Could you live without your microwave?

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I appreciate the reason for giving temperatures in Fahrenheit but I believe it is poor advice to cook food from frozen. At least our Food Standards Agency recommends complete defrosting before starting to cook food.

I regard a fridge thermometer as more important than a food thermometer. It’s ridiculous that every fridge and fridge freezer does not include an accurate thermometer.

Wavechange

I’m sorry – I’m 82 and been using a microwave since they were available – I have found nothing wrong with cooking from frozen – I usually do – never been ill. It is poor cooking overall by some that is the problem – not cooking from frozen.

I defrost food in the microwave too. It is best to ensure that the food is properly thawed before starting cooking to avoid the danger that the inside of the food does not get hot enough. I should have made it clear that I was criticising the USDA information sheet. There is a place for both information and for common sense.

Be realistic Bob. No home user is going to have their fridge thermometer calibrated. They are not very accurate in the first place and the accuracy will not change unless the thermometer becomes loose in its casing.

In my experience the warmest part of a fridge or freezer depends on the design. My recommendation is to keep a fridge as cold as possible without actually freezing anything. I use a maximum/minimum thermometer in my fridge and that has been checked against a BS calibrated laboratory thermometer.

To say something relevant to the discussion, a microwave oven is an efficient way of defrosting frozen food before cooking. The defrost setting on some microwaves is too high and can result in the outside of food starting to cook before the inside is defrosted, so it can be best to use a lower power setting.

I hope that the article was not claiming that water heated in a microwave oven still contained microwaves or radiation. It’s probably not a good idea to water plants with hot water, heated in any way. 🙂

Oops. This was supposed to be a reply to Bob’s message.

Bob – I have no knowledge of the catering industry, other than what is public knowledge and what I have seen as a customer. I have discussed some of the issues with scientists who are much better informed. I’m a retired scientist with some knowledge of microbiology, microbial physiology and the common forms of food poisoning. It worries me that many do not appreciate the difference between heat-labile and heat-stable toxins and that manufacturers of domestic fridges are still allowed to put salad chillers at the bottom, ready to catch juices from raw meat. 🙁
Keep up the good work.

Hi Bob – I have long experience in camp and survival cooking – when the food was moving due to maggots – it was cooked well – and no-one became ill – and taught food technology. Found that many problems are caused by lack of antibodies as people are now too sanitised. – and insufficient cooking – not because it was cooked from frozen.. I repeat I cook from frozen without ill effects and have done for many years.

Interesting I haven’t found meat juices in the salad chiller – but then I put meat in the plastic packages Sainsbury supply with chicken pieces (exactly the right size to stack two high to fit my Berco Fridge Freezer shelves as I dislike meat juices running anywhere loose.- which they need to be if they fall in the chiller.

Hi Bob

But the point was – It was OK! 🙂

I used to run camps for more than 100 Scouts in the 50s – the quality of cleanliness and freshness was low both food and boys – Yet they always asked for MORE – not a sick person among them. The only sick boy ever was once with a freshly picked and cooked blackberry tart – the rest scoffed it down – interesting though noticed that the more recent lads are cleaner but sicker. It is all this disinfectant used.

There is no question that the kitchen is today’s status symbol. There is often considerable over-provision, and therefore over-capacity, of hobs and ovens, sinks, taps, sockets, cupboards, and gadgets. Islands with six bar stools, taps of a type I have only previously seen in a mortuary, hanging lights straight out of a billiard hall, obese fridges laden with half the Waitrose chilled aisle, lights inside the drawers and under the cupboards – where does it end? And then this is often accompanied by a utility room that is too small to do the ironing in!

Of course, all these expenditures can be justified, but it all has to be kept clean, the layout is not efficient in terms of minimising the walking between functions, and the culinary results frequently fail to live up to the expectations created.

The kitchen ‘designers’ don’t point out the practicalities since they are on a percentage for every piece and part. I often wonder what their homes are like.

And all this stuff adds to the waste mountain at some point.

I have never had a new kitchen. I thought about replacing my kitchen when I moved in five years ago but improving the lighting and replacing several cupboard hinges gave it a new lease of life. I’ve seen too many people scrap decent quality white goods when having a new kitchen fitted, only to find that the appliances are not as good as those they replaced.

I brought my microwave oven from my previous home and despite being over 30 years old it is still working fine.

I blame marketing and snobbery for our unsustainable lifestyle.

I built our fitted kitchen from scratch out of financial necessity when we extended the bungalow 35 years ago. It has worked well. The trouble is, replacing it after all the hard work that went into it would be very hard. Re doing the two bathrooms about 7 years ago that I had also put in was a bit of a wrench!

In many new houses the kitchen is an integral part of the main living space – a real living room. So it needs to look good as well as being functional. A family member is having a large new house built and we found a local small manufacturer who has done a superb job in helping the design and making a craftsmen-built kitchen. Should the house ever be sold we are told the quality of the kitchen is an important attribute,

While people have disposable income they will use it on things that bring them pleasure. That is why we don’t all drive Dacia Dusters and live in small apartments.

A younger friend bought a Dacia Duster a couple of years ago and is happy with it. He was trained as a Mercedes car mechanic and now understands value for money. The Duster gets him from A to B, he can do his own maintenance, and he has a couple of interesting vintage cars to play with.

Although I used a cheap car as an example it was also because of what it doesn’t offer – Which? says “Cheap and practical it may be, but the Dacia Duster doesn’t shine in any particular area. Indeed, in terms of safety, it’s way off the pace, making this a small SUV to avoid.” Lets hope it is a 2018+ model as the early versions were described as “No – safety and reliability issues mean it’s a Which? Don’t Buy model.“. However, I have owned company cars that were unreliable, but not “unsafe”.

But, when you compare it to a vintage car it is probably streets ahead. I find older basic cars very pleasurable to drive.

It’s the current model and as you say will be safer than the vintage cars.

If a car was fitted with a microwave oven as standard, would it be the ultimate cooking machine?

I’d have thought a Duster with a Robovac option would be a good combination

Definitely a niche market, but an enterprising salesperson could clean up.

I have only had one new kitchen that was completed eventually nearly 4 years ago.

The washing machine packed up just before work started, I had already paid for one repair costing £200-£300 so a I felt a new machine was justified especially as the previous one leaked all over the floor when it got older.

I had to replace our old cooker the year before the new kitchen was decided on. The plan was to integrate it into our new kitchen, but was returned as unfit for purpose before work started so a new cooker and hob were justified.

The old fridge/freezer and tumble dryer still worked so they were retained for the new kitchen. I have since bought a second fridge/freezer in steel so it doesn’t show up the yellowing white of the old fridge/fridge freezer that works well. We were advised to install a water feed to the fridge/freezer but is not something we are likely to use.

I do have an extra integrated microwave/small oven that was forward planning for when our existing microwave gave up. It is still in pristine condition as it was only used for plate warming until recently. Since my bread machine became unusable, I have found it to be the perfect place to prove my bread dough at 34ºC.

And I couldn’t have a new kitchen without having my very first dishwasher.

No island, bar stools, butcher’s block, cupboard inserts that are a waste of space, hanging lights, hanging pans, no lights in drawers, but probably guilty with the kitchen tap.

The result is a functional kitchen that is now a pleasure to work in.

It’s good to hear that someone does not just scrap all their appliances when having a new kitchen fitted, Alfa. Yellowed plastics seem to be a growing problem with white goods. The handle of my Bosch oven is a little yellowed but this is only visible when opened.