Food & Drink

How do you reheat your food in the microwave?

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  • Feb 26th, 2014 3:48 pm
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Deal Guru
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Mar 31, 2008
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How do you reheat your food in the microwave?

I generally put cling (saran) wrap over the bowl or plate as long its not too flat, which I find does a good job of keeping the heat in and rewarming more evenly. Also avoids splatter as some foods, especially the oilier ones do that.

Does anybody else do this? I hope it doesn't cause some chemical from the wrap to condense into the food. I've been meaning to get that big plastic vented cover thing but keep forgetting or haven't seen them around.

I also feel the bottom of the plate/bowl to see if its warm or hot. I read somewhere that's a good way to tell if it got heat through.

So what are your microwaving habits?
26 replies
Deal Expert
Aug 22, 2006
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I don't. The only thing that goes in my microwave is pork rinds.
An oven takes much longer but it provides a much nicer heat.
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Feb 9, 2012
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I press the door open button, then I place the microwave safe container inside, (with food in the container) then I close the door and select the minute(s) I need to cook the food. The container most often already has a lid. If not, paper towel does the job, preventing splatter.
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May 28, 2012
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Saskatoon
I cover with one of those cheap plastic domes that you can buy from the grocery store for $2. I rarely use Saran wrap in the microwave these days.
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Aug 17, 2008
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Use paper towel or wax paper.
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Feb 9, 2012
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natalka wrote: Use paper towel or wax paper.
On that note, here's a good question: Does it matter what kind of paper towel? Store brand or name brand? Bounty, white swan or no name/other?
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Jan 2, 2004
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Peterborough
Lower power setting for a slightly longer period of time to get more even heating. Plastic dome, no Saran Wrap. Finish with a very short run at higher power if it needs a little more heating up. Pretty rare for me to use the full power setting. It's too hard on the food.
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Feb 9, 2012
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wiggy wrote: Pretty rare for me to use the full power setting. It's too hard on the food.
I think it depends on the Microwave and it's max. output. The 1000 watt vs the 600 watt, for example.
PLUS, many microwaves have an auto cook button that often works well. A Pizza button for reheating Pizza, a Popcorn button for popcorn etc...
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Nov 9, 2005
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I put it in

Then I press some buttons
Deal Guru
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playnicee1 wrote: On that note, here's a good question: Does it matter what kind of paper towel? Store brand or name brand? Bounty, white swan or no name/other?
debatable
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playnicee1 wrote: On that note, here's a good question: Does it matter what kind of paper towel? Store brand or name brand? Bounty, white swan or no name/other?
Doesn't matter at all. We usually buy Life brand from Shoppers Drug Mart.
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Dec 4, 2003
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Mars2012 wrote: I cover with one of those cheap plastic domes that you can buy from the grocery store for $2. I rarely use Saran wrap in the microwave these days.
I heard using those plastic covers can leak chemicals in the food from the heat.
I now only use a paper towel to cover my ood.
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Apr 2, 2004
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GTA
I used to use plastic wrap over the plate/bowl but I stopped after reading reports of plastic potentially leaching into food. I don't use plastic containers in the microwave at all, even those which say microwave safe. For covering food, I just put a larger plate over my plate of food. Use cautionl when taking the top plate off though. It's easy to get burned from the steam. Silicon oven mitts are a definite must.
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Jun 12, 2003
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i cover my bowl with a vented microwave lid (easier to clean the lid than the microwave) and set the timer

if my food is really cold, then i'll set the power level to something low and increase the timer (conduction amongst the food itself will warm up the food more evenly)
ShadowVlican
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Mar 8, 2012
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Wax paper to cover potentially explosive food.

I usually divide cooking times into smaller portions to allow for multiple re-arrangements of the material to ensure more even heating. Multiple stops for stirs if dealing with liquids. "Combo" plates of course, get a combination of the above techniques. The stuff in the middle never heats up as fast, drives me crazy.

If more than one plate is involved they are heated alternately with the stir & shuffle being done while the other portion heats.

Was never a "cooking on 10" kind of guy & think that each molecule deserves equal excitation from microwave radiation, unlike my Wife. We have separate microwaves to avoid conflict during tired, hungry, late or whatever periods. Patience is not one of her virtues when one or more of the previously mentioned conditions exist.

A note on plastic wrap: Last week Mrs. rayray13 served me some yummy cannelloni. Remembering that last piece of garlic bread I had left in the bar fridge, I loosened an edge of the plastic wrap on the plate and zapped it. Heard some sizzling & when I pulled it out the plastic wrap that had covered the face of the garlic bread seemed to have vaporized. The wrap all along the crust of the bread stretching to the edge of the plate was perfectly intact. It was a puzzling sight but cannelloni trumped science and soon all that remained was a happy stomach and a memory of a curiosity that had nowhere to go but to fade into the warehouse of memories a la Raiders of the Lost Ark.
prae praesto filum clostrum
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May 31, 2006
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Burlington
To reheat refrigerated food, I use the vented plastic dome and the defrost cycle, never full power!
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Dec 24, 2006
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Wow, I'm surprised with the amount of not at full power responses.

I just set the timer and let it go. I think my microwave is at 1200W power (I have to reread that thing again).

Do most of you just do it so it more evenly cooks?
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menaknow wrote: Wow, I'm surprised with the amount of not at full power responses.

I just set the timer and let it go. I think my microwave is at 1200W power (I have to reread that thing again).

Do most of you just do it so it more evenly cooks?
Same here. I don't even know how to adjust the power setting properly. Makes sense though.
rayray13 wrote:I usually divide cooking times into smaller portions to allow for multiple re-arrangements of the material to ensure more even heating. Multiple stops for stirs if dealing with liquids. "Combo" plates of course, get a combination of the above techniques. The stuff in the middle never heats up as fast, drives me crazy.

If more than one plate is involved they are heated alternately with the stir & shuffle being done while the other portion heats.
I do this a bit sometimes too, manly rice or chinese food that has more loose items.

But who here grew up with the old school microwaves that didn't have the 'turning plate' in the microwave. If just left in there, it would be extremely hot on one side, and still frozen on others.

Even instructions on the food packaging specifically said to mix/stir it around in between the suggest heated times.
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Mar 24, 2004
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I try to avoid anything other than ceramic or glass in the microwave. No plastics (even if it's claimed to be microwave safe). Not sure if it's really detrimental to health, just don't have a good feeling about it.

//edit: Also paper is fine. I've always just put the time in (33, 66, 111seconds) ... never really thought about less power. Maybe I should do so?

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