1953: Headstoned

[whatotherway]

The thing about cooking food, is that it increases the calories available to the body in food, as well as increasing the quantity of micro-nutrients the body can digest. Our bodies are no longer designed to live off of raw food.

Food cooked in water loses vitamins and minerals, but when cooked in a microwave oven they keep more of their vitamins and minerals, because microwave ovens can cook more quickly and without adding water.

FDA studies have shown that cooking in a microwave produces fewer carcinogens than cooking with other methods.

FDA studies have also shown that raw foods often contain more carcinogens than cooked foods, the cooking destroys the cancer causing compounds.

Microwave ovens have been used for more than 60 years, and so far, no cancers have been attributed to the use of microwaves.

I wish people would read the actual scientific studies and journals instead of the news reports which are always slanted to the negative.

[Scumhook]

Originally Posted by arnoutellis

omfg tl;dr 20 mins on high

I'm going to guess that your mother fed you on microwaved bottles.

[Bucho]

Don't fret guys microwaves are totes safe. And asbestos is a fantastic insulator and thalidomide is great for combatting morning sickness and don't worry your pretty little head about it, those nuclear reactors are 100% safe and there will never be a meltdown and my pit bull is an angel around children and 777s never crash off the coast of Australia.

Actually, those are bad comparisons, because at least in their primary uses those things are top notch, whereas microwaves make food taste like shit. And not that delicious, gourmet kind of shit either, I'm talking regular old splattery old what-died-in-here shit. And that's just good science.

[whatotherway]

Originally Posted by Bucho

... whereas microwaves make food taste like shit. And not that delicious, gourmet kind of shit either, I'm talking regular old splattery old what-died-in-here shit. And that's just good science.

Cooking in a microwave requires you to change how you cook the food. You must use fewer liquids, as the water isn't released as steam as when cooking in a pot or pan, and the way you use herbs and spices, has to change as well. There are also things you cannot cook in a microwave, such as eggs with an unbroken yolk. But most foods can be cooked in a microwave, and can end up tasty if you have the right instructions.

[WittyReference]

I love science from everywhere.

[CsisandDesist]

Keiths "A spaghetti Tree" callback when Chemda was describing getting buried in a sack and turn into fertilizer and have a tree grow out of you made water came out my nose. It was at 45:45 and wasn't acknowledged, hilarious.

[PsychoLoco]

The microwave debate has to be their April Fools on Keith.

Does anyone really think every house on the planet has a nuclear reactor in a box that creates radiation sickness?

The radiation a microwave does is like a heater radiating heat, not harmful radioactive emissions.

[Hennessy]

Originally Posted by seamus

You know what else changes the molecular structure of food? COOKING. The process of cooking food changes the molecular structure of the food. You know why beef tastes so meaty? Because cooking it creates glutamates (basically MSG).

This I know. Especially when you brown the food (the best part). I totally get that. I've heard so many people and read a lot of articles on the molecules being killed or mutated by microwaves but the waves are not high enough in normal microwaves I'm reading. However the FDA still recommends you don't stand near the door of it when on.

Originally Posted by seamus

There is a risk if you use certain vessels for cooking your food in such as some plastics.

A big reason I don't need a microwave in my life. Even the bpa free plastics and containers aren't great for you. I'm trying to weed the plastics out of the kitchen little by little as well.

Originally Posted by seamus

The microwave excites the water molecules and as they rub against each other they create friction which is converted into heat...I must address this nonsense about how heating blood up in the microwave makes it unusable for a blood transfusion. No shit.

Right. I also know it kills nutrients in the foods and about the heating up the blood in the microwave. Yeah that is a dumb example- I agree.

I was reading all these old science journals that list cases in which people carried out studies and found negative effects of microwaves to food. There was a bunch of hubbub in Russia where scientists recieved a gag-order to keep their findings away from the public. But I'm reading now that the conclusions of the experiments were never revealed and one of the scientists involved with that study ended up changing his name and disappearing.

Anyway, everyone, FOR THE RECORD I didn't know we were going to have a discussion on microwaves on the show or I would have looked up the sources I was going on first. These are things that I have learned thus far and was sharing them. I'm never opposed to new information but welcome it. Unlike most of the world I don't want to be ignorant. I don't think microwaves are great for you. I see now that they aren't as scary as I thought and I feel much better about them.

I'm still not getting one.

[Bucho]

Originally Posted by whatotherway

But most foods can be cooked in a microwave, and can end up tasty if you have the right instructions.

... for a given value of "tasty". Mine is clearly higher than yours, not to mention better-smelling and with more toned buttocks.

Humble brag?

[Todd]

If your microwave has a number pad, you can probably change your power level.

Instead of
3:00 > Start

you would enter
3:00 > Power Level > 5 (or 50, depending on model) > Start

There are probably some models out there with only preset buttons like "pizza" "popcorn" "reheat" "frozen" etc. without this ability, but it's not primitive, and it's not super fancy. Any middle-of-the-road microwave probably can do this, and probably even most lower-end models.