Microwave cooking (not reheating)

[Fire Me Boy!]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/dining/microwave-cooking-is-more-than-just-reheating-your-coffee.html

Creating a Dish, Not Just Reheating One

ALLOW me to introduce you to your microwave. I met mine just the other week.

This mysterious, stigmatized box has acquired a reputation as a mere popcorn popper and leftover heater-upper. But it can do so much more. It can fry. It can dry. It can produce a perfectly steamed whole bass with ginger and scallions, topped with fried parsley. Just give it four minutes.

Game-changing new uses like that were brought to my attention with the release of “Modernist Cuisine at Home,” a home-cook-friendly iteration of “Modernist Cuisine,” the six-volume megabook on the science of contemporary cooking that routinely calls for tools like a centrifuge. The “At Home” recipes can still be quite demanding (a 45-minute scrambled egg, a 29-hour roast chicken), but when I got to the chapter on the microwave, my world flipped on its axis.

“The microwave tends to be an underappreciated thing in the kitchen,” the author Nathan Myhrvold told me over the phone. “It’s overused for one set of tasks and underused for another.”

Microwave cooking — not reheating, but cooking — can be particularly healthful, something to keep in mind in the wake of the holiday cookie overload. Steaming involves no added fat, and frying requires just a swipe of oil.

Read the rest: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/dining/microwave-cooking-is-more-than-just-reheating-your-coffee.html?pagewanted=2

[Fire Me Boy!]

I'll be flipping ahead in Modernist Cuisine at Home tonight.

[listopencil]

My microwave has a heating element built into the top of it it. Kind of cool. I can bake and microwave food at the same time, or choose either at any time.

[Easy 6]

My microwave has a heating element built into the top of it it. Kind of cool. I can bake and microwave food at the same time, or choose either at any time.

Same here, its a pretty nifty little gadget from Emerson.

[Fire Me Boy!]

The NYTimes article is pretty interesting... I rarely use my microwave, but I'll have to try some of this stuff. Very interested to the read the chapter in Modernist.

[Graystoke]

meh..I think my Mom was the first woman in the Nation to get a microwave. She never cooked on the stove again...just a terrible terrible cook.
So just based on that I don't think I could cook with a microwave

[Fire Me Boy!]

meh..I think my Mom was the first woman in the Nation to get a microwave. She never cooked on the stove again...just a terrible terrible cook.
So just based on that I don't think I could cook with a microwave

It's about doing the right kind of things with it, not just nuking the shit out of everything. I'm interested to try.

[mlyonsd]

Microwave is the only way I cook bacon now.

[tooge]

I think it's cool when you leave a spoon in a bowl of soup you're warming up

[tooge]

Microwave is the only way I cook bacon now.

I use it for that as well, but prefer the oven if I have the time

[bevischief]

I used to do a lot growing up but prefer the stove or grill.

[Fish]

When boiling your ribs is just too much work........

[listopencil]

Same here, its a pretty nifty little gadget from Emerson.

Mine is Emerson also. I don't know if it's unique to the company, but it was priced nicely and works well.

[FAX]

I'm not buying this idea. At all. Nope. Not buying it.

How many Michelin Star meals have been cooked in a microwave, I ask you? None, I'd wager.

Food needs fire. Real fire. Not some sort of bizarre, magical device that blasts invisible rays inside a box in order to agitate the cellular structure of a foodstuff.

As Mr. Iowanian would say, "If you want to excite a molecule, play with your pecker."

FAX

[DJ's left nut]

WTF? A $100 cookbook?

To hell with that crap.

[Fire Me Boy!]

I'm not buying this idea. At all. Nope. Not buying it.

How many Michelin Star meals have been cooked in a microwave, I ask you? None, I'd wager.

Food needs fire. Real fire. Not some sort of bizarre, magical device that blasts invisible rays inside a box in order to agitate the cellular structure of a foodstuff.

As Mr. Iowanian would say, "If you want to excite a molecule, play with your pecker."

FAX

I'd wager you might be surprised. Certainly not 100 percent of the meal, but components - wouldn't surprise me at all, depending on the chef.

Wylie Dufresne is a pretty well-known chef.

"Wylie Dufresne has four commercial microwaves at his restaurant, WD-50, that he has used for various applications, including cooking foie gras (“beautiful results in terms of texture”) and vegetables. He likes the machine’s “hands-free element” and its consistency."

