20 Things You Didn’t Know Your Microwave Could Do

Everyone has a microwave in their homes these days and it is amazing what they can do. Most people only use them for reheating their food and don’t realize what all they can really do. There are so many neat tricks they can help you with throughout your day that can save you time and money. From a few cleaning tricks to making cutting up onions easier for you, here are 20 things you didn’t know your microwave could do.

Making Cutting Up Onions Easier

Cutting up onions can make anyone tear up. However, now you don’t have to cry every time you cut up onions because there is a neat little trick to taking out the burn. Simply cut the ends off the onion you want to cut, place the onion in the microwave on high for about 30 seconds and once the timer goes off, you can cut the rest of it without your eyes burning and tearing up.

You Can Re-Use Stamps

Not many people know about this neat little trick — but if you can’t afford to buy a stamp, you can just take one off another letter and reuse it. Doing this with a microwave makes things a whole lot easier too.

Simply place a couple of drops of water on the stamp you want to remove and reuse, place it in the microwave for about 20 seconds and the stamp will come off easily without damaging it. This can save you money by not having to buy extra stamps all the time.

Make Brown Sugar Nice Again

If your brown sugar is clumping up after so long, you can easily make it nice and soft again for use. This will save you from buying new brown sugar. This is especially good if you don’t use it that often and instead of buying new brown sugar every time you need it, just spruce up the old.

Just place a piece of dampened paper towel in the box of brown sugar, close the box lid tightly, and put the whole thing in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds. This will make it nice and soft again.

Clean A Dirty Microwave

When it comes to reheating food in the microwave, you never know when the food will explode inside and make a huge mess. When this happens, you end up scrubbing the microwave really hard and fighting to get the stuck on food off of it. You don’t have to do this anymore once you learn this neat trick.

Just take a microwave safe bowl and put some water in it with a little bit of vinegar. Place inside the microwave and heat for five minutes. Once done, take the bowl out and wipe the food right off with a kitchen sponge or paper towel. The hot water with vinegar creates steam that will easily get rid of the stuck on food inside.

Another Way To Clean A Messy Microwave

If you don’t have any vinegar but you do have paper towels, you can place damp paper towels inside your microwave for about three to five minutes on high power. This will cause steam as well, so when the microwave goes off, just let the towels cool for a few minutes and use them to wipe the food and grime away. This is a simple, yet effective way to clean a microwave.

Cooking Fish Well

When it comes to cooking fish well, you want to make sure it is done and comes out delicious as well. You can do it fast in the microwave. Just make sure the fish is well dried and overlap two thin fillets together. Overlapping the fillets makes it so it will cook evenly. Put it in the microwave and remove it once all of it is opaque. By doing it this way, the fish will continue to cook while sitting there and will come out better. However, if you leave it inside the microwave too long, it will overcook so as soon as you see it looking opaque take it out and let it set.

Drying Herbs In The Microwave

Instead of waiting on your herbs to dry by themselves, put them in the microwave to make them dry faster. You can easily dry them in the microwave by placing a cup of parsley or other herbs on a paper towel and putting them in the microwave for two to four minutes. Take them out and crumble them on the paper towel when done.

Restore Your Old Honey

If you have a jar of honey that has crystalized because you have had it for so long, you can easily restore it in the microwave. All you have to do is remove the lid and place it in the microwave for about two minutes to restore it back to its original glory.

Make A Hot Compress Fast

Instead of waiting on the tap water to heat up to make a hot compress, wet a towel or cloth and place it in the microwave for about one minute on high power. This makes for a nice, soothing hot compress to ease your aches and pains away.

Get More Juice Out Of Your Fruits

When you want to make your own lemonade or orange juice and need to get more juice out of the fruit, just put them in the microwave on high power for about 20 to 30 seconds. By doing this you will have a really juicy fruit that will also be easier to squeeze.

Testing Microwave Safe Containers

When you want to make sure your containers are safe enough for the microwave, just fill a cup up with cold water and place this cup on top of the container you want to test. Put them both in the microwave like this for about one minute on high. When you take them out and the water is hot but the container is still cool, your container is safe for the microwave. However, if the water and the container are both hot, it is not microwave safe.

Keeping Your Bread Moist But Not Soggy

When making something on bread, but want to heat it up in the microwave, you can keep it moist without going soggy by placing paper towels either under or around your food. By doing this, the paper towels will draw out the moister, leaving your bread non-soggy.

Peel Garlic Faster

If you are making something that calls for peeled garlic and you don’t want to fight to peel the garlic, place it in the microwave for 15 seconds. The heat from the microwave will draw out moisture that gets trapped in the skin and loosens it up, resulting in it peeling easier.

Peel Fruits Easier

If you want to peel a peach or a tomato easily, without having problems when doing so, place them in the microwave for 30 seconds on high power. Take them out and allow them to sit for two minutes and the skin will peel right off.

Poached Eggs Without The Hess

You can make perfect poached eggs without making a huge mess in the microwave. Boil the water on the stove first then pour the boiling water from the stove into a microwave safe bowl. Add just a dash of white vinegar and crack the egg into the bowl while lightly piercing the yolk with a toothpick. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and cook in the microwave for 30 seconds on high power. Take the bowl out of the microwave, turn the egg gently onto the other side and cook another 20 seconds on high power. This makes easy and mess-free poached eggs quickly.

Forgot To Soak The Beans Overnight?

If you are making something that calls for your beans to soak overnight but you forgot, doing so in the microwave only takes about 10 minutes. Just place them in a microwave safe bowl, add some bicarbonate of soda, and add water until the beans are completely covered. Put them in the microwave for 10 minutes, take them out and let them set for 30 to 40 minutes and they are ready for your recipe.

Rehydrate Your Stale Bread

If you find your bread is stale but you want to eat it anyway, you can. Just wrap the stale bread in a paper towel and place in the microwave for 10 second bursts on high power. Make sure to check the bread every 10 seconds until it is moist enough for you. This will keep you from throwing away stale bread and wasting it.

Cook Certain Foods Without The Microwave Explosion

By doing this next microwave trick, you can cook certain foods in the microwave without them exploding and making a huge mess. For foods that have thick-skins on them like squash, tomatoes, and potatoes, just pierce the skin before they go in the microwave. This will allow the steam to escape without them exploding and making a huge mess.

Restore Stale Potato Chips

If you want a snack in the middle of the day and find your potato chips are stale, just place them on a paper towels and put them in the microwave for a short amount of time. This will draw out the moisture and bring back the crunch. This makes for a great way to keep potato chips longer without wasting them when they do go stale.

Make Toasty Nuts And Spices

You can easily make your nuts, spices, and seeds toasted in the microwave before eating them or using them in a recipe. Putting them in the microwave can bring the aroma out of them — making them smell great. Just put them in a microwave safe bowl and cook them on high power for 15 second bursts until the aroma comes back.