If your food is unevenly heated it's probably because you need to adjust the cook time and power settings. Heating it longer at a lower power setting will let the heat spread more evenly.
Alternatively, check your microwave's wattage. I always have to adjust microwave instructions to be about 10% longer because my apartment's microwave is weaker than companies assume the standard microwave is.
✨ May better heated microwave food await you ✨
74Yeah, once I started playing with power level settings, it was like night and day with cooking in the microwave.
14tl;dr: skill issue
5Except the food has localized concentrations of oil, fat or water or differences on overall density.
4That's why you lower the power. Leave enough time for entropy to distribute the heat before dumping more energy into the food. The more heterogenous the food is, the more you need to lower the power (down to maybe even 200-400 W for mixed leftovers). And make sure all your foodstuffs are touching each other to allow heat to homogenize.
9
"How about I just heat the plate instead dipshit?"
51But why's it gotta be hotter than the runaway nuclear reaction at Chernobyl?
14My plates always stay cold lol
4
In the kitchen it hums with delight,
A mischievous microwave, quite a sight.
With a twist of its dial, a dance begins,
Uneven warmth, where chaos wins.
43With a flicker and a sarcastic hum,
Microwave, oh marvel, where chaos is spun.
A promise of warmth, a comedic jest,
In your reheating quest, you give us the rest.
21Wavelengths oh do cancel when a crest and a trough
Do meet one another and, energy, not enough
Yet center the plate, or a bowl, it’s your choice
So the food spins round the high points and molecules, excited, rejoice
14
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40This is because all microwaves have terrible UI/UX. If you are supposed to use less than 100% then why do I have to hit 9 buttons every time I want to use less than 100% power? And only 1 button to use 100% power for a variety of different settings.
Why is it not you hit Cook, then enter Power, then enter time? Like every single other stove in existence
7Permanently Deleted
3
100%. You can pretty much cook anything in a microwave, so long as you understand -how- it cooks, and how to use that to your advantage. Like, some of the best eggs I've made were from a microwave. Like non-microwave cooking, the general rule is "slow and low" and you'll get decent results. But yea, it wont sear your steak, nor would I cook a steak in a microwave, as it would taste better, be less messy, and be faster to use an oven broiler xD.
4I usually just use high power. I should try this sometime, although I don't tend to have issues with stuff having cold spots. Something I think that helps is stirring stuff half way through and letting it sit for a min after it's done.
4Stirring definitely helps. The exact setting to use will vary depending on the microwave, what is being heated, and how much of it there is, but my usual go-to for a starting point on a full, regular-sized bowl or plate of food is: 3 minutes at 40%, remove and stir or flip as appropriate, then another 2-3 minutes at 30-40% depending on how hot it was. This approach will end up heating most things evenly without drying them out or burning anything.
Some things can be more sensitive, so if I'm ever unsure about what would be safe, I'll start at 30% for 1 minute just to get a baseline for context. Below 30% is usually only useful for frozen things. Soups usually require several stirs - you don't want to let it sit still for too long, or use too high a setting, or it can explode.
2Rotating microwaves do a lot better of a job to avoid hot spots.
But it won't do anything to avoid overheating some parts to rubber by overheating or heating too fast.
1
microwave "power" changes are only on and off in intervals. if you use high power but monitor the food it's way faster and more effective
-4
Among the other suggestions people have made in this thread, I'd like to add that just covering something and allowing the food to steam-heat makes a big difference. For instance I will usually poke a well in the middle of leftovers, put a tiny bit of water in (especially with rice, which dries out) and cover it with a plate. The water boils and heats it much better.
29Great suggestion.
On a side note look into eating left over rice.
5Yeah, aluminium foil as cover does sparking wonders in that regard!
3Hey Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today
1
PROTIP: Whenever possible, shape/place the food you're heating like a donut. ( O )
Microwaves need to penetrate the food; if it's a big lump, it's hard to reach the stuff in the middle. By using a "donut" shape, you are creating more surface area, and spreading out the "middle" so it's easier for microwaves to reach all the parts of the food equally
17Microwave ovens were a tech ahead of their time. It's crazy how incredibly little these have evolved though decade after decade.
14You're using it wrong. Respectfully 😁
11The fried capers and white bean soup in this video are BOMB. Would highly recommend - it's super simple and delicious!!
2Oh nice, I've never thought to make fried onion garnish in a microwave
1Thank you for sharing this! I remember liking America's Test Kitchen and I'm commenting in hopes that I remember to watch this later when I'm able to. I'm already a big fan of using different power levels, though, which I'm guessing this is about. I wish more people would give it a shot and learn how to use it (and other little 'tricks') well!
1
I don’t normally stop for “cute” but this one got me. It’s super cute.
10Some have sensors that will really help heat food evenly and will adjust times and power levels depending on what you're doing. Most are just default cook times, but if you haven't tried it out, it's worth it.
7I watched a video the other day discussing the sensors in some Microwaves for popping popcorn. Most lower end units don't have these sensors but the ones that do, can actually make pretty good popcorn.
5
People who have inverter microwaves, do they actually heat food more evenly or is it just marketing buzz?
7dunno what an inverting thing is but I suspect uneven heating is due to different food's physics properties so uhm...
5We have a Panasonic inverting one that has a flat bed (no turn table) and it doesn't heat evenly...
4Don't all microwave ovens have an inverter? Like, isn't that the thing that produces the photons?
2No, that's the magnetron. Normal microwave magnetrons have 2 power settings, on and off, and reducing the microwave's power just means switching the magnetron on and off at different intervals.
An inverter just allows to keep the magnetron running at a lower power. Whether that has a better effect than just on/off-switching the magnetron I do not know, but it's probably more energy efficient over long usage periods.
6
Don't inverter microwaves solve this problem?
6I thought it was the metal fan in front of the magnetron that scattered and randomized the microwaves so there aren't any hotspots.
Inverter microwaves allow you to change the power level without duty cycling
5Not directly, but they improve the low-power modes substantially, and using the low-power modes for longer times is the solution. Inverters aren't strictly needed, but they do make it better.
2There's nothing a bit of inverting the polarity can't fix!
1
@MicroWave@lemmy.world, care to comment on your creative process?
6Hah! Just like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.
4
Spinny plate and letting it sit afterwards
5And placing the food at the edge of the plate instead of the center.
2
Thawing the pizza? of course that one edge has to be half done while we're at it!
4lmao!
3Mine makes quantum burritos. Frozen solid and liquid hot magma at the same time.
1
