By Katherine Microwaves tend to be forgotten about or under-valued. Even though many people own a Microwave, the majority of us use it for cooking. A microwave is excellent at heating food. However, in some cases, it can do more.
It is easy to maximize the microwave's potential by cooking potatoes. Microwaving potatoes has many benefits. They can be used to make better and easier potato dishes. Our favorite method combines a pan fryer/air fryer with a microwave to make deliciously crispy potatoes.
Microwave baked potato is simple and can be done in about a minute. But we also want to find out what happens when you bake that potato. It is amazing how a microwave does it. The microwave can also be used to cook your food.
How Does A Microwave Function?
How might you use towels or gloves when you heat something in the oven? You can do this when you heat it in the microwave. A towel or gloves might be needed to help you take out the food once it's been heated in a microwave. Even though your microwave has just finished, it won't cause your hand to get very hot.
This is due to the fact that microwaves don't heat up food in the same manner as ovens and stoves. A gas stove produces heat by burning gas. An electric oven uses electricity to heat coils that then heat up to the touch. Heat is conducted from the outside to heat the product. For large food items, it may take a longer time for heat to travel.
Exciting Water Molecules
These methods can be used to heat your food in a microwave. The waves are not warm. This wave type is very good at 'exciting' different types and molecules in your food. If microwaves travel through liquid, the water molecules begin to vibrate. This causes the temperature to increase (the energy kinetic). Microwaves can heat liquids very well, so they are better at melting frozen ice.
Potatoes are rich in water. They contain more than 80% water. This makes microwaves useful for heating potatoes.
Hot spots
You may have noticed that microwaves don't always heat evenly. In microwaved food, hot spots may develop where food is very hot. The food might not have reached the right temperature in other areas. This is because the waves travel through food. They can complement and strengthen each other. Some microwaves include a rotating platter that allows food to be moved through different areas. It is also possible to mix your food halfway through to even out the heat.
Particularly for potatoes, we have found that the bottom of potatoes cooks quicker than the top. To avoid this, it is possible to have them rotated halfway through.
Waves Are Moving Through
You can heat your potatoes by heating them. The waves travel through the potatoes. If a wave hits a potato, it will make it weaker. Large potatoes require a greater number of waves to travel through them before all the water molecules have fully excited. It takes longer to cook large potatoes than smaller ones. However, it's still faster than cooking them in boiling water or in an oven.