6 surprising ways to make use of your microwave

If you’ve ever heard the theory that using a microwave eliminates all the goodness in your food, you can rest assured it’s not true.

In fact, it is one of the best ways to retain the vitamins and minerals when cooking food.

Any form of cooking food will destroy some nutrients, and this is all dependent on how long you cook your food, the temperature you cook it at and how much water you’re using, reports CSIROscope. In fact, they say microwave cooking is preferable to boiling to minimise the leaching of vitamins and minerals into the cooking water, as with steaming. So, if you want to retain the most nutrients in your food when using the microwave just use a little water to steam the food inside.

While that’s one surprising thing, a microwave does much much more than just heating your food too. Here’s a few other things you can do with this electrical kitchen marvel.

Drying

Place some herbs, such as parsley, in your microwave on high for a couple of minutes. It’s a great way to use up leftovers. You can also nuts, seeds, and spices in the microwave in 15 second bursts.

Reviving

If you’ve had bread that’s gone that little bit stale the microwave can bring it back. Just wrap the bread in a wet towel and microwave on high for 10 seconds. Repeat until you’re satisfied with the moistness.

This will also work for honey that’s crystallized. Take the lid off, and heat on half power for around two minutes.

Crunch

Soggy potato chips will get their crispness back with a few bursts in the microwave. Just place the chips on a towel in the microwave and heat them up a bit. The towel will absorb the moisture and the chips will regain their crunch.

Clean

Place a bowl of water and vinegar in the microwave and heat on full power for about five minutes. Once it’s done you’ll be able to wipe the inside out easily.  

Steam

If you are a stamp collector this is a great tip for you. Put a few rops of water on the stamp and microwave it for 20-30 seconds. The stamp will come off easily now.

No more tears

If you are prone to a few tears when cutting onions cut the ends off and pop it in the microwave. Heat for 30 seconds before you chop and there’ll be no tears.

Do you have any other microwave tips to share?