use that popcorn button

  • Yeah, I don't have a piece of shit microwave, the button makes perfect bags every time, regardless of brand or type.

    The quality of the button is almost directly proportional to the quality of the microwave. Basic ones just are a timer, which is useless. As you work your way up you get various sensors for things like humidity and even microphones to determine kernel pop timing.

    The quality of all of those programmed buttons is directly related to those more advanced sensors.

  • The rare time I make microwave popcorn, I just hit the 3 for 3 minutes on high and then listen for the popping to have ~2 seconds between them and pull it out. Never had issues with this in every microwave I’ve used this for.

  • Yes, I do, however it is not perfect. Microwave popcorn is more art than science and it takes years of experience to know when to stop the cycle. Too short and you're left with a plethora of unpopped kernels. Too long and it burns.

98 comments