Good Ways to Use Microwaves

Precooking Food for Grill

• If you enjoy barbecuing during the summer months, your microwave can actually help cut back on grilling time by partially cooking your foods before you put them on the grill. In particular, you can cut the cooking time for many vegetables in half by placing them in the microwave first. For example, cooking bell peppers for a minute or new potatoes for two minutes in the microwave means less time standing over the grill waiting for them to cook. You can also soften marshmallows in the microwave for 30 seconds before toasting them over your grill for s'mores.

Juicing Citrus Fruits

• When a recipes calls for fresh citrus juice, squeezing all of the juice out of a lemon or lime can be difficult. If your fruit comes straight from the refrigerator, the cold temperature can make them even tougher to juice. You can leave them out on the counter for a while so they come to room temperature, but you might not always have the time. A microwave comes in handy because you can pop your lemons or limes inside for 20 seconds to warm them. The juice inside the fruit is loosened, so you have a much easier time extracting it.

Softening Food Products

• Certain food products have a tendency to solidify and become hard when exposed to air or are left untouched for a prolonged period. While the items haven't necessarily gone bad, they need to be revived before you can use them again. If your honey has solidified, you can liquefy it again by placing the uncovered jar in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute at medium power. When brown sugar becomes hard, you can soften it by adding several drops of water to the plastic bag and placing it in the microwave for approximately 10 seconds.

Sanitizing Sponges

• Another great use for your microwave is as a disinfecting tool. Because it gets so hot, your microwave can kill a variety of germs and bacteria. Instead of throwing them away, you can sanitize and deodorize kitchen sponges that may have come into contact with raw meat or other potential bacteria by soaking them in a mixture of water and lemon juice or water and white vinegar and placing them in the microwave for approximately one minute. The sponges will get extremely hot in the microwave, so be sure to use an oven mitt to remove them. You can also disinfect plastic cutting boards by rubbing them down with lemon juice and placing it in the microwave for approximately a minute.