Microwave harm: is it greatly exaggerated? Grill function - what is it? Microwave ovens are dangerous.

The microwave oven was first introduced to the public in 1947, and became popular in the mid-70s. Today, without this democratic technique in everyday life, it’s like without hands. We will tell you how to use the microwave so that it serves for a long time and without failures. And let's start with the unusual principle of heating products in it.

When a substance is heated, the molecules in it begin to move faster. At first, those molecules that are closer to the heat source are accelerated, then they transfer energy to the rest. This is clearly seen when you need to quickly stew frozen vegetables in a pan. At first they are warm on the outside, but cold on the inside.

But the opposite is true for the microwave. The waves penetrate deep into the food by 2-5 cm, "encouraging" water and fat molecules from there. When we take a heated closed jam pie out of our lg oven, it is warm on the outside and hot on the inside.

Microwaves are short electromagnetic radio waves. They are approximately in the same range as the radiation from mobile phone. In microwave ovens, the most commonly used frequency is 2.45 GHz, in models made in the USA - 915 MHz.

What to look for when installing a microwave

By the microwave simple instruction for installation: put the oven and plug it into a power outlet. But the details matter. For example, is it possible to put a microwave oven on a refrigerator or dishwasher? If there is very little space, then you can.

But pay attention to the following points:

• air gaps must be left for ventilation on all sides oven, up and down;
• do not install the oven near radio equipment, this creates interference;
• do not place the microwave oven near heating devices, this will shorten the service life;
• keep in mind that the microwave oven creates a slight vibration, so it itself can cause a malfunction of the devices on which it is installed;
• the surface under the microwave should be as flat as possible, without a slope.

How to prepare for use

Microwaves are invisible, but the result of their work is quite noticeable. Therefore, even before the first connection to the network read the operating instructions carefully microwave ovens.

Step 1. Make sure the utensils you are going to use are microwave safe. After all, in order to understand how to use a microwave, you must first learn what not to do. Do not use metal utensils because microwaves do not penetrate metal. By the way, that is why the oven of the Samsung microwave oven and any other brand is made of metal, creating additional protection. Dishes made of wood, bamboo, aluminum foil, paper bags are also not recommended.

Step 2. Check installed on dashboard power (power button). For different products she is different. Maximum is good for popcorn. For defrosting, it is better to set 30-40% of the power.

Microwave power levels for cooking various dishes can be found in the table:

Step 3. Stock up on containers in which you can cook without harming the microwave oven. Do not put hermetically sealed objects, corked bottles into the oven. When using special containers, make sure that the steam release valve is open.

Step 4. When using frozen and prepared foods, read the label on how to cook them in the microwave. If there is no description, warm up in several stages. Chop large raw vegetables so they cook faster.

Basic rules of use

A microwave cannot be compared in terms of danger with a car, and even gas stove but still there are rules to follow. There are not so few of them, we counted 7 universal for all models:

1. Do not start the oven empty, put at least a cup of water.
2. Before using the grill in the microwave, remove protective layer from the element. It must be heated for 5 minutes in a working oven by putting water there.
3. Do not turn on the microwave oven with the door open!
4. Fruits with skin, such as potatoes, or sausages wrapped in cellophane, pre-pierce with a fork in several places.
5. Do not leave food unattended during heating, it may burn or start to “shoot”, then you will complain that the paint has peeled off in the microwave. It is best to cover food during heating with a special plastic cap.
6. Wait a little before taking out the heated dish. There is a danger of scalding from the vapors that have accumulated during heating. The edges of the dishes may also be hot.
7. When caring for the surface, use only soft products and a sponge.

Microwaves are electromagnetic waves one millimeter to one meter in length, or equivalent to a frequency of 300 MHz (0.3 GHz) to 300 GHz. There is a very wide variety of options including: UHF (Ultra high frequency- decimeter), microwave (super high frequency - centimeter waves), EHF (extremely high frequency - millimeter waves) waves. Various sources using different waves.