[Fire Me Boy!]

WTF? A $100 cookbook?

To hell with that crap.

I got it for Christmas, and it's really quite interesting.

[Rain Man]

WTF? A $100 cookbook?

To hell with that crap.


That'll buy something like 80 burgers on McDonalds' value menu.

[ptlyon]

That'll buy something like 80 burgers on McDonalds' value menu.

Anybody have that white cheddar onion burger yet? Is it good?

[Easy 6]

Some things i regularly cook in a microwave are frozen veggies in a sealed container with a bit of water, leaves them perfectly cooked every time with plenty of crunch, if i'm in a hurry i'll steam a piece of fish that way also, with no really noticeable difference in quality, definitely bacon.

I use the broiler function it has to crisp up cold pizza, or even do the occasional steak under it.

You can do some decent cooking in one.

[DJ's left nut]

I got it for Christmas, and it's really quite interesting.

It will be equally interesting when it comes out in paperback for $30.

It looks really interesting, I'll give you that. It's clearly something quite different from your standard Betty Crocker Red Book or another damn Pioneer Woman cookbook, but with so much stuff available online, I'll just stick with that.

I do like my set of Good Eats hardbacks, but three of those combined cost less than $100.

[Fire Me Boy!]

It will be equally interesting when it comes out in paperback for $30.

It looks really interesting, I'll give you that. It's clearly something quite different from your standard Betty Crocker Red Book or another damn Pioneer Woman cookbook, but with so much stuff available online, I'll just stick with that.

I do like my set of Good Eats hardbacks, but three of those combined cost less than $100.

The Modernist Cuisine at Home book is nothing like any of those books. And I would genuinely be really surprised if it's ever out in paperback. It's a swank book - full-color, very high quality, huge, and gorgeous.

[FAX]

I'd wager you might be surprised. Certainly not 100 percent of the meal, but components - wouldn't surprise me at all, depending on the chef.

Wylie Dufresne is a pretty well-known chef.

"Wylie Dufresne has four commercial microwaves at his restaurant, WD-50, that he has used for various applications, including cooking foie gras (“beautiful results in terms of texture”) and vegetables. He likes the machine’s “hands-free element” and its consistency."

Okay ... Wylie has won one Michelin star for his NYC restaurant named after an oil. I'm not certain if he still has it, though. It's been awhile, apparently.

Still, was the star awarded for his nuclearized foie gras? I do not know.

But it gets worse. Foie gras is typically made from duck liver ... the fatter, the better. So, the growers stuff pipes down the throats of ducks in order to force feed the little ducks fat which, in turn, makes their liver fatter which, in turn, makes their poor, little fatty livers more desirable. It's an horrific practice. And your microwave hero condones the practice. Not only that, but he takes those poor, little ducks' livers and microwaves them!!! Good God, man!!!

FAX

[ptlyon]

Okay ... Wylie has won one Michelin star for his NYC restaurant named after an oil. I'm not certain if he still has it, though. It's been awhile, apparently.

Still, was the star awarded for his nuclearized foie gras? I do not know.

But it gets worse. Foie gras is typically made from duck liver ... the fatter, the better. So, the growers stuff pipes down the throats of ducks in order to force feed the little ducks fat which, in turn, makes their liver fatter which, in turn, makes their poor, little fatty livers more desirable. It's an horrific practice. And your microwave hero condones the practice. Not only that, but he takes those poor, little ducks' livers and microwaves them!!! Good God, man!!!

FAX

Fuck ducks. They deserve to die.

[Bump]

I wouldn't want to use a microwave, fuck that. I don't think it would be a great idea cooking out of the microwave a lot too, that just doesn't sit well with me.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Okay ... Wylie has won one Michelin star for his NYC restaurant named after an oil. I'm not certain if he still has it, though. It's been awhile, apparently.

Still, was the star awarded for his nuclearized foie gras? I do not know.

But it gets worse. Foie gras is typically made from duck liver ... the fatter, the better. So, the growers stuff pipes down the throats of ducks in order to force feed the little ducks fat which, in turn, makes their liver fatter which, in turn, makes their poor, little fatty livers more desirable. It's an horrific practice. And your microwave hero condones the practice. Not only that, but he takes those poor, little ducks' livers and microwaves them!!! Good God, man!!!

