Do you use a microwave? If so, why?

Popcorn and coffee. I hate to throw coffee out and I let mine get cold frequently so…
That’s about all I use it for, except once in a great while.

I have had the same micro for 30 years and it is still working. The reason it still works is because I don’t use it often. Kinda like @Trillian, just reheat coffee and to nuke leftovers for lunch.

Yes, all the time. I’m not “totally dependent” on it, but I don’t see why I would give it up. The regular oven takes longer, uses more electricity, etc. Not much incentive for me to use it to do things like heat rice, heat leftover pasta, “cook” a frozen entree, heat soup, etc.

And this microwave is much better than the one I had in the dorm last year that cooked so unevenly, I almost didn’t even want to use it. You’d put an entree in and the edges would be so hot the food was starting to harden and the center would be ice cold. I wanted to break it apart a la “Office Space”. :P

Nothing beats having popcorn ready in 95 seconds…

I use my microwave to defost meats. I would hate to just wait longer otherwise. I cook my food from scratch (stove), that’s just how I roll. Heating up awsome leftovers too. Like @Trillian, I’ll warm up my coffee in the microwave as well.

I do. We just moved to a house that has LP gas, and our gas stove is not outfitted to use LP. We can’t afford a new stove at the moment, so we rely on the microwave to boil noodles, an electric skillet, a toaster oven and a Perfection Aire counter top oven. We’d be lost without the microwave right now.

Before, I mainly used it to warm my coffee, and popcorn. Good call, @Deja_vu, I also use it to defrost meat. :)

@jonsblond there are adapters available to switch stoves from LP to Natural gas or from Natural gas to LP. They are cheaper than a whole new stove, and you can hook them up yourself with a little patience, or the LP provider can do it for you.

I use my microwave most of the week. I cook all my meals for the week at one time and then heat them in the microwave.

I am completely dependent on my microwave. I heat everything up and I usually need it done right now. I also drink a lot of tea and hot chocolate and I don’t want to wait for it to heat up on the stove. I just went about two weeks without a working oven and I barely noticed. Were my microwave to break down, I would freak out.

I use the microwave to heat up sandwiches, for the most part. It’s not as good as grilling, since the bread gets a little soggy, but it keeps the pan clean. Less frequently: leftovers, soup, hot chocolate.

@Nullo, if you lightly toast the bread first and it won’t get as soggy.

A microwave is great for heating up leftovers, frozen dinners and soups, as well as an occasional bag of popcorn. It’s quick and doesn’t involve dirtying a pan.

It’s been out of commission for about a month now since a short power-outage. There is some code displayed that isn’t in the manual, and a call to the manufacturer was no help. It’s been surprising to see that I could live without it.

Every couple of weeks I make a fuckton of Manicotti

I freeze serving sizes. I nuke one when I get hungry.

@johnpowell: You freeze serving sizes that you freeze? You sure about that?

I haven’t used a microwave for about 4 years. When I lived at home, my mother read a few books on microwaves and that sort of thing and how awful they are for your health and unplugged ours and put it in the basement/dungeon. Seldom did I dare to venture down there. I once saw a spider in that area the size of my face. No thanks.

And then last year I moved out and decided to not get one…still don’t have one. And for all you guys that say you keep it around for popcorn, I thought I would die without being able to microwave popcorn. Then I started using my boyfriends Whirley-Pop. OH MY GOD. ITS AMAZING. You all gotta get one. They’re like 20 bucks on Amazon.

Anyhow, I don’t find it to be an inconveniece at all. I have a stove and an oven…and it hardly takes any more time to heat stuff up in there than it does in a microwave. And have you ever stood in front of a microwave and breathed in? Its scary.

You can use your microwave to store (or destroy, your call) sensitive electronics, too: the design incorporates a Faraday cage.

@KatawaGrey :: I was editing while you were being tedious.

I use it for 25 -75 seconds every day to reheat my coffee. Generally I use it to reheat things. Or to make 5 minute nachos. And as a kitchen timer. And to boil water. That’s about it.

@johnpowell: I gave you a GA for your department of redundancy department remark. :P

@KatawaGrey :: My brain seams to double down like KFC. I rock repetitive shit.

I do have a microwave, because I live in a dorm and we’re not allowed to have anything else (not even a toaster or a sandwich maker). I rarely use it, though, because I don’t really have leftovers and I try to minimise consumption of frozen food.

Yes. I don’t want to deal with open flames.

@xxii: Your roommates thank you for that. My roommates used to cram a huge amount of frozen food in the freezer and I stopped buying frozen food because there was no room.

