Has anyone ditched the microwave?

[BlueRidgeMountain]

Thrilling chat for a Sunday morning I know, but I’ve been thinking about getting rid of ours for a while. It takes up so much of our limited worktop space, and yes we do use it a bit, but we have an air fryer that can reheat so we’d really just be losing the defrost function, and ability to cook a microwave meal (not necessarily a bad thing?!)
So, has anyone got rid of theirs, was it not even missed or will we be making a big mistake?

I tried to do without one when ours conked out. But it wasn't working out. I'm the type of person who makes a cup of tea, then gets distracted and finds it sitting tepid on the table half an hour later. I heat it in the microwave (and forget about it again - but that's another story!) DP is even worse in this respect. I don't particularly like my tea heated in the microwave, but I hate throwing it away. I missed being able to microwave my porridge. Yes it's definitely better cooked in a pot, but it's a bit of a faff and the results - for me - are inconsistent. I also defrost bread as it doesn't get used quickly enough sitting on the side, so some of it lives in the freezer. Just a couple of examples, but there are more.

We replaced ours with a Panasonic with 'inverter' technology which is supposed heat things more evenly. We thought that if it was so indispensable for us, it might as well be a decent one. I have found it brilliant. Our work surfaces are limited and pretty cluttered, but I have resigned myself to living with that. It all depends on your lifestyle.

Cooking rice is easy if you're already using the hob to heat up microwave rice.
1 cup of basmati rice to 1.5 cups of water. Add some salt bring to the boil, put the lid on and reduce to heat to very low. After 11 minutes switch off fluff up with a fork put the lid back on for 5 minutes. Lovely fluffy rice which tastes much better and much cheaper.

I've never had one. The only thing I used to miss out on was microwave popcorn, but then thw world of pre popped popcorn. Boomed and now I really dont miss out on anything

Depends what kind of food you like. I love batch cooked stews, curries, soups and porridge and microwave is really useful for reheating / cooking them. You could do it in a saucepan on the hob but that's a lot more washing up to do.

Also my microwave rice cooker is so much more reliable than doing it on the hob.

I have an air fryer and a combi microwave; both get used every day. The microwave is great for reheating, defrosting, and warming plates - and it beats the air fryer hands down for baked potatoes.

Can I ask people that have a combi microwave oven, does the lack of rotation affect the microwaving?

Never had one! Only time I’ve thought it would be handy is if ordering food from a further away takeaway and wanted to be able to heat it up quickly if it had cooled by the time it got here. But that’s not worth the loss of space

My parents ditched theirs many many years ago, and don't miss it. I carried the no microwave torch through 2 houses and bought one for my third. Absolutely love it, won't be getting rid anytime soon 😁

I don't buy ready meals. Wouldn't give up my microwave as it slots in perfectly with my instapot and air fryer which I use all the time. Happy to give up my double oven and hob tho.

Ours broke and we decided not to buy another. We hardly used it to begin with though. Ready meals can often be cooked in the oven but for longer and possibly decanted into an oven dish. We don't miss it at all.

I don't have an air fryer but I do use my microwave about 20 times a day.

I use it to heat up soup, milk, ready meals, to steam vegetables, to start off jacket potatoes, to defrost things, to make the ice cream easier to scoop ... I could go on

Honestly don't know what I'd do without mine.

Microwave is cheaper for that!

I start them off in the microwave, then finish them off in the air fryer for crisping the skin up.

I haven't got an air fryer because I don't see what it does that I can't do in the microwave or oven.

So imo if you have one of a microwave or an air fryer you don't need the other!

Mine is in the utility room because I don't like losing the space in the kitchen either.

Same here. I feel an idiot for all those years i steamed vegetables on my gas hob, when I could have done them quicker, cheaper and preserving more nutrition in the microwave. If I ever can afford to redo my kitchen I’ll get an eye level combination oven.

No because mine’s a combination microwave oven which means it does everything an airfryer does. You can also cook things like a portion of lasagna on the combi setting in about 7 mins, bubbling browned top like conventional cooking in a flash.

I’ve rarely used my proper oven for a decade.

We use our microwave several times a day. Easier to cook and heat things in it because I can put it in a microwave safe bowl and then put it in the dishwasher (we wash pans by hand as they are too big for dishwasher). I also like that I can heat things in it without having to stir or check on it, and it stops cooking by itself, which you can't do with a hob. We have an air fryer but some things are better suited to a microwave or hob.

We haven't had a microwave in years. No space and barely used it. No air fryer either.

Use the hob for everything - heating up soup, melting butter, heating milk, steaming vegetables, making porridge, even making popcorn. I prefer it as I have more control over the cooking process.

Never buy ready meals, rarely eat jacket potatoes and would make a new cup of coffee/tea if it went cold.

We don't have one - we did for a while and used it occasionally, when it broke we decided to wait and see whether we missed it before potentially replacing - that was about 4 years ago and we haven't felt the need to get another.

I use mine quite regularly for shortcuts so I wouldn't be getting rid. But I don't have an air fryer and don't want one (I've tasted food from them and don't like it)

Whenever I've ever cooked rice in a pan it's a massive faff to clean the pan because loads of the rice gets stuck on the bottom. I much prefer my microwave rice cooker which produces perfect fluffy rice, none of which is wasted and then goes straight in the dishwasher or is easy to wash. Same with porridge, also done in rice cooker.

To be honest ease of clean-up is the main reason I use my microwave. Yes I could heat soup or baked beans in a pan and then serve but then I have to wash a pan as well as the bowl/plate. Also handy for a small quantity of peas or/and sweetcorn in a little bowl each rather than using two more pans (different members of the family like each so I can't cook them together!).
We have an airfryer but none of the things I cook in the microwave could be done in the airfryer I don't think. (Ours has shelves like an oven not drawers so no idea how you would do porridge in it!)
Jacket potatoes also take ages in an oven or even in the airfryer much longer than the microwave.

I'm tempted to unplug it for a while and see how much I actually use it. I warmed soup in it today

On the other hand I'm a total convert to making popcorn in a pan. You can buy a bag of plain dried kernels for a couple of quid which lasts forever as you only need a tiny amount to make a big pan full. Tablespoon of oil, kernels in. Shake. Lid on. Cook until the popping stops. Sprinkle with salt or icing sugar. Microwave popcorn is super expensive by comparison.

We have not replaced ours. The only thing that has proved a bit of a faff without is a Christmas pudding! We do have an instant pot and veg steamer so it seems nessasary.

I have already said I use mine all the time, but I have just purchased some microwave plate warmers because one of the things I hate about air fryers is that you have nowhere to warm your plates. If you have the oven on you can just put your plates at the bottom for a couple of minutes.