Things That Will Help You Make the Most of Your Microwave

Microwaves are such a handy thing to have in your home, since they can not only be used to reheat last night’s leftover dinner, but also to cook some recipes. One thing you have probably never considered before is that microwaves have a variety of uses, some of which may seem shocking and quite unusual to you. Still, you should most certainly give the device more credit than heating and cooking. After all, it takes precious space in your kitchen and requires time spent in cleaning service and maintenance so it has to be worth keeping around. Here are some uses of your microwave that are more than useful; they have the potential to be lifechanging:

1. Peel garlic quickly - garlic is good for your health and also good as a cooking ingredient in certain dishes. To work with it, however, you must first peel it, and that is a job that requires patience and skill with fingernails. If you lack any of these, you can use your microwave. Use your appliance to heat garlic bulbs for 15 seconds and you will find that the skin comes off the clove far easier. It is a clean procedure, which will not require cleaning service at all.

2. Prepare onions for tear-free cutting - if you are fed up with shedding tear after tear as you cut onions, you can solve this problem easily. No, it doesn’t involve wearing a helmet; simply run the onions in your microwave after cutting their ends. 30 seconds inside and you are ready to proceed with tear-free chopping and cutting.

3. Get more juice from citrus fruits - you can now get every drop from citrus fruits thanks to your microwave. Zap the fruits for 15 seconds and then use them to make juice or squeeze on your fish. Not only will microwaving allow you to get every drop out, but also make juicing easier. Remember to put uncut fruits only! Otherwise you will lose part of the juice and your microwave will require serious cleaning afterwards.

4. Soak beans and lentils - if you want to cook some beans or lentils, keep in mind they require some soaking overnight. If you forgot about this, you can use your microwave to prepare the food. Simply place the product in a bowl and add a pinch of soda. Microwave on high for 10 minutes and let the beans or lentils soak for 30 minutes after taking out.

5. Save stale bread - if you don’t have strong enough teeth to chew on hard bread, you can use your microwave to make it more manageable. Simply wrap the bread in damp towel and microwave it on high power for 10 seconds. The moisture from the towel will end up on your bread and make it soft again. Check after every 10 seconds burst to reach preferable condition.

6. Deal with brown sugar clumps - it is quite unpleasant having to deal with lumps in your brown sugar. Instead of throwing it away, or overdosing, get a damp towel and put it in the sugar box. Close the lid and place it in your microwave for about 20 seconds. The result will be brