Cooking vegetables in the microwave?

Question

we recently got a microwave and to cook veggies it says to put it on the highest setting which is 1100W. But my Dad recently got a microwave and it's a cheap smaller one and it's highest setting is 840W and it says to cook the veggies on that setting but for only 3 minutes where as on ours we have to do them for around 10 minutes. Why is this? Oh and is there any way that I can make the veggies taste a bit better. I cook them in a microwave vegetable steamer with 2 teaspoons of water in the bottom of the steamer. We also put a mug of water in our microwave at all times as it seems to need a bit of moisture. So should I decrease/increase the water/time or is there something else I should or should not do.

Answer 1

Hi I think you should and a bit more water and if you what taste and some herbs to them when i cook potatoes in the microwave i put them on for 10 to 15 Min's and all the smaller veg  i put in for about 8 to 10 mins

Answer 2

To answer your first question would take a page of first principles explanation in wave energy physics, but sufficed to say your Dad's cheaper microwave is not vey safe for the cooking of food intended for immediate consumption, because some areas of the inside of the microwave cook food faster than other areas, and can lead to a dish that looks ready but on one side it's cold and the other is searingly hot like in the hundreds of degrees.

Newer, more advanced microwaves are built with this in mind, and employ methods to distribute the heat more evenly through the dish, making it safer to use (I say safer, because caution should still be excercised when using any device that heats anything so quickly).

Regarding the moisture level, and the taste of food cooked in a microwave, I strongly advise discontinuing your putting a mug of water, or any open container containing fluid you intend to evaporate, into your microwave! Your best recourse is to purchase a sealable, microwave-safe (marked as such by manufacturer) container with vent holes in the top, that you can put your food into, and all the fluid you need, seal it (with vents open), and put the entire container into the microwave, and nothing else. The inside of the container can be multilevel if you only want to steam and not boil your food. The microwaving of the container cooks the food safely, and the steam is released through the vents of the container and then the vents of the microwave, without too much water vapour building up in dangerous concentrations inside the microwave and affecting the operation of the microwave.

As a guide, water to food ratio should be roughly as follows:

1 cup of dry food needs 1 & 1/3 cup of water for 7 minutes

2 cups of dry food needs 3 cups of water for 12 minutes

3 cups of dry food needs 6 & 1/2 cups of water for 15 minutes and so on

1 cup of frozen food needs 1 cup of water for 4 minutes

2 cups of frozen food needs 2 cups of water for 5 or 6 minutes and so on

2 teaspoons of water in the bottom of the steamer is nowhere near the amount needed, and that's why your veggies taste icky. Also, a mug of water in the microwave with the steamer isn't going to help much at all, if any.

The more time you have the microwave on for, the more water you need to add to the steamer to keep the moisture level up. If it falls, your food will taste bad.

most of these types of microwave steamers can be used to cook rice and steam vegetables simultaneously, but you need to be extremely vigilant about how much time your food is in the microwave for, preferably accurate to the second. you can always put the lid back on and continue the cooking process for a little while longer, but if you cook food for 10 seconds too long (after all the water has evaporated), it can make the food taste terrible. in the same way, your better off adding too much water than too little.

Finally, use water with a low chlorine content if you want your veggies to taste less like chemicals, and buy frozen veggies that are organic, or at least not genetically modified. Trust me, It does affect the taste, as well as how you feel energy wise after having digested the food.

Answer 3

Use those "seal-a-meal" bags. Put your veggies in with a little water and CAREFULLY suck them down to just before the water gets in the machine and then seal it up.This leaves room for expansion.You have to watch closely and be ready to shut it off.I prefer to do the same thing with the bag but boil in a pot of water.No accidental explosions that way.

Answer 4

You will need to have a few practices first, as they are all different, ours is a 1100w and I cook mine for 2 minutes, as I like my vegies crunchy.

Where as your dad's would be smaller and less time, but then it depends, as they are all different.

Good Luck, hope this has helped.

AND TO THE NEGATIVE ANSWERS, DON'T BLOODY ANSWER THEM IF YOU THINK IT IS A STUPID QUESTION.