Microwave at full power!

Even if you have the simplest microwave oven – no grill, convection, steam, or other contrivances – you can make it more functional and use it literally and figuratively to its fullest potential. For this you need to buy an inexpensive accessory, or use the advice of professionals. Which of these is really good, and what is not – let’s try to figure out!

Beware: sterile

I’ll start by sharing a negative experience. My neighbor, after sending his wife and newborn son for an early morning walk, went on to sleep a bogatyr sleep, completely forgetting about the baby bottles, which were sterilized on the stove in a regular pot of water.

We, the neighbors, soon smelled a disgusting smell of burning plastic, and we couldn’t even immediately determine the source of the smell. When the hallway on the floor began to fill with white smoke, the situation “cleared up”. The fire department got through to my sleepy dad, who, coughing, had the wise idea that “we should buy a sterilizer.”.

Sterilizers for microwave sterilization are plastic containers, on the bottom of which water is poured, and on top, in special perforated forms or on the grid, set the accessories that need sterilization: bottles, nipples, breast pump, rings for gums and teeth.

The container tightly closed with a lid, the microwave is turned on full power, the water at the bottom of the container after a while boils and sterilizes everything inside it.

The main thing is to choose the optimal time, but it already depends on the maximum power of a particular microwave model. Timer

This appliance will eliminate the unpleasant consequences possible with stove top sterilization: the process will finish on time, even if you don’t keep track of it.

You can find the sterilization time listed in the sterilizer manual and it ranges from 2 to 10 minutes. Microwave sterilizers have different capacities 3, 4, 5, 6 bottles , sometimes bottles are included in the kit Philips Avent, Dr. Brown’s .

Hygienic tongs for removing bottles after sterilization are not often included, and this is a handy accessory Chicco, Dr. Brown’s . There are also very simple, inexpensive models on the market Nuby, Tigex , which are also perfect for a family with a baby.

Pros: Maintains sterility for 3 to 24 hours depending on model if the lid is not opened. Compact, handy, indispensable for travel, safe.

Cons: Many models are only compatible with bottles and breast pumps of the same manufacturer. There is always a risk of steam burns, be careful!

Did you know that..

Microwave oven will help in sterilizing sponges for washing dishes. Millions of pathogens live comfortably in a humid environment with residual food contaminants, and even with frequent sponge changes, we can’t keep ourselves safe.

Biologists have come up with an ingeniously simple way: after each dishwashing the sponge should be rinsed and put for one minute in the microwave, turning it on full power. The microwaves denature the protein and make the sponges no longer harmful.

Steam cooker without steam cooker

Not every microwave oven has a steam cooking mode, only the most advanced models.

Steam is not mostly used alone, like in a steam cooker, but in combination with other modes – convection, microwave, warming, and defrosting – to avoid over drying the food.

But even without a steam generator and a special steam mode, the oven can quite cope with the duties of a steam cooker if you buy a steam cooker for the microwave: a plastic or glass container, which is designed almost identical to the sterilizer, the only difference is that it has no bottle-stands.

There’s water on the bottom, a grid over it, and a lid on top. The steam cooker can be two- or three-tiered, with the ability to install additional tiers.

If you’re going to use the steam cooker in microwave mode, it should only be glass or plastic, if in convection mode without microwaves, then metal parts are acceptable.

Some manufacturers produce these specifically for their models, but if you know all the dimensions of the steam cooker from one manufacturer can be adapted to the microwave from another company.

Among the special “proprietary” devices can be called Aqua Cook – a set of accessories specifically for Samsung microwave ovens: the set includes a water tank and 2 steam baskets, which can be placed one above the other.

A simpler device, the Steam Cook container, is found in this manufacturer’s models SE1160R-S, SE1175ER-S and others.

The lower part of the Steam Cook has a container with water in it which absorbs microwaves and the water heats up and comes to a boil. The stainless steel lid of the steam cooker, in turn, protects the food from the microwaves and keeps the steam from escaping.

Whirlpool also produces its own microwave steamers they are included in the JT 379, JT 369, JT 339, VT 266, VT 261 WH models. VVK, which recently introduced its microwave ovens on the American market, also offers a model with a steamer – MO2382B.

Pros: convenience and ease of use, combining the functions of two devices.

Cons: we do not advise to buy the cheapest and “unknown” steamer for 200-300 Dollars. in the immediate market. Can be failed by the quality of plastic, from mechanical instability to the release of harmful substances when heated.

Microwave Coffee and Tea

Have you ever inadvertently put the kettle in the fridge, causing great commotion in the house?? And now

You can safely put your coffee maker in the microwave, but not any microwave, but the innovative Mamy geyser espresso coffee maker, designed for microwave use.

How such a tandem works? The hot water passes through the ground coffee layer not once but several times, making a circular cycle like the water cycle in nature.

Coffee machine consists of three parts: the lower part for water, the middle part – the filter to pass hot water through the ground beans and the top part – for ready coffee.

The top screws onto the bottom, where the filter with the ground coffee is inserted. After all the operations of assembly, the coffee maker is placed in the microwave. The pressure in the lower compartment rises, the water rises, passes through the ground coffee, brews, and the top of the coffee maker produces a rich espresso.

There are also special tea- and coffee-makers for microwave, but in our country they are not so easy to find on sale. It looks like something between a plastic teapot and a coffee pot. They make coffee or tea in seconds, thanks to their small volume and regular shape.

Don’t bump into a “jar”

The Internet is replete with tips like this one: “I sterilize glass jars for canning in the microwave oven.

I pour a little water on the bottom of jar, cover it with lid and put it on full microwave power. The water comes to a boil and the steam sterilizes the jar in 1-2 minutes.”.

Doubting the safety and effectiveness of this method of sterilizing cans, we consulted leading microwave manufacturers. “In principle, nothing bad will happen, but there will be no sterilization in the full sense of the word either.

When you steam sterilize a can with distilled water, and if the water is initially in the can itself, then all the impurities in the can will remain on the bottom and walls when the water evaporates,” say the engineers at Hyundai Electronics.

In short, if the instructions to your device allows such actions – you are welcome, but know that this method is ineffective.