Random 60: What does “microwave safe” actually mean?
Seriously. Because it certainly doesn’t mean “not boiling hot and will melt your hand off if you warm up your dinner from last night in this crazy thing”. Someone please answer this riddle for me.
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Genius idea, and good question.
“It heats the food but not the dish!”
Danny has gone insane.
I’ve done some more research on this question.
1. The science behind microwaves.
Dielectric heating is how microwaves work. “This is accomplished by using microwave radiation to heat water and other polarized molecules within the food.” [wiki]
2. The solution is to use containers/dishes that are made from non-dielectric material.
Ah, but most non-dielectric materials are metals! Which explode the microwave.
Thus the answer is not in how the microwave heats but how the material retains microwaves. Materials that retains/absorbs microwaves should not be used except for that intended effect. (Some microwave pies use this to get a crispier crust and a perfectly cooked inside.)
This becomes trickier in my search for what is and what is not a microwave safe material- in our meaning: it doesn’t absorb/retain the microwaves and only the food gets cooked. Many sites suggest doing a trial by error and figuring it out ourselves. But microwaves were invented in the 1940s. Surely there must be a list or grid of materials showing what is and what is not reasonable! (the hunt continues).
Thank you Mr. Wizard.
I wish I can answer this riddle with another riddle. But I got nothing.
Riddles rule.
“Microwave safe” means that the product won’t damage your microwave (metal) or melt in it.
I’m pretty sure it’d be very difficult to keep the dish cool while the food is being heated up, since, you know, heat flows from hot things to colder things.
Sounds like a business model.
i think it just means the dish will stay structurally sound when put in the microwave. you know, as opposed to tin foil.
When I was young I accidentally left some of the “tin foil” top on the peanut butter container when I was trying to melt some peanut butter in the microwave. Pretty interesting results.
To find out the opposite of ‘microwave safe’ I recommend putting a ‘non microwave safe’ item in the microwave.
Use a pot, as I did once before learning the valuable lesson. Thank you, to my big sister, who was babysitting me but was instead playing Duck Hunt and not at all supervising my cooking activities.
Whoa… what happened?
microwave safe means the dish or plate will not break if used in the microwave. Nothing more and nothing less
Well, they will break if I drop them because they are so hot!