5 foods you shouldn’t put in the microwave

When you’re in a rush, the microwave can feel like a miracle appliance. If you’re really skillful, you can even use it to cook whole meals and desserts. But even though the microwave is versatile, it does have its limits. There are some foods that taste worse after microwaving, and other foods can actually ruin the microwave itself! Here are 5 foods you should avoid putting in the microwave.

1. Spicy peppers

You like your spicy peppers hot, but you probably don’t want them to literally catch on fire. That’s exactly what can happen if you put hot peppers in the microwave. Plus, when you microwave hot peppers, the molecule capsaicin is released into the air. If you’ve ever gotten a little bit of hot pepper in your eye, you can probably imagine how unpleasant opening the microwave door and being enveloped by a capsaicin cloud would be.

2. Hard-boiled Eggs

Microwaving hard-boiled eggs can cause them to explode! Hot steam builds up inside the egg as you microwave it, and is released once the egg is broken into. That means the egg-splosion can happen when you take your first bite. Fortunately, cutting up hard-boiled eggs before microwaving generally solves the problem by preventing steam buildup.

3. Grapes

Microwaving grapes can cause them to spark and even burst into flames. When cut into halves, microwaved grapes produce so much energy, they can explode into a fireball large enough to burn the inside of your microwave. Fortunately, there aren’t too many recipes that call for heated grapes.

4. Bread

Bread isn’t dangerous to microwave, but it doesn’t taste great! Microwaving heats bread from the inside out, so you miss out on the nice crunchy exterior you get from toasting. Plus, microwaving bread re-gelatinizes the starch in the dough, giving it an unpleasant soft and chewy texture.

5. Frozen meat

You’ve probably taken a bite of a microwaved meal before and noticed parts were scalding hot, while others were still cold. That uneven heat distribution is exactly why you shouldn’t use your microwave to thaw frozen meat. Parts of it may cook, while others remain frozen. This is not only inconvenient, but it can allow bacteria to grow on the meat unless you begin cooking it immediately.

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