Do you own a microwave?

thelioness

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 11:54 am

I am one of the other votes. We have a convection microwave. I used it once or twice for the convection part. I only use the microwave to heat hot paks for sore muscles, not for food for the health concerns. I heat frozen bread in the oven and reheat oven or stovetop. The dishwasher does all the dishes so it isn't extra work to wash real instead of using disposable.

Dolly Welsh

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 12:05 pm

I love my microwave.

Heating food in any manner, whether in stove or microwave, will destroy some vitamins. I don't think it matters how you heated it.

I use it for warming the water for baking bread, for cooking cut up potato in a covered glass dish, making water for tea or instant coffee, heating up a pre-cooked whole chicken, rescuing old bread. I hear that it can make a chocolate sauce from chocolate chips, with a little oil. I cook my morning oatmeal in it. For dinner I assemble a plate of various already cooked foods, and microwave the plate.

It can't do everything; it's a moist heat not a dry bake, but I love having one.

etky

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 12:14 pm

devash1 wrote:

we have two which we use everyday to warm food up. We don't cook with it. Come Pesach we don't have one, and we find it quite challenging, but I can't justify buying one for one week and then try and find the space to store it.

I kasher mine for Pessach but I don't use it for 24 hours before kashering. I find even those 24 hours challenging!
That said, our microwave broke about a year ago and we ordered a new one that took about 2 weeks to arrive. It's funny, but we kind of got used to not having one and heating up food in alternate ways (oven, toaster over and stove top). By the end of the two weeks when the new oven arrived we had to readjust to having one. So I think it's totally possible to not miss having one if that's what you're used to.

ElTam

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 12:17 pm

We had one growing up and I thought the food tasted gross when it was cooked in it. So, I never had one except for one apartment that had a built-in.

Then our friends made Aliyah and gave us theirs. (DH took it without asking me.) I rejoiced when it broke.

I can do anything I need in the oven, on the stovetop, or (at work) with a hot water urn.

Food heated in plastic tastes so weird. I've used our work microwave (frum office) three or four times in three years. I take it out of the plastic, put it on a paper plate and cover with a napkin. Plastic food. Blech.

Last edited by ElTam on Wed, Nov 26 2014, 12:18 pm; edited 1 time in total

sweetpotato

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 12:17 pm

I chose "other." I own a microwave, but I use it for storage. (It's built-in, I wouldn't have gotten one otherwise). I personally don't find them useful, I never seem to be able to get things to warm up properly without stopping it and stirring a bunch of times, and with that effort I'd just as well use the stove.

greenfire

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 12:18 pm

I don't like microwaves either - never really understood the concept ... the food always comes out horrible ...

I do however use one my brother gave me [recycled no monies harmed or wasted] it to warm my milk for cafe con leche in the am ... that's it there ain't no more

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 12:50 pm

Ruchel wrote:

Yes. BH.

Btw if both parents work, it's often microwave or at best oven every night during the week.

Ruchel, what other choice is there? Of course an oven works just fine. What is wrong with that? Both of my parents worked and we always had a warm supper. From the oven or stove. Nothing wrong.

Ema of 5

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 12:58 pm

JustMeMyself wrote:

you would heat up the oven for one little pita? does it come out crispy or soft?

how would you warm your coffee? I like my coffee hot but my house it always cold so by the time I'm halfway through with my coffee it is cold. I warm it in the microwave, it's great. I can't imagine making a fresh one each time it got cold.

Why can't you just add hot water? That's what I do when my hot drinks get cold. I drink hot chocolate and tea, not coffee.
We have a microwave, but we rarely use it. In the past we had one oven so it was hard to make chicken and then the next night Mac and cheese, so I melted it in the microwave. Now bh we have two, but my daughter will only eat Mac and cheese melted in the microwave. :-)

DallasIma

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 1:00 pm

Go ahead and laugh if you want - but we have three, because my DH is non-observant. So I have my milk one and my meat one, and he has his one microwave on his counter. (He tells people we have "milk, meat, and mine.") When I prepare for Pesach then I kasher both of mine. Last Pesach he didn't eat any chametz (a miracle!) so next time I might kasher all three.

teddyb

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 1:01 pm

we got one as a wedding present and use it to defrost bread and homemade baby food. Also to defrost coffee creamer or soy milk that I use in recipes sometimes if I forget to take it out early enough- we keep in the freezer so it doesnt go bad.

could def live without it. would prob use a toaster to defrost those things instead of the full oven.

sky

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 1:08 pm

Lady Godiva wrote:

You mean the kernels, not the packaged microwave popcorn? Do you put butter or oil in it too?