I use mine almost exclusively. It’s cleaner, faster, and safer. If I forget to check the food because I am carried away on Fluther, my house won’t burn down.

I have an older half pint microwave. I may use it once a day if that. It sits in a closed cabinet space so that if I’m heating up a bowl of corn for supper I can close the cabinet doors and feel that I’m safer…lol. In the summer I hate to heat up a bunch of stuff on the stove. I don’t want more than two burners going, and so some of the veggies end up in my older, slower microwave.

I have one, but it would not be hard to give up. i mainly use the oven or the hobs, and i would never try to cook a full meal using nothing but a microwave. not because i think they are unhealthy, just because food does not taste so good to me when made in one.

while i would never cook a meal in one, they are very useful for cerain things. such as, steaming some brocoli, defrosting meat, heating up some frankfurters and so on.

It’s judgment. (lawyers hate to see this one misspelled)

I have a microwave and I use it for melting, defrosting, and reheating non-meat dishes. They are so cheap now there’s not much reason not to have one.

@perspicacious The online dictionary says both are correct.

I tried not using a microwave for awhile, but I could not hack it. I’m too lazy to cook.

I use mine a lot. When I make a stew, I nuke the veg first, then they cook so much faster. I will often roast a chicken breast and I like roasted veg with it, so again I nuke first, then they roast in no time. When I make a frittata I do the sliced potatoes and any other veg in the microwave first then add the eggs and cheese and finish off in the oven. It makes it easy to eat healthy foods in a lot less time! I also use it to thaw bread, I keep all bread in the freezer so it doesn’t mold immediately.

Despite the fact that I hate microwave ovens, I use it frequently just because I no longer feel like cooking meals. Going from feeding six to feeding one means I usually cook huge meals for no reason. Using the microwave cuts that down a lot.

What I don’t use it for is heating up water and other “only” liquid things because I read that water does a good job of trapping radiation and that has instilled the fear into me. Although, if it resulted in some kind of super power I’d be all for trying it out.

Single man’s best friend and for obvious reasons!

@BoBo1946 The obvious love affair…
@mrentropy Things to consider, indeed…
@rooeytoo As long as you’re happy…

All the time. I use it to heat up leftovers, heat water or milk for hot beverages, heat my hot pack, sterilize a spong, make a “baked” potato…. My last apartment that I lived in for 3 years had an oven, technically, but the temperature was always off by at least 25 degrees and the range wasn’t much better. So I almost never used them, relying instead on my trusty microwave.

@MissA :))-

The radiation factor that @mrentropy mentioned put the fear into me, as well. Only, I heard “all liquid” not just water.

@Nullo Noted on the Faraday cage.

Wish that Nikola were around to confer with.

@YARNLADY It is permissible in the UK as judgement only in a non-legal context, but not in the USA. In a legal context, the UK also uses judgment. Misspelling it on a pleading in the the USA would be asking for ridicule.

I don’t know where Miss A lives.

@MissA – I don’t understand what you mean, is there a reason why I shouldn’t be happy?

The entire thought was that if you’re concerned about eating healthy, yet as you say, “nuke” your food…then, you might consider why using one might not be so good. BUT, and a very big one…“As long as you’re happy”...that’s great. We all approach life differently and base our choices on the information we have.

@perspicacious and @YARNLADY

If I misspelled judgemental/judgmental, I am truly sorry. It’s in the dictionary, but obviously, not your preference.

Please note that I am neither in the UK nor am I pleading before anyone.

@MissA – I’ve not read anything that says it harms food by nuking it. I don’t use plastic because of the leaching effect but to what are you referring?

@rooeytoo There’s so much information out there about it. Just google it. I’m not sure exactly what would suffice as proof to you. And, I’m not in the business of convincing anyone. If you believe it to be safe, then I’m happy for you. I just wondered how many people use them and if they don’t, why not.

@MissA – I googled and without going past page 4, the only controlled study was done by a Swiss guy and he only tested 8 people.

Are you inferring that you won’t use one? And now I want to ask you why??? Based on the Swiss study or something else?

@rooeytoo My personal choice is to not use one. Just based on tests and views from scientific types much more knowledgeable than myself. I couldn’t name them now, as I’ve not kept track. Like I said, I’m not into convincing anyone here or otherwise.

I searched for options, just to be on the safe side. I finally selected an AGA electric stove/heat storage unit. It remains on 24/7, so there’s no need for a microwave.

Saving precious energy, when heating up leftovers.