The microwave oven is a unique machine, and it may seem very complicated only if you are not familiar with it. This article will tell you how to use it.

Steps

Read the instructions and safety instructions carefully. There are many things you need to know in this little brochure.

Plug in the oven. Do not turn on too many electrical appliances at the same time, otherwise you may simply lose power.

1. Set the time during which you are going to heat something in the oven.

   • If your oven has a dial, turn it clockwise until the display reads right time.
   • If your oven has a numeric keypad, enter required amount minutes and then right amount seconds.
   • You may need to press "Cook" before the time setting is activated.

2. Apply your knowledge to specific oven functions.

   • Start by baking potatoes in the microwave. If you are baking only one or two potatoes or sweet potatoes, reduce the power so the potatoes don't burn on the outside while they cook on the inside.
   • Reheat leftovers on low power.
   • Heat the milk coffee on medium power and carefully check when to stop so that the milk retains its properties.
   • Cook "S" mores dessert in the oven for a visual demonstration of the power of the microwave oven for cooking whole food at once: marshmallows quickly become extremely large.
   • Cook something large (but not huge, leave plenty of room on the sides and stack ingredients loosely, some microwaves can break) on full power. For example, cook at full power a few kilos of mashed potatoes, simply folded over and covered with plastic wrap, or washed and folded into plastic bag. (Try cooking fifteen minutes at high speed for up to 5kg potatoes.)
   • Pre-cook veggies in the microwave before frying, so that they are fully cooked on the inside and do not burn on the outside.
   • Microwave popcorn in a prepackaged bag or in a covered bowl with a small amount oils (look for the recipe). You did not expect such recommendations in the article and that they will work, but it is. Follow the instructions carefully; It is better to stop the microwave cooking process sooner rather than later. It's better to get popcorn that's almost properly cooked than spoiled popcorn. As a rule, this should be done at full power to make the small grains explode rather than slowly hiss, evaporating the moisture. Try lifting the bag of popcorn off the bottom of the oven for extra heat if you end up with a lot of raw and burnt popcorn at the same time.

   Explore your microwave

   1. Understand how a microwave oven heats food.

      • Microwaves penetrate and generate heat inside wet food. Unlike most other cooking methods, which only heat the surface of the food, whether it be convection, such as hot air (roasting), steam (steaming), oil (roasting) or water (boiling), or non-penetrating radiation, as in skewers. (Essentially, convection is just intense flow to facilitate conduction.)
        • microwaves do not affect the food "from the outside", but thin food is cooked, in fact, whole and at once, and thin food is deeply heated, while the rest of the food needs to be warmed up well.
        • Unlike boiling and other methods, there is no hot, thick liquid in the oven that will transfer its heat to large portions of food. Don't go overboard with the microwave, even with fairly loose foods like a large stack of potatoes.
      • The oven generally cannot cook well food that does not contain a lot of water, including that which is light and airy.
        • Do not reheat food that does not contain enough water for more than a minute or so, or until the oven has been turned off for a while. Place a cup of water (which will be heated) in the microwave to absorb excess waves. This will help protect the oven from overheating and damage from excess microwaves.
        • In general, don't expect to do well with foods that need to dry out during cooking, such as pastries, unless you use a special oven-friendly recipe, of course.
      • Microwave ovens tend to have a lot of hot and cold spots from standing waves. The moving disc solves this problem by moving food through hot and cold spots. Very thin, flat, hard food cannot quickly conduct heat through it on cold spots. In some microwave ovens, small or thin foods cook best if they are supported off the bottom, such as on a plate that is placed on top of an upside-down bowl.

   2. Study how heat flows through food. During microwave cooking, the outer layer, about 2.5 cm or a dish of that thickness, heats up all at once. Heat must pass through the food to cook the rest.

