Today we are going to talk a little about this great invention, the microwave , what many of us did not know is that Percy LeBaron Spencer (7-9-1894 – 8-9-1970) was the inventor of the microwave oven. One day in 1945, he was standing watching a magnetron work with a chocolate bar in his pocket and when he went to pick it up he realized that it was melted. To see if it was a fluke or not, he did the test with corn, and what his surprise would be when popcorn started to pop all over the lab; With these observations that he made, they led him to develop what we know today as the microwave oven, the first one that was sold, do not think it was recently, but it was in 1947 by the Raytheon Company.
This small introduction is very good, but we are going to focus on the uses that are currently being given to this great invention, we use it continuously to heat food or also to make some other simple dish to prepare; But in addition to helping you with hot foods and drinks, there are also some tricks for microwaves that you may not have known, being able to make your life much easier, but be careful not to put something metallic inside it.
Check that your containers are microwave safe :
Not all household items are suitable for the microwave , within the containers in which we can cook is refractory glass ( such as Pyrex, Duralex, Arcopal , …), we can also do it in ceramic, wooden containers, etc.
The only container that we must be careful with is the clay one, since if it is vitrified, its components may contain lead or iron, since conventional microwaves are not made to support these components.
To know if any container that we normally use in our house is suitable or not, there is a simple trick that consists of putting inside the microwave , on top of the turntable, the container that we want to check is empty and next to it a glass full of water, we start the Microwave at the maximum temperature for one minute, when the time is up, if the container is cold it is suitable, but on the contrary if it is hot it indicates that we should not use it for this type of oven.
Peel stamps from envelopes :
If after we have finished writing the recipient’s address on an envelope, we find that it already had the stamp on it and it is misspelled, don’t worry you can get the seal back with this trick and your microwave; moisten the seal with a few drops of water and put the envelope in the microwave for a maximum of 20 seconds, you will see how you can remove the seal without any effort and you will not spoil the seal or the envelope .
To take advantage of mascara or mascara :
Yes, still we have a considerable amount of mascara or mascara left in the tube and it is half dry to use (the applicator brush is usually put in and out several times while we apply it), with this trick it will be the same as the first day of use, we simply put the mascara or mascara tube Inside a glass with water in the microwave and we will only heat it for 40 seconds , it will become fluid as when we bought it and it will be ready to use and thus be able to beautify our looks.
If you don’t want to cry when you chop or peel the onion .
What we cooks want is the solution to avoid having to “cry of sorrow ”every time we cut an onion, well, this one that I leave you is one of the solutions that exist and it is very simple to do, we just have to cut the two ends of the onion and place it for about 30 seconds in the microwave at full power in this way no more crying every time we have to cut an onion.
Roasting spices and drying kitchen herbs :
If we have fresh spices and we want to toast them, we can do so by putting them in the microwave for 15 second intervals , in each interval we stir them so that they roast together. Also if we like the peculiar smell that the spices give off for our home, we can do it by mixing them all in a bowl and heating them as indicated above in 15-second intervals.
We can also dry parsley, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, etc. Any boil that we use as a condiment or dressing for cooking, we can dry them by putting them in a bowl and heating them for a few seconds in the microwave , that way we will dry them and we can keep them for a longer time.
Clean the microwave easily :
Another way to clean the microwave , although we already explained one of them in a previous post , the tea that we bring today is very easy, you just have to moisten several kitchen papers with water then we stick them on the walls of the microwave Leaving the air outlet that exists inside it uncovered, we start it for five minutes and it will be completely clean and the papers can be removed with the dirt from inside the microwave and completely dry; Or on the contrary, if you prefer, you can also wipe it with a damp cloth and it will be shiny.
If you have cooked fish and the smell of it has remained in the microwave, you will only have to put a glass with water and half a lemon , we heat it for 3 minutes and we already have the microwave without any smell.
Sanitizing cutting boards, scouring pads, sponges, and canning jars :
From time to time we have to disinfect different kitchen utensils , with these tricks that I explain below you will not have a problem.
If you want to have your cutting board perfectly clean and without bacteria , you just have to follow these simple steps, which include, of course, the microwave . We wash the cutting board perfectly, then we rub it with a lemon and put it in the microwave for a minute, so we will have it fully disinfected for the next time we use it.
For remove all bacteria from dishcloths, bath sponges and scouring pads (metal scourers cannot be put into the microwave ) without having to use any disinfectant product, it is very simple, we just have to wet them and put them in the microwave at maximum power for about 3 minutes . Ready to use and fully sterilized.
If we want to disinfect any glass jar, almost all of us do it as we have seen our mothers, cooking them before making the preserve that we have chosen to keep for our use, but there is also another way that is much more comfortable and faster for us, it is filling about 100ml. of water (two fingers more or less) the jars that we want to sterilize, we put them in the microwave for three minutes without the lids, ready to use in the new canning.
Chips and sandwich without moisture:
When we have french fries in our house for some time , they tend to take a texture as moistened and we do not like their taste, well, so that we do not have to throw them away, all we have to do is Put a piece of absorbent paper on a plate with the potatoes and put them in the microwave for a few seconds, the paper absorbs the moisture and the potatoes will be crisp again.
If, on the other hand, we have bought ourselves to eat a sandwich and when we open it it is like wet , we do the previous method but this time we have to wrap the sandwich and the paper will absorb the excess water that it contained in this way it will be ready to go. eat.
Hard or lumpy sugar :
If we carry a long time without using a sugar bowl , we will most likely find that eThe sugar it contains has been compacted into a mass forming a single sugar cube or a giant lump , because all we have to do to easily undo it is Put a damp cloth in the sugar bowl or container where we have the “giant lump” and put it in the microwave for 20 seconds and it is ready to have a coffee.
Get the most juice out of a lemon, lime, or orange:
If we want to make the most of the juice or juice of these citrus fruits , we will only have to put them for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave at maximum power and they will be ready to be squeezed.