FAX

I'm just taking issue with this. I'm not a fan of the microwave, but I'm willing to admit I may not have been using it in the proper applications and in the proper manner. At least the NYT reporter suggests it's one of the professional kitchen's secret tools.

In any case, I thought it was an interesting article, and I'm looking forward to reading more about it in the book.

[FAX]

**** ducks. They deserve to die.

You may **** a duck if you wish, Mr. ptlyon. That is between you and your God.

However, the fact remains that, simply because you can jiggle an atomic particle to the point that it heats itself up, does not mean you are creating superior cuisine. I don't care what the $100 dollar book says. Good food requires fire.

Besides, what if there is a holocaust or Armageddon type of deal? What then? There will be no electricity and, therefore, no microwaves. Are we to starve or be reduced to eating raw food to survive? You have to think long-term about stuff like this.

FAX

[tooge]

You may **** a duck if you wish, Mr. ptlyon. That is between you and your God.

However, the fact remains that, simply because you can jiggle an atomic particle to the point that it heats itself up, does not mean you are creating superior cuisine. I don't care what the $100 dollar book says. Good food requires fire.

Besides, what if there is a holocaust or Armageddon type of deal? What then? There will be no electricity and, therefore, no microwaves. Are we to starve or be reduced to eating raw food to survive? You have to think long-term about stuff like this.

FAX

I'm thinking of Jeff Goldbloom explaining the teleporter in The Fly. How he makes Geena Davis eat a steak that has been teleported. I"m guessing that's about the same as microwaving one.

[ptlyon]

You may **** a duck if you wish, Mr. ptlyon. That is between you and your God.

However, the fact remains that, simply because you can jiggle an atomic particle to the point that it heats itself up, does not mean you are creating superior cuisine. I don't care what the $100 dollar book says. Good food requires fire.

Besides, what if there is a holocaust or Armageddon type of deal? What then? There will be no electricity and, therefore, no microwaves. Are we to starve or be reduced to eating raw food to survive? You have to think long-term about stuff like this.

FAX

I'm not arguing about the use of microwaves Mr. FAX, I'm just stating ducks should die.

[FAX]

I'm thinking of Jeff Goldbloom explaining the teleporter in The Fly. How he makes Geena Davis eat a steak that has been teleported. I"m guessing that's about the same as microwaving one.

Oftentimes science will run amok, Mr. tooge. That's when the trouble usually starts.

Have there been sufficient studies done on the long-term effects of microwaved foie gras on humans? I sincerely doubt it. Yet here we are (without sufficient research being conducted), creating a new, popular movement to microwave our pate and eat it too.

I ask you; do we know for certain that microwaved foie gras is not the predominant cause of dwarfism? Case closed.

FAX

[Graystoke]

I'm not arguing about the use of microwaves Mr. FAX, I'm just stating ducks should die.

I take itthue wth thaaaaaaaaaattttt

http://dakiniland.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/daffy_duck_14.jpg

[Fire Me Boy!]

I'm thinking of Jeff Goldbloom explaining the teleporter in The Fly. How he makes Geena Davis eat a steak that has been teleported. I"m guessing that's about the same as microwaving one.

Did you read the article? It doesn't suggest that the microwave is for everything, but rather certain foods and specific applications.

For instance, using the microwave to fry parsley leaves for garnish (doing so with just a little cooking spray) or for dehydrating - not good for jerky, quite good for apples. Or steamed fish with scallions and ginger.

During my first try, with a bass fillet, the bag exploded; when water boils and becomes steam, it expands in volume by a factor of 1,600 (Mr. Myhrvold explained that one liter of water becomes 1,600 liters of steam), so excess air will heighten the risk of popping. I was left with a wheezing bag and fish chunks. On the next try, with a whole bass, I removed as much air as possible from the bag before nuking. Success.

On went the soy sauce dressing. The dish looked and smelled professionally prepared. The flesh was perfectly cooked, the taste fabulous — an elegant weeknight dinner in no time. Cleanup was nil (I simply tossed the plastic bag), and my apartment didn’t smell fishy.

[tooge]

Did you read the article? It doesn't suggest that the microwave is for everything, but rather certain foods and specific applications.