      • In a microwave oven, the heat must also flow in patches from high to low heat.
      • Dishes on water based, and the only thing that the oven is able to cook, cannot heat up more than up to 100 degrees Celsius until all the water in the “heating spots” has boiled away. At more intense heating than sufficient temperature to heat the outer layer, the rate of entry of heat flows into the food and the activation of reactions for cooking is not increased (and, perhaps, will be very poorly absorbed) by heat conduction through the water main part of the food. It just dries the outside faster.
        • You may have come across this principle while cooking a steak. Nessesary to use strong heat- just give the surface, and then fry the meat inside on low heat to the desired level of readiness, preventing the surface from burning.
        • Pressure cookers do not allow water to boil when it is heated to a high temperature and thus also cook very quickly. But they are more or less limited to boiling (or, in the case of a dedicated factory fryer for frying chicken, deep frying).
      • It is sometimes desirable to cook food with even less heat to allow the outer layer of the dish to cook without the need for further additional outer frying. It takes longer because for the weak thermal regime and flow temperature gradation is much smaller heat flow. However, even with longer cooking times, excessive heating of the outside at temperatures close to the boiling point can be tolerated.
        • Consider vacuum cooking. Try experimenting with something like this in the microwave. Start simple - maybe beat an egg into a plastic wrapper... and be very careful with everything raw meat or other potentially hazardous products that require certain temperatures to be fully cooked and kill all bacteria. (There is a small risk that something new and bad may be found in the food during microwave cooking, because this process is quite fast.)
        • It is very important to prevent anything containing milk, such as hot chocolate, from burning. Don't even let it boil because the milk can curdle.
        • Foods with a high water content, such as thin soups, can also be cooked on a higher setting because they allow heat to pass through them through convection. (Thick pureed soups will not evaporate and will blister and sizzle in places from excess microwaves.)
      • Therefore, lower the power if you are reheating only a few foods, so that hot spots do not overheat while the rest of the dish is cooking. As a general rule, when reheating a dish, turn the appliance on at half power, unless, of course, you are heating a huge portion of something liquid or a dish of many components, at least more than 5 cm high. To heat something ready, which can burn, for example, chicken, use the "defrost" mode or set the oven to a quarter of the power.
      • If you have toasted food on the outside before cooking on the inside, just lower the power to the first one - you don't have to increase the cooking time. Remember that too heat does not speed up the cooking process, but simply dries out the dish.

   3. Explore side effects other cooking methods and use them as desired.

      • Some cooking methods, such as frying, smoking, or boiling with salt or spices, also add ingredients and thus flavor properties to the food. Microwaving does not involve adding any ingredients, so add whatever spices you like (including "liquid smoke," smoke particles carefully collected and dissolved in water) before or after cooking. Add sparingly: only a very small proportion of the spices added to the dish actually dissolve in it.
      • Some cooking methods make food moist. Some, such as boiling (thrown into water), add too much moisture and wash out the vitamins. In general, all that is needed for drying food is a little polyethylene film with a couple of holes to avoid high pressure. But if the dish is on the verge of drying out, you can always add a little water and cover it with a lid.
      • Some cooking methods dry food on the outside. Microwaves release steam and excess moisture, so if a crispy crust is required, the inside of the dish is usually cooked first and then the outside is fried.
      • If you cover food during cooking, be sure to leave a small area open for ventilation so you don't get burned by the steam when you remove the lid.
      • There may also be "cold spots" left on the back, where the food hasn't warmed up enough to kill the bacteria. Follow instructions for mixing rotation.
      • The dish should sit after being removed from the microwave for as long as indicated in the recipe so that the heat continues to spread and dissipate. This is called "infusion time" but it actually lasts longer than the brew time.
      • Most ovens have hot spots, and if you are going to eat food directly from the oven, it can overheat and burn in several places.

