Why You Should Never Microwave Water?

 

Microwaves have made their set place in the kitchens. They are very efficient as they take less time to heat food and has no significant impact on taste and nutrition. But one of its limitations is that it restricts some containers, material, and food items. The restrictions help in avoiding fire and other chemical reactions, and water is one of them. It is always recommended that you should never heat water in a microwave.

Why You Should Avoid Heating Water?

The simplest answer to this question is that the microwave heats water to the boiling point.

In detail, the electron tube called magnetron produces microwaves. These microwaves collide with the metal surface and reflect the food. The microwaves vibrate the water waves creating thermal energy that heats the food. A container filled with water contains only water, all of the molecules at a once start vibrating simultaneously and achieve a boiling point and gets superheated, that goes even above 100°C. According to one report of University of New South Wales, a liter of water when is superheated by a one degree can produce three liters of heat.

The bubbles which form when heating water on a stove or a heater does not form in a microwave. The bubbles help the water to release the heat. But the water that has been heated up to a boiling point without bubbles explodes with a minor movement.

How to Heat Water in the Microwave?

Above all, it is recommended that you should never try to heat water in a microwave. But if you are very keen to heat water in the microwave, you should heat it within small intervals and must heat a lesser amount of water in a big container.  

Read also: How Do You Cook With a Convection Oven?

The steps to heat water in a microwave oven are:

• Select a microwave-safe container: Make sure that you do not use plastic. The container must be made of glass and ceramic.
• Do not use a sealed container: The container must never be seal locked because it increases the chance of explosion.
• Put a metal inside the container: The metal inside the container will reflect the microwaves. Therefore the lesser amount of microwaves will curtail the chances of superheating the water.
• Slightly touch the sides of the container: A tap on the side of the container helps in releasing heat.
• Be careful of your hands while removing the container: When you remove the container, make sure that you use hot pads.

Heating Water in a Microwave Convection Oven

The above-stated reasoning and precautions go for both, be it solo microwave convection oven. Because the only difference between the two ovens is that microwave just heats the food, but the convection can bake, grill, roast, blanch, and heat the food.

What Other Things You Should Avoid Heating in a Microwave Oven?

The other things that you should never heat are tea, meat, boiled eggs, breast milk, and heating the oven with nothing inside.