For instance, using the microwave to fry parsley leaves for garnish (doing so with just a little cooking spray) or for dehydrating - not good for jerky, quite good for apples. Or steamed fish with scallions and ginger.

Yeah, I read it. I'm trying to think of the last time I needed crispy parsley on anything. I'm also trying to figure out the last time I enjoyed steamed fish more than grilled fish. I'm in the warm up a piece of pizza or leftover soup camp on this one.

[FAX]

I fear that, before long, we will be eating crispy parsley for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Could this be the end of creamed corn? I shudder at the thought.

FAX

[DaveNull]

Sponge cake out of a microwave is quite good. That technique was shown on the new Mind of a Chef show.

It's good, if you haven't seen it.

[tooge]

also, you can use your regular oven and make jerky or dried fruit without having to "dab" it off or making a mess. Simply set your oven around 150-170 degrees, crack the door open with a piece of balled up foil, and put it directly on the oven racks. Put some foil on the bottom rack to collect drippings. Great Jerky.

[FAX]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think sponge cake and crispy parsley compliment each other very well.

FAX

[FAX]

As fate would have it, I happen to have the television thing on at the moment and they are presenting the movie, "Zombie Apocalypse".

Interestingly, the zombie's skin looks almost exactly like crispy parsley.

FAX

[ptlyon]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think sponge cake and crispy parsley compliment each other very well.

FAX

You'd never make it on Chopped, Mr. FAX

[Fire Me Boy!]

Yeah, I read it. I'm trying to think of the last time I needed crispy parsley on anything. I'm also trying to figure out the last time I enjoyed steamed fish more than grilled fish. I'm in the warm up a piece of pizza or leftover soup camp on this one.

For me, pizza in the microwave is awful. I'm in the reheat pizza in the oven camp.

:)

[ptlyon]

For me, pizza in the microwave is awful. I'm in the reheat pizza in the oven camp.

:)

If you have a wacker wave that has a pizza button, it does wonders

[htismaqe]

Use aluminum foil. Works great.

[Fire Me Boy!]

also, you can use your regular oven and make jerky or dried fruit without having to "dab" it off or making a mess. Simply set your oven around 150-170 degrees, crack the door open with a piece of balled up foil, and put it directly on the oven racks. Put some foil on the bottom rack to collect drippings. Great Jerky.

For jerky, I don't use heat at all.

http://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=136735
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/beef-jerky-recipe/index.html?rsrc=search

[Great Expectations]

Re-heated pizza in the microwave is awful. Put it cold in a cold oven directly on a rack, start the oven at 350 and when it is finished preheating the pizza should be perfect.

I like the idea of frying certain herbs in a microwave, save some oil and increase flavor. I'd worry about the parsley or whatever losing too much moisture though.

[ptlyon]

Re-heated pizza in the microwave is awful. Put it cold in a cold oven directly on a rack, start the oven at 350 and when it is finished preheating the pizza should be perfect.

I like the idea of frying certain herbs in a microwave, save some oil and increase flavor. I'd worry about the parsley or whatever losing too much moisture though.

No, really. A microwave with a pizza reheat button works pretty well.

I do agree with you on your second point tho :bong:

[Fire Me Boy!]

Eggplant Parmesan the Modernist Cuisine way: http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/microwaved-eggplant-parmesan/

[mikey23545]

You may **** a duck if you wish, Mr. ptlyon. That is between you and your God.

However, the fact remains that, simply because you can jiggle an atomic particle to the point that it heats itself up, does not mean you are creating superior cuisine. I don't care what the $100 dollar book says. Good food requires fire.

Besides, what if there is a holocaust or Armageddon type of deal? What then? There will be no electricity and, therefore, no microwaves. Are we to starve or be reduced to eating raw food to survive? You have to think long-term about stuff like this.

FAX


I'm sure I don't even want to know the answer to this, but you do realize that heating food up by any method is "jiggling molecules" to heat it up, right?

[FAX]

I'm sure I don't even want to know the answer to this, but you do realize that heating food up by any method is "jiggling molecules" to heat it up, right?

I see that you are a scientist like myself, Mr. mikey23545.

FAX

[Fire Me Boy!]

No, really. A microwave with a pizza reheat button works pretty well.

I do agree with you on your second point tho :bong:

Microwave-fried parsley:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/h88-vgHqyB4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>