Microwaves are a crucial household appliance that many people can’t live without, but now one YouTuber has revealed a secret button on the machine that could be a total game changer.
In a video posted by USA Today on YouTube, the vlogger explained that the cook power button can make all the difference when it comes to heating our favourite foods.
From a technical perspective, the cook power setting helps change the intensity and duration of the microwave waves, which in turn will impact how the heat disperses across the food.
Stronz Vanderploeg explained that the button will get rid of that all too familiar habit of microwaves underheating or overheating our food, insisting that this method will produce far more consistent results.
Firstly, he started by debunking the common habit of setting our microwaves to the highest heat setting in order to get the quickest results.
He claimed that a more slow and steady approach wins the race, explaining that we should think about the way in which we use our ovens when it comes to heating in our microwaves.
The vlogger explained: “You might think that full power is best because it’s going to cook the fastest, but you would never set your oven to the highest temperature for every recipe. The same is true for your microwave, you want to lower the power and cook for longer.”
He added that this way of thinking is particularly the case when cooking foods from frozen, saying that by heating foods from the freezer on full power, we’ll most likely see them end up with a piping hot surface but remain “icy cold” on the inside. If you lower the power by using the cook power setting, the food will cook more evenly throughout.
He did admit that we might have to be prepared for some trial and error in order to properly hack the new way of using our microwaves, saying: “Microwaving like this will slightly increase the cook times, but it’s nothing significant . You might have to experiment a few times to see which power levels work with which foods, but I highly recommend you give it a try.”
Meanwhile, the Daily Express reported that there are five things that are impacting how our microwaves work and even shortening their life span.
Andrew Wright, the founder of Cookology, a kitchen appliance brand, has pointed out that simple errors could be spoiling our food and even harming the microwave itself. “Microwaves are brilliant tools when used properly, but we see the same mistakes again and again,” Andrew said. “People often treat them like a one-button solution, but a little know-how goes a long way in improving results and extending the life of the machine.”
The mistakes included: “Using unsafe containers, forgetting to stir or rotate, sealing containers too tightly, neglecting hygiene and using oyur microwave’s surface for storage.”