By: Diane Quinn
Do you remember all the extra time it took to create a meal before your microwave came into your life? You know you can't live without it, but do you know all of the microwave oven tips and tricks? Adding some of the following tips to your knowledge will make you an even more satisfied user.
Tips and tricks for food
- Citrus fruits-The next time you plan to juice your favorite citrus, squeeze twice as much juice from them by warming one in your microwave oven for approximately 40 seconds.
- Peel tomatoes-Make this difficult job easier by placing two cups of boiling water in a microwave-safe container filled with tomatoes. Heat them on high for approximately one minute. Plunge them into cold water, and be amazed at how easily you can peel their skins.
- Crystallized Honey-Honey has an annoying way of crystallizing over time. Your microwave oven tips and tricks repertoire should include placing the lidless honey jar in your oven and heating it on medium for about two minutes.
- Crackers, rolls and biscuits-Want to resurrect these stale items? Place a double-thickness paper towel in your microwave oven with any of these items and heat on high on medium for one minute.
- Margarine and butter-Never remember to remove these from the refrigerator when baking? Put the amount you need in a microwave-safe bowl, then heat it on low for about one minute (you may have to experiment) to soften.
- Cream cheese-This is another creamy ingredient that sometimes needs to be softened. A quick method is to remove the foil wrapper and heat the cream cheese on medium power for one to one-and-a-half minutes.
- Brown sugar-We also have a microwave oven trick for hardened brown sugar. Fill a glass measuring cup with water and place it in the microwave oven along with a microwave-safe container holding one-half pound of the hard brown sugar. Heat on high for about two minutes. Your hard brick of brown sugar will suddenly become fresh again.
- Onions-Tired of watery eyes every time you peel and chop onions? First trim off the ends, then heat on high power for 30 seconds.
More microwave oven tips and tricks
- When to cover food-Because covering food in a microwave oven traps steam, avoid covering foods that don't benefit from steaming, such as cakes, breaded fish and sauces. For other foods, just be sure that the lid is on properly to accelerate the steaming process.
- Hot compress-If you need one right away, try this microwave tip: Wet a hand towel, and heat it on high for about one minute.
- Cleaning-An easy way to clean the inside of your microwave oven and remove any lingering odors is to heat a cup of water with a lemon slice for a few minutes. (No odors but still dirty? Skip the lemon.)
