My mom likes to tell stories about how, when she was pregnant, she would always put her food in the microwave, press the "start" button, and run away as fast as she could so as to not irradiate the fetus.
Of course microwaves do not actually irradiate anything (even my mom knew that, on a rational level), but a lot of people still consider them vaguely evil. At the very least they don't enjoy the best reputation for producing healthy or delicious food.
But they may be better for the environment, at least in certain circumstances. As an interesting Slate story found, using a microwave for cooking small portions is much more energy efficient than using an oven. Making a single baked potato in an oven took 9.5 times as much energy as it did in a microwave; making four portions of baked potato in a microwave took 2.5 times the energy. The efficiency ratios are skewed depending on whether you have a gas or electric oven -- gas ovens produce fewer carbon emissions per units of heat than electric ovens.
Good to know, though until they make microwaves that can brown the top of a half-eaten casserole, I'm going to have to stick to my oven for certain reheating jobs.
How often do you use your microwave versus your oven?
3-26-2009 @8:02PM Scott said... I agree that it is more energy efficient, I just hope that the Government (aka Mommy) does not control how we cook our food!!
Reply
3-26-2009 @4:31PM Lorenzo said... Not really a fair comparison. I wouldn't compare the energy expenditure of washing a single dish by hand to washing it in the dishwasher. For small servings I'm likely to use a toaster oven, or the cooktop.
Reply
3-26-2009 @4:39PM Shylah said... Lorenzo said what I was going to: I use the toaster oven a LOT. Because I work from home, I'm home by myself most weekdays. Fixing lunch in the regular oven compels me to cook a whole lot more than I need, just so I don't "waste" the energy. Also, the toaster oven works small miracles on a buttered bagel.
Reply
3-26-2009 @5:06PM bmocbarker said... They DO make a microwave that can brown food.
http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/Dispatcher?CHANNEL=CH0004&REQUEST=SPECPAGE&SITEID=DER&SKU=WES1384SMSS
Only available at Wal-Mart, but not the only one out there!
Reply
3-26-2009 @6:11PM Karen said... Now that I've discovered steam in the bag veggies, I use it all the time.
We also eat a lot more veggies.
Reply
3-26-2009 @6:59PM BraH said... Two words:
Toaster Oven
One of the long lost appliances that was once a staple for rural kitchens.
That said, there is still no evidence that man has any bearing on climate change and altering our lifestyles to adapt to this environmental hysteria takes away from everyone's quality of life.
Reply
3-26-2009 @7:18PM Scoobie-Doobie-Doo said... In truth, the only reason I've had the oven on in a full year is to bake birthday cakes, or two enormous pork roasts.
A toaster oven and CrockPot are my go-to appliances I couldn't live without on a desserted island. Besides, they are younger than my 1960's oven. By far.
Reply
3-26-2009 @8:54PM BraH said... OT, but Big Brother (not Mommy) already wants to control the color of your car. Mandatory microwave usage isn't out of the question in the next decade.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/26/AR2009032603316.html
Reply
3-27-2009 @5:24AM Annoachi said... What about those of us with small kitichens that don't have space for toaster ovens let alone microwaves?
Reply
3-27-2009 @9:48AM mick said... Don't have a microwave and WON'T have a microwave. If all the control freaks out there make it impossible to cook food any other way, I'll go raw--if that sort of food is still legal then, too.
You know they'll start somewhere: first the micro, then no more vegan or raw, only GMOs and clones--the state knows what's best for you and the planet (Ha!), just follow instructions and you'll be fine. Never mind that our nutritional based diseases spiked when Government and big business started dictating our food choices. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
What I want to know is why do most of you people think that the government et al HAS THE RIGHT to dictate (yes, dictate) such a personal, in house decision? They screw up Iraq and the deficit but I guess they can handle dictating to me how I cook my food? I think not. Those bozos in DC aren't any smarter than we are, or any more concerned about our health--they are just in a position of power, so power is their modus operandi, not being smart or healthful.
When independent studies are refused or hushed up, I am not using said product until someone explains why--or using it as little as possible (cell phones come under this too). Too many things are bad for us that our "powers that be" don't catch until too late, or until some crony has made a lot of money, as evidenced through history. Or deliberately won't catch (see mad cow testing). To deny such is to stick your head in the sand and your fingers in your ears. Twenty years from now some disease could devastate our population that is a traced to extended micro use and, like tobacco, those of that time will lambaste us for believing the hype. Test first, use later is a trick we haven't learned yet--especially if it involves a profit.
Keep right on playing simon says....or sam says. I'm not playing and you can't make me.
Reply
3-27-2009 @1:55PM BraH said... @mick
Food has been a reliable source of media-driven hysteria because it's one of the few things that everyone has in common. The truth is that none of the things that we've been "warned" about is actually dangerous.
Pesticides on fruit - false. Pesticides are applied to trees before fruiting, not during, and do not enter the plant. The half-life is hours, not months or years, so even if a pesticide was illegally applied moments before picking, it'd still be safe to eat by the time you get it at the grocery store.
Mad Cow - Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is a prion disease, meaning it's caused by malformed proteins in the body. It's communicable by consumption of that protein, which is 100% confined to the brain and spinal fluid of the animal, and is destroyed by cooking. Are you eating raw brains?
Transfats - A product of extracting oil from vegetables. The reason we use vegetable oils is because of misinformation about lard. Lard and olive oil were the only fats used in kitchens 70 years ago, and are free of transfat. Contrary to popular belief, proper deep frying in oil does NOT impart significant amounts of fat to food, and lard remains in roughly half the amount of canola. That said, transfats are trumped up as is.
BBQ and Grilling - Not long ago, I remember TV puff pieces on carcinogens formed from grilling meat. We've only been cooking over open fire for tens of thousands of years, psh.
High Fructose Corn Syrup - HFCS has come under fire lately despite being the cheaper alternative to sugar, and was implemented because of sugar concerns in the 60s and 70s. SUGAR IS SUGAR.
Organic Food - The biggest deception to face the food industry. Organic foods are not protected from invisible harmful fungi on leafy veggies, worms (and lots of excrement) in corn, mold in soybean pods, a 400-fold greater portion of insect parts in ground grains and overall a smaller and more dangerous food supply. Organic cotton is weaker, thinner, less resilient and has a shorter staple length. The last 4 E. Coli outbreaks have originated from foreign and domestic organic farms using feces for fertilization.
Genetically Modified Organisms - There are only a few commercially available GMO crops, and they are modified in ways that have no impact at all on human health. The most popular among farmers is the glyphosate-uptake receptor mod. Glyphosate is a broadleaf herbicide, and the GM crop can be sprayed with it without dying, while it kills the weeds between the rows. Monsanto sells triple stack corn, glyphosate-ready, rootworm protection and corn borer protection, where the roots are changed to be toxic to the latter two. GMOs have NOT been used to increase yields.
Reply