There is a heated debate about the benefits and harms of microwave ovens. Some believe that the microwave should not be used at all, others argue that the oven can only serve a couple of years, and then it should go on a well-deserved rest, others cannot live without this necessary equipment. Who is really right? How to properly use a microwave oven and how long can it last?

We extend the service life

Let's start with the fact that if you use the microwave in accordance with all the rules, then it can last 5 years or more without harm to the health of its owners. A serviceable oven does not spark, closes tightly, has no foreign odors, and is fairly quiet. If you notice any problems, immediately unplug the microwave and take it in for repair. Breakdowns can lead to health problems.

Important: in order to prolong the service life, it is necessary to properly care for the microwave oven, use only suitable utensils and cook food following the recommendations of the manufacturers.

Let's start with what not to do if you want the microwave to last for many years:

• turn on an empty oven;
• load less than 50 g of products;
• put metal utensils inside;
• cook food for a long time (there is a risk of fire);
• strongly rub the mica plate, which is located on the side wall inside the microwave;
• use the oven in case of visible damage (glass is broken, the door comes off, etc.);
• boil or heat eggs;
• heat food tightly closed banks and containers.

Understand what can't be done. Now it remains to understand what can and should be done.

Choosing dishes for the microwave

It is advisable to use only special dishes for the microwave oven, which has the following inscriptions:

• microware oven safe
• microware oven;
• suitable for microware.

All of them indicate that this dish is guaranteed to be put in the microwave. If you have dishes or containers that you are not sure are safe, do the following test. Pour water into a glass and put it in the oven. Place an empty test dish nearby, and turn on the appliance at full power. If after a minute the “experimental” object does not heat up, you can safely use it.

Important: try to buy only round dishes, as much dirt usually accumulates in the corners. more heat, which can cause the food to burn.

How to care

First of all, the microwave must be kept clean. To do this, you can use a special plastic cap during cooking and heating food - so the walls will remain intact. Also, every day it is necessary to wipe the oven inside and out with a damp cloth without aggressive substances.

If the microwave oven cabinet is too dirty, it can be cleaned in just a few minutes. To do this, pour water with lemon into a large plate and put it inside. Turn on the oven for 3-6 minutes. Once the fat is soaked, it will be very easy to get rid of it. There are a few more.

How to cook

When cooking, keep in mind that the food inside is heated unevenly, and therefore some parts may remain raw. If these are vegetables or fruits, then there will be no particular harm, but if meat or fish is not baked, then bacteria will remain that can be harmful to health. To prevent this from happening, it is advisable to cut them into small pieces (up to 5 sq. cm).

Important: Please note that soft, porous foods heat up faster than hard ones, so they take less time to cook.

If you want to reheat baby food or formula in the microwave, be sure to stir it after you take it out of the oven: some pieces may be hot while others won't reheat at all. True, most pediatricians still advise not to use a microwave oven for children's products.

Juicy fruits and vegetables with thick skins should be pierced with a fork before cooking. It is also worth doing with sausages, if you do not want them to "explode". But the eggs should not be put inside in any form - even without the shell, otherwise you will have to wash the oven ahead of time. As for the rest of the dishes, it is advisable to stir them several times during heating or cooking in order to evenly distribute the heat.

That's all the "tricks" associated with the operation of the microwave oven. Compliance with all these recommendations will help you extend its life by several years. And remember: you can only use a working microwave!

Are microwave ovens dangerous? A growing body of research says yes. You need microwave protection at home. It is a fact that microwave ovens represent different kinds.

"Microwave" Facts

• Microwave radiation itself can penetrate the body and damage human cells and tissues.
• Microwaved foods raise cholesterol and stress levels and reduce white blood cells.
• All Appliances, which runs on electricity, produces a toxic electromagnetic field (EMF), around 60 hertz. This is in excess of a potential microwave leak.

What does a microwave oven do to food?

