Microwave ovens, and "Microwave plates"?

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MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
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Doubtful.

Also, if it hasn't been studied, how can you present it as fact?
people love to excuse the increase in health issues and obesity on expanded medical knowledge over the last 50 years. I believe over processed foods and King Convenience is to blame. I've been cooking professionally since 1975. It is a very complex issue and a tremendously difficult thing to study because ethnicity, economic status, stress and culture all play parts. The government is the only one interested in such studies and the results are inconclusive. My experience, training and education tell me the major factors in health related issues are diet based. You believe what you want.
 

mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
8,359
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It is a bit more indirect about overprocessed or convenience, rather it is what is and isn't in (most of) it. Some of it isn't too far from healthy but the texture is poor. You can cook things from scratch that are just as unhealthy, especially if you buy the nonsense some chefs state which is something like "a beginner's mistake is not adding enough salt or fat to food". Quite the opposite, a lot of salt and fat is cheating, a sign of low skill if cooking for people whose taste preferences you know (different than in an restaurant), but to be fair you have to use more seasoning instead which often polarizes people towards either loving or hating the dish, while the love of salt and fat is more universal until people get conscious about their intake levels.

The convenience foods tend to have high sodium, high fat, (sometimes questionable) preservatives, and often a high (empty) carb to vegetable ratio, unless the vegetable is something inexpensive like potatoes... which still beats white flour or pasta.

You can fit them into healthy diet but then it takes that much more work to offset the excesses in them, with relatively bland food for the rest of your diet unless you like a lot of sour or spicy, neither of which need to add much fat or sodium to a dish.
 
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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,409
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Doubtful.

Also, if it hasn't been studied, how can you present it as fact?
This has been studied for sure. Don't know specifics, but it's so out there it's not funny. I read an article in a hip magazine way back about 1970, might have been Mother Jones, the title was "Food Pollution." Then I reread it. Very well written and unmistakably knowing. This was very early on in the healthy diet conversation in America. The info in that article has stood the test of time, and that's saying a lot. Additives of all kinds were discussed. So many things they put in processed foods are questionable in terms of how good/bad they are for you. Some of these are preservatives, and they are particularly questionable. Some additives have been demonstrated to be carcinogenic in studies.

The problem with too much salt is very well documented in terms of its leading to high blood pressure. This has been known for a long time.

Fats, well it's a complex arena, but excessive "bad" cholesterol levels and heart disease has been studied for over 50 years I'm sure. The link is unmistakable.

Exercise is important in this. Genetics are involved. But a wholesome diet is just as important as those factors in staying healthy.
 
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jessicabraham

Junior Member
Nov 6, 2020
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I am looking for a good microwave with good microwave plates. If anyone can guide me that would be helpful for me.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,409
8,699
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I am looking for a good microwave with good microwave plates. If anyone can guide me that would be helpful for me.
I have had more than 1/2 dozen MW ovens, have a few now, but one stands out and I would use no other. @Kaido really likes his and I don't know about it, so there's that. Mine is a Sharp R-21LCFS 1000w Commercial Microwave w/ Dial Control, 120v. I paid $225.00. It's like a MW you would find in a company lunch room. So easy to use. No turntable to mess with and repeatedly clean, so easy to clean. Just turn the dial either before or after closing the door. LED count down. It's perfect for me. Other MWs are complicated and I've always had to do mental shenanigans to figure out how to get the results I want. Not with this.

If you're looking for plates to use in a MW, my preference is Correlle. Cheap, light, easy to clean. Elegant enough for me, and close to unbreakable. I have a set of 6.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,552
10,171
126
R.I.P. Magnus... :(

Anyways, I threw out the first microwave plate that I got at Walmart out of the set of two, and the second one is melting in the middle too. Junk.

Maybe I'll go for that set on Amazon, that looked like the original microwave plate that I had in there for like 7 years. If they're still available, that is. Strange supply-chain things going on afoot these days, that is.
 

WelshBloke

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
31,441
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R.I.P. Magnus... :(

Anyways, I threw out the first microwave plate that I got at Walmart out of the set of two, and the second one is melting in the middle too. Junk.

Maybe I'll go for that set on Amazon, that looked like the original microwave plate that I had in there for like 7 years. If they're still available, that is. Strange supply-chain things going on afoot these days, that is.
A) Stop using the microwave so much.
B) Stop using plastic plates in it.
 

jameny5

Senior member
Aug 7, 2018
300
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Why can't he put his pizza, food, snack etc. on a "microwave" safe plate. Turn your Chinaware over and read the small writing on the back? All he needs is the plastic covering with the holes on it or the covering that that has the vent on top to let the steam out. Easy Peasy! What's the problem?
 

mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
8,359
1,555
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Why can't he put his pizza, food, snack etc. on a "microwave" safe plate.
...
What's the problem?

The problem is that microwaved pizza = soggy mess.

No turntable to mess with and repeatedly clean, so easy to clean.

I find a glass MW turntable to be great, makes it easier to catch overflow by default and clean later, out of the MW.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,409
8,699
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The problem is that microwaved pizza = soggy mess.
If the pizza is fully cooked but just cool or cold and you don't MW it more than just to get it adequately warm/hot, it won't get soggy. A lot depends on how it was initially prepared and cooked. I like my pizza crusts fairly crispy, almost tough.
 
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mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
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If the pizza got cold, it is already soggy because time has disrupted the delicate balance between moisture in the sauce and moisture driven away out of the crust. The crust soaks up sauce moisture.

The only way to fix this is an oven. I can see a crowd who doesn't care enough to bother, but it really isn't that much of a bother to throw it in a toaster oven and multitask for the few (<5) minutes it takes to heat it.
 
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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,409
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If the pizza got cold, it is already soggy because time has disrupted the delicate balance between moisture in the sauce and moisture driven away out of the crust. The crust soaks up sauce moisture.

The only way to fix this is an oven. I can see a crowd who doesn't care enough to bother, but it really isn't that much of a bother to throw it in a toaster oven and multitask for the few (<5) minutes it takes to heat it.
I won't argue with that, it's probably true. But most every time I make a pizza I scarf the whole thing in like 20 minutes! :p I made 2 in the last week, first time in like 3+ years, I wanted to celebrate the election.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,409
8,699
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I've been using the Microwave for several years. But, I'm no longer using it. Sometimes ago, I heard Japan avoid using Microwave as it causes cancer and other diseases. In fact, I don't know if this is true or false. But, I got scared and avoid using it. Now, I use the stove to heat food
Some research is in order. As long as your microwave oven doesn't leak microwave radiation you're protected from that. Used to be in the early days a real problem especially for people who worked with them all day long, like restaurant workers. I haven't heard of such problems these days

Now, microwaves do put out some magnetic field. That's a controversial subject. The field falls off by the inverse square law, so at 4 feet you get 1/4 the amount you get at 2 feet, for example. At 4 feet the typical field is 2 milligause, which is considered the threshhold level where it is significant. Exposure is a factor of the field strength and the length of time you are subject to it. Personally, I try to not stand within 4 feet of my MW oven when it's running. However, it's not like you're poisoned or something. If you stand a foot away from your MW oven while it's running for 30 seconds, you will experience nothing. Again, it's controversial. I am NOT afraid of MW ovens! I use mine something like a dozen times a day on average.