johnnymk

How do you microwave your soup?

I have tried many ways..putting a paper towel around a ceramic bowl and tucking it under, putting a plate above the bowl. I don't like to use plastic bowls with lids on them. I have read too much bad stuff about the chemicals that are released when microwaving.

I also put the power at 50%. I still get lots of explosions. And if something lets go, I get a mess in the entire oven.

cheapie

Really?

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johnnymk

Thanks for the help, cheapie. I have a jar of Peter Pan peanut butter, almost full (may have salmonella). Are you interested in it?

cheapie

no problem! glad to help.

DarkFury

Umm... why not just warm soup up on the stove top in a pot?

It doesn't really take that long (unless you are trying to have soup for lunch at work where there is no stove. )

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johnnymk

Yes, that's probably the best solution, DF

oblongmelon

have you tried covering the bowl with saran wrap??? and putting in a small hole for a steam vent?

johnnymk

Will try...thanks

Markel

I've heard that saran wrap (and it's generic cousins) can have the "plastic" issue that johnny referred to at the top. Wax paper is supposed to be preferable.

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Maarchk

How powerful is your microwave? I run mine at high for like 90 seconds, to a good stirring and then another minute and i usually have bubbling soup that has not exploded. or do you have large chunks of meat and potatoes that go boom?
Also, maybe if it was in the fridge its because of the rapid temperature change and maybe if you let it "thaw" out for a few minutes in advance it wouldn't be so bad? I haven't really heard of that happening to much. Protection like seran wrap sounds like the way to go.

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mcs328

My microwave has a reheat soup option.

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renovation

i heat my soup in a pyrex glass bowl with a glass lid. 2 mins on high hot and good. word of advice when cooking in the micro. place the food off to the side not in the middle. i have heard the waves will cook the stuff better that way.

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oblongmelon

eh..never seemed to hurt me..saran wrap doesn't melt or ooze like some of those plastic lids/containers do..hell you can even put it in the oven and it doesn't melt!

InfiniteNothing

Here's the trick for plastic safety: check the box and make sure it says microwave safe.
That usually implies it'll do better with higher temperatures. Soup should do pretty well anyways since theres no direct contact. The only downside is usually the microwave safe stuff is less clingy.

Lastly, for the exploding, I've noticed some microwaves do that more than others. I'm not really sure there's much you can do about it except protecting your microwave from splatters (hense the cling wrap) or maybe stir more often.

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Nija

I always put a wet paper towel over my soup.

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Jeffbx

You guys know that whole plastic in the microwave thing is an urban legend, right?

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp

InfiniteNothing

That's not exactly what that article says

From one of the cited references
http://www.foodsafety.gov/~fsg/fs-mwave.html

Markel

Also, from http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/2002/602_plastic.html:
I'm not comfortable with the "levels...well below..." stuff.

lindysd

I just open the can and eat up. No need to nuke or stove top it!
Sounds gross.....I know. But when i was little my parents were poor and did not want to waste energy or gas to heat soup up.....sometimes the gas was shut off, so we could not heat it even if we wanted to. Same with hot dogs. i just got used to eating them that way.

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johnnymk

I just tried the wet paper towel thing and it worked great. Thanks

InfiniteNothing

I realize that it's irrelevant now but FYI. If your energy was $0.10/kWH and your microwave was 1.5 kW and if it takes 2 minutes to nuke a bowl of soup, it costs $0.005 to heat a bowl of soup

lindysd

I really dont know how much energy was when I was little. And we did not have a microwave until I was older. In fact I dont remember having microwave until just before I started high school - '91(?)

Also you cannot determine the cost that way as people do not plug in the microwave, nuke something, then unplug it again.

gwilks98

What kinds of soups are you nuking? Creamy soups will tend to explode more than watery soups.

If it's creamy soups, microwaving them to reheat them is generally bad, because it pulls the badly needed water right out of the milky mixture. That's really what you're seeing there. The water quickly heats and forcefully boils out, the rest just burns. Go with shorter 30 second bursts at 60-70% power, and stir each time.

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Yossarian

i just make my own, then will just leave the leftovers in the same pot, covered in the fridge, and ladle some into a smaller pot over the next few days

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oblongmelon

I do the same thing!...HEY!

Yossarian

and i'll make it EARLY on the weekend, then just eat it all day, it stays nice and wamr in the pot as long as you keep it covered on the stove