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kadath
2009-01-29 01:34 am UTC (link)

Then, ladies and gentlemen, she suggests PUTTING A METAL BOWL IN YOUR MICROWAVE to test and see just how hot stuff may get in there. Yeah...

Oh, by the way, you can put a metal bowl in the microwave safely, as long as it's perfectly smooth. There won't be a plasma discharge unless there are two sharp edges or points between which the arc can form. So, the tines of a fork will arc, or gilt decorations on plates, but smooth bowl won't.

Of course, an empty metal bowl won't get hot in a microwave oven, either, since metal reflects microwaves, but I don't see why we should let science interfere with our half-assed culinary advice.

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	caffeine_fairy 2009-01-29 01:13 pm UTC (link)
	Interesting, thanks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

kadath
2009-01-29 04:55 pm UTC (link)

To be clear, I don't recommend microwave cooking even with smooth metal; since it reflects the radiation, only the top of whatever you put in will warm up.

This was actually the principle behind the short-lived microwaveable hot fudge sundaes--the ice cream was in a metal-lined cup, while the fudge was suspended over it in a microwave-transparent plastic dome. You'd nuke it for 15 seconds or something and the fudge would melt all over the ice cream, which stayed cold because the metal reflected the microwaves. They apparently never made it out of test markets because people couldn't get their heads around microwaving ice cream.

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	my thoughts on microwaving ice cream snarkhunter 2009-01-29 09:03 pm UTC (link)
	I microwave ice cream all the time. My freezer is a bit temperamental, and tends to freeze the ice cream into something resembling a glacier. So I nuke it for 10 seconds, and voila! Perfect consistency for scooping. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: my thoughts on microwaving ice cream kadath 2009-01-29 09:45 pm UTC (link)
	I've done that a time or six myself. Little did I know I was eating A TOXIC SLUDGE OF DESTROYED VITAMINS!!!!1! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sionja 2009-01-29 01:52 pm UTC (link)
	gilt decorations on plates This was interesting to find out when I was little. And by interesting, I mean the sudden burst of loud popping coming from the microwave startled the shit out of me. Also, when I warmed up an Arby's sandwich in the microwave in the wrapper. The fire was pretty? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

issendai
2009-01-29 05:19 pm UTC (link)

First thing we put in the microwave when we got one in 1980-something: a mixing bowl with gilt decorations. The arcs were lovely.

This knowledge mysteriously did not help me some 15 years later when I nuked a box of Chinese takeout, complete with metal handle, and melted off the roof of my grandma's microwave. My uncle paid for the repairs--I think he thought I was covering for his daughter, who was staying over, because *I* couldn't possibly be so dimwitted as to put metal in a microwave.

*coughs*

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	bitca 2009-01-29 06:18 pm UTC (link)
	I nuke my Chinese takeout, with the metal handle, all the time. Maybe the metals are different now? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	issendai 2009-01-29 06:22 pm UTC (link)
	Or maybe the handle doesn't touch the top of the microwave like it did in Grandma's microwave? That might be what did it--her microwave was wee. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	risha 2009-01-30 04:28 am UTC (link)
	As kadath noted above, it's all in the shape and smoothness, so the handle might be constructed just that little bit differently. I am not an engineer, so I always err on the side of caution. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	lirazel 2009-01-30 07:39 pm UTC (link)
	Ironically, I had a similar ocurrence when cough putting butter in the microwave to soften, still sitting on its wrapper. I had forgotten about that. Thanks for the reminder! (Reply to this)(Parent)

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