To ask what you use you microwave for?

[Afternooninthepark]

At 47 and having lived together for 23 years, dh and I have never had or felt the need for a microwave.
However, ds (15) is badgering me to get one, he says he can make things quicker in it and in the future when we are away or out he and his sister can make quick and easy meals for themselves.
I remember having one when we lived at home and it was only used for heating beans and defrosting stuff.
They are obviously still popular as they are for sale everywhere.
So what do you use yours for?
Does anyone actually make proper meals in there microwave?

[spookmeout]

Cooking veg, defrosting food, and bread
Cooking rice
We're not dependent on it but I prefer to have one

[Florencex]

Packets of rice
Noodles
The occasional ready meal, although I generally prefer oven cooked
Reheating stuff
Baked beans

[Tillygetsit]

I use mine for hiding things from my snaffling lurcher

[gadansk]

I don't have one anymore and never used it for cooking but it was handy for heating up heat bags.

[TwoZeroTwoZero]

Rice
Reheating stuff
Frozen veg
Starting the onions off before adding them to, e.g., a curry or whatever I'm cooking in the big pan.
Pasta sauce
Soup
Ready meals
Beans/spaghetti hoops
The porridge that comes in those little sachets

[squeekums]

cooking rice, i can ONLY cook it in microwave
2 min noodles
reheating leftovers
warming milk
many microwave heat and eat meals which so handy when i finish at midnight
cheese sauce
defrosting food fast

and best of all, 2 minute microwave mug cakes.....

[Couchbettato]

Microwave meals mostly, because PPD has rendered me incapable of cooking a lot of the time, though musclefood do some really nutritious microwave meals on subscription.

Beans, tinned spaghetti, toddler meals, did use it for sterilising bottles with back in the day, frozen veg, steamed in the bag bao, those fancy shmancy eat in take-outs that supermarkets do.

Tbh if I don't use the microwave I use my instant pot electric pressure cooker and that's for things like pasta "bakes", where it's just pasta cooked in the sauce, or chillis. But our microwave has had its usage.

It also has a grill and oven setting which is much friendlier to use than our actual oven and grill for things like pizzas, Yorkshire's etc.

[WanderingMilly]

Jacket potatoes.....so quick and easy.
And vegetables, I have a microwave 'steamer', they are fantastic. Selection of veg, finely sliced, pour water in the base, microwave. The veg come out absolutely delicious in 4 mins, no boiling, perfect consistency, very tasty. The only way to do veg in my opinion.

[Hopeisnotastrategy]

Loads of the above plus

Warming plates.

Cooking bags of "stabby veg"- the prepared ones in a cellophane bag, just stab with a knife and cook in the microwave in a very short time.

[LunaNorth]

Heating milk for lattes and hot chocolate.
Reheating leftovers.
Rice pouches.
Beans.
Cooking frozen peas if I’ve forgotten to put a pan on.
Melting chocolate.
Softening butter.
Heating custard.
The occasional mug cake.

[AdultierAdult]

We got rid of one when we had a small kitchen and didn’t want the clutter and I missed it for:

Heating beans without a pan
Reheating spaghetti (nightmare in a pan and can’t do in oven)
Reheating curry and rice
Heating a mug of milk for got chocolate

That’s pretty much it. Now we’ve had another baby DH sterilises bottles in it when I’m away.

I could live without one again but I do think they’re a smidge better for some leftovers as they reheat without drying our.

[Sewsosew]

Same as everyone. Never ready meals but it’s useful for certain components of meals.
I also use it for warming butter when I am baking.

We had a massive one and when it died we could replace it with a small one as it does have its uses.

[BarbaraofSeville]

It was used once or twice a week for nearly a year and for things that could have been done on the hob or in the oven, so we sold the microwave and are doing just fine without it

But it takes longer, costs more and makes more washing up to use the hob or oven, so unless you are desperately short of space I don't understand why you wouldn't have one.

Ours is used multiple times a day for similar things everyone else has said, plus hiding food from the cats.

[Fluffycloudland77]

@VirginiaWolverine

I didn't know you could heat plates in the microwave. How do you do it?

Whack them in on one level down from high for two minutes.

[BikeRunSki]

Microwaves are worth the space just for mug cakes 😀

[CrunchyNutNC]

Ours is used daily for steaming veg, either fresh or frozen.
Reheating leftovers.
Melting chocolate for baking.
Melting or softening butter for baking.
Quick 'scrambled' egg in a mug.
Warming tortillas.

I think there's an odd snobbery about microwaves, as well as ignorance. I have relatives who don't have one because they think it's better to cook 'properly'. I also have relatives who have one but will still boil veg on the hob until mushy.

The thing I use most is the veg steaming. I have a microwave bowl with a vented lid - put in veg, a tablespoon of water, and microwave for 2-5 minutes for perfect asparagus, sprouts, broccoli, carrots etc. You can par-cook root veg in microwave then toss in butter/herbs/orange juice and finish in oven.

[Mypathtriedtokillme]

Warming up leftovers, melting chocolate and butter for baking, heating milk, porridge, par cooking potatoes so roasties take half the time, making cheese/white sauce

[Havaiana]

I use it for heating up milk for tea or coffee. Ours broke down recently so have been heating milk in a milk pan and I realised how much tea/coffee tastes with milk heated on hob.

We’ve been managing ok heating leftovers in a pan or oven or but do but will be getting a new one soon.

Tempted by a combination oven but not sure it would get used for actual cooking.

[Ragwort]

Ours broke about 6 months ago and I really haven't missed it, like others I only used it for heating plates or reheating the occasional ingredient.

I used to use it to melt butter for Cheesecake base, then discovered if you just throw the butter in the food processor with the biscuits when you make biscuit crumbs it works just as well .

Mildly useful for melting chocolate for rice crispie cakes etc. but I rarely make cakes anymore so that's no longer necessary.

[Ragwort]

Don't think it's snobbery that I don't have one but I do think food tastes nicer cooked on the hob or in the oven, we eat a lot of scrambled eggs and I really don't think they taste nice made in the microwave. It just seems yet another piece of equipment to clutter up the kitchen and need cleaning.

[Stinkyguineapig]

Don't think it's snobbery that I don't have one but I do think food tastes nicer cooked on the hob or in the oven, we eat a lot of scrambled eggs and I really don't think they taste nice made in the microwave.

We have (and often use) a microwave but I agree that scrambled eggs are nicer cooked in a pan, and i prefer to char grill a pepper over the gas flames whereas DH says its nicer done in the microwave. Jacket potatoes are nicer from the oven but we always start them in the microwave for quickness. Also when reheating pasta, I think it goes really rubbery in the microwave, and prefer (if it's in a sauce), to add some more liquid to the sauce and heat slowly in a pan despite my aversion to washing up saucepans

[Waxonwaxoff0]

Soup.
Melting things like butter or chocolate when I'm baking.
Coffee - I like milky coffee so I heat the milk in the microwave.

[AugieMarch]

We batch cook things like pasta sauce, curry, stew etc and freeze in meal sized portions so just need to defrost and heat in the microwaves. Made both working full time with kids tolerable as didn’t have to properly cook many nights of the week.

[Shezow]

If you haven’t ever had one seriously don’t bother! Microwaves are so bad health wise. I use a saucepan to heat any liquids and I have an air fryer which I use to heat up pasties leftover ect

[Coldilox]

Porridge
Beans
Sometimes steam veg in there
Defrosting meat if I forgot to get it out the freezer the night before
Heating soup
Reheating leftovers