There is no easier way to cook or heat food than a microwave oven. Put cold food inside, press a few buttons, wait a few minutes and the food is ready. The only problem is that it lacks taste.
Over time you may have got used to that taste. For some strange reason, food that is ready in two minutes may be burnt on top and a little frozen inside, but you accept it.
The interesting thing is that the mistake here is yours, not the microwave oven's.
When cooking or heating food in an oven, everyone places it in the middle of the plate inside. It should actually be placed at the edge of the plate.
The science behind it
Mackenzie Bryson Jackson, MS, a food expert and product development manager at the US nutrition products company Panaceutics, said: "There is a scientific explanation for heating food at the edge of the oven plate. To understand it, you need to understand a little of how microwave technology works."
In a report on RealSimple.com she added: "Anything within the reach of microwaves is exposed to high levels of electromagnetic radiation. This makes water molecules vibrate, which creates heat."
"Another thing happens when using a microwave, and that is 'runaway heating'. A spot that is already warm takes in heat faster and gets hotter, while a cold spot takes longer to heat up. That is why part of food heated or cooked in a microwave oven gets extremely hot while part of the same food stays frozen. And if the microwaves do not get a chance to transfer their energy to something, they keep reflecting inside the oven," Jackson explained.
The food expert added: "That is why the plate inside the oven is made to rotate, so that the microwaves fall evenly around the food. But if the food is placed in the middle, they do not fall evenly. If it is placed at one edge of the plate instead, the food will heat evenly."
Stir if you can
Stirring the food once or twice during cooking is even better, though this is possible only with a handful of foods.
Jackson also suggested a way to find out which part of the oven gets hottest.
Source: bdnews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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