I put some popcorn in a brown paper bag, spray of pam and some salt. Not as good as with butter or oil but its a quick, warm, healthyish snack.

I mainly use it to melt items for baking (choc chips, marg), Defrost bread, popcorn, microwave meals (I eat mon cuisine vegetarian meals sometimes), defrost frozen baking ingredients, oatmeal, instant hot water, make macaroni hot, defrost frozen veggies for a meal or to use in a recipe (broccoli, spinach ...), Quick scrambled eggs (not as good tasting but fun - spray plastic bowl with pam, beat egg, cook, perfect size for bagel, place cheese on top, reminds me of egg and cheese sandwich from Dunkin Donuts) .

I keep mine pareve because I mainly use it when baking pareve. Also mine is an oven as well so I use it for baking all my pareve stuff - challah\bread, cookies, cake.
Any dairy ingredients - like cheese - we add after it is hot.

I don't have any need for a meat microwave.

OOTBubby

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 1:33 pm

I've had 2 for years; one each for milchig and fleishig (and both for Pesach too). However, I am in a temporary residence for a year or so and now only have a milchig one. While I don't miss the fleishig one, DH does. He likes to heat up leftovers for dinner and rarely knows more than a few minutes before as to when he'll be eating. Now he's got to plan in advance to allow enough time to heat it in the oven.

gittelchana

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 1:57 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I was just wondering how common or not it was to own a microwave?

Growing up we never did.
As a single person living on my own I didnt have one.
And now as a married adult we dont have one.

Never saw the need and I also do not like how things taste when they come out of the microwave.

I voted other.

I grew up with a microwave. I got one from my sister which eventually ended up out of my kitchen because we rarely ever used it.

33055

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 2:56 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

Whats a warmer? And who is leaving it in anything for hours? When I warm up supper, it is on the stove for maybe 10 - 15 minutes, thats all.

It's a warming drawer which is part of the stove which keeps foods warm and doesn't dry them out like an oven. My family's schedule can be complicated. My husband doesn't eat until later often after the kids are asleep. Last night he came home after everyone is asleep. At least he came home to a clean kitchen and a plated meal waiting for him to warm up.

amother

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 5:22 pm

I'm an "other." I don't own one, am somewhat wary of the safety, not a fan of the taste but that wouldn't bother me enough I just never got one and don't have space for it either, besides being a little uncertain of the safety. But "other" is my mother lives right next door and in a big pinch I'll use hers!

Anon because I don't need to give people another clue to my screen name/identity.

amother

Wed, Nov 26 2014, 11:56 pm

When I got married I lived in a tiny apartment that couldn't for another thing so no microwave we survived just fine . Now I have one that's build in I really only use it on sunday night to warm up leftovers for my kids when we come home from a full day out. When I use it on sunday I'm very happy I have one

miami85

Thu, Nov 27 2014, 8:14 am

I voted 'no way'--not that I don't want one, we just don't have space for one at the moment so we manage without it, but it definitely would be convenient. Part of the reason we don't have one is b/c even it we'd have one we can't decide whether it would be fleishig, milchig or pareve.

amother

Thu, Nov 27 2014, 9:16 am

How could anyone in this day and age not have one-there are real small ones. For milchigs have a convecution bake cheese cakes fish etc. Put the whole meal on one plate instead of warming up a few pots. On Erevs you can serve just put in the plates-life is enough hectic

amother

Thu, Nov 27 2014, 9:17 am

How could anyone in this day and age not have one-there are real small ones. For milchigs have a convection bake cheese cakes fish etc. Put the whole meal on one page instead of warming up a few puts. On Erevs you can serve just put in the plates