In the microwave alternating current causes the atoms to reverse polarity in an astonishingly large way. This creates such strong friction that the water inside the food molecules begins to vibrate and heat up. Unfortunately, this action also distorts, disrupts, and destroys molecules.

Microwave ovens are dangerous

Take a look at how microwave ovens cook food (see above) and then imagine that the same microwave radiation can do in your body.

Microwave leaks are serious enough that organizations such as the FDA (Federal and Drug Administration in the United States), for example, place strict restrictions on manufacturers. But as the oven ages, leakage tends to exceed limits. This is bad news because the microwave energy inside a microwave oven is very powerful.

• The frequency inside the microwave oven is 2.45 billion hertz.
• The frequency that begins to harm the human body: more than 10 hertz.

2450000000 against 10 hertz. It doesn't take very much damage to leak (one of the main culprits: aging of the sealing material in the door).

Harmful effects of microwaves:

• Weakened immune system.
• Reduced resistance to bacterial and viral infections.
• Cataract.
• birth defects.
• Many other serious illnesses

Facts about microwave ovens and cataracts

• The eyes are especially vulnerable to microwave ovens. This is because, unlike other areas of the body, they do not have blood vessels capable of dissipating heat.
• The first suspected clinical case of UHF-induced cataract was reported in the early 1950s.
• For decades, cataracts have been reported in workers exposed to this radiation.

Dangers of Microwave Foods

Microwaves break chemical and molecular bonds, disrupting basic biochemical structures. Not surprisingly, food prepared in this way is unhealthy to eat.

Microwave ovens affect food in this way:

• Reduce vitamin B12 levels. Vitamin B 12 is essential for the formation of red blood cells, preventing anemia, and is essential for the health of the nervous system.
• 97% reduction in flavonoids. Flavonoids have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and antimicrobial properties.
• Break down bacterial enzymes in breast milk. Children use enzymes from milk to create a healthy internal ecosystem, digest food, absorb nutrients and protect their bodies from pathogens.
• Lower levels of synapic acid. Synapic acid neutralizes free radicals that cause cancer.
• Decreased levels of antibodies in breast milk. Antibodies in mother's milk protect babies from infections.

Microwaving food can retain more vitamins than boiling, for example, but that doesn't make it a safe and nutritious way to cook food. Microwave oven can significantly change the level of vitamins and nutrients which are necessary for the health of the body.

Microwaving makes food unhealthy by forming harmful compounds

When microwave radiation destroys and deforms food molecules, it forms new form harmful compounds (radiolysis of compounds). These dangerous compounds can harm the body in many ways.

Nowadays, almost every person in the house has a microwave oven. With it, it is convenient to heat food, defrost, cook interesting dishes and even grill meat. However, not everyone knows how to use the microwave so that it lasts as long as possible and the food turns out to be of high quality.

Instructions for use

When purchasing your first or new microwave, first of all, you should read the instructions. In it you can learn about the purpose of the buttons and about all its possibilities, for example, about the grill function in the device. Only after that you can start using it.

How to turn on the microwave?

It's the first thing people think about. Brief instruction on device activation:

1. To begin with, you need to put it on flat surface, for example, on the table.
2. Then plug into the socket, as the device cannot work without electric current.
3. After that, you may need to click on the "Start" or "Cook" button. On some devices, you can do without buttons. It is enough to turn the cooking time timer. After all these actions, the oven should work.

As for the timer, this is important element, as it regulates the cooking time. Now you can meet different types timers, which one is better is hard to say. The most common is the dial, which must be turned clockwise until the desired time is displayed on the screen. There is also a numeric keypad that requires you to enter seconds and minutes.

You need to know exactly how much you need to heat or cook specific foods so that they do not deteriorate. The information is often found on the product packaging.

What utensils do you need?

Having figured out how to turn on the microwave and set the time, you need to decide on the dishes that can be placed in the microwave. It is not recommended to load metal bowls and objects that can melt into the oven. It is also undesirable to put plates that can get very hot. Cookware designed specifically for the microwave oven is ideal. It meets all the requirements and will not harm the microwave.

If you want to heat up products that tend to splash or burst, then they should be covered with a special plastic cap. It can be tomatoes, apples, sausages, pea soup, etc.

Defrost function

Each microwave has a defrost mode that is designed for frozen foods. It should be used before cooking ice meat. It usually takes 15 to 30 minutes for the defrost to be fully completed.

After learning how to use the microwave, you need to take care of it.

Care rules:

• It must be cleaned regularly, after disconnecting from the network.
• For achievement best result gratings should be pulled out, turntable and other similar items.
• They need to be washed in warm water with liquid soap and then let it dry on its own.
• The microwave itself should be cleaned with a barely damp cloth, removing all the crumbs and stains of grease that are present on the surface.
• It is important not to use water, as it may cause the appliance to malfunction. How to properly care for appliances, will tell the article - How to clean the microwave?
• When the microwave becomes clean, you can return the grills, turntable and other items to their place.

Now you can use the microwave again.

How many years can be used?

When wondering how many years you can use a microwave, you need to remember the quality of the device.

Expensive microwave ovens can last 5-8 years without failures, but cheap ones can break even after 3 years.

Also, the duration of operation depends on how many times a week a person uses a microwave and how well he takes care of it. There are cases when the microwave oven works normally even after 11 years. Although experts do not recommend using such old devices. They can be hazardous to health, as the protective layer on the screen is depleted, and harmful radiation begins to affect a person. In addition, the device becomes obsolete and starts to work worse. To make it last longer, you need to know how to use the device correctly.

From this we can understand that the question of how much microwave can be used is purely individual. Usually, the owner himself understands when it is time to replace the device, since the device becomes inconvenient to use after a certain period of time.

Are Microwaves Harmful?

Almost everyone could hear or read that microwaves are dangerous to health. However, despite such statements, the devices continue to be sold, and many people do not stop cooking in them. Is it harmful to use a microwave - that's what every owner of such a device should know.

Anyone who cooks in the microwave can be immediately reassured. Microwaves are not dangerous to humans and do not poison food.

Yes, microwave radiation in itself is harmful, but the body of the device reliably protects against them. If it's intact, then there's nothing to worry about. But if the door glass is broken or there is another malfunction, then the device should be handed over for repair or thrown away. In this case, they cannot be used, as it becomes really dangerous.

In studies designed to answer the question of whether it is possible to use a microwave, there was no negative effect on food. On the contrary, foods that have been cooked in a microwave oven retain about 90% of the vitamins, while those for which traditional culinary methods have been used retain only 40-60% of the vitamins. From this we can conclude that if you know exactly how to use the microwave, then it will only benefit.

Grill function - what is it?

Grilling in the microwave is a very common feature that many appliances support. However, not all people know whether it is possible to cook with it. delicious food or not. Of course, this is possible, especially if the microwave oven model is of high quality and expensive. You can make delicious vegetables, chicken, meat and other products in it.

Understanding how to use a microwave grill is not always easy. From the first time it is rarely possible to cook the product, since it is still not clear what temperature and time to set. In addition, the grill is heated and quartz, and their functions are very different.

To cook, for example, chicken, you will need:

1. Place it on wire racks or string it on a skewer, if you have one.
2. Turn on the grill function and set the time to about 30-40 minutes. It is good if there is a quartz heater, as it cooks food better.
3. Wait the specified amount of time.

As a result, the chicken should turn out to be completely fried and with a crispy crust in a grill device. If it is not ready in 40 minutes, then the time should be increased by 15-20 minutes. The same can be done with other products, as the grill function in the appliance is really versatile and useful.

Video instruction

Modern microwave ovens can often seem incomprehensible to use, so it is recommended to watch a video that, using one of them as an example, talks about turning it on, setting the timer, and all the functions of the device.

Happy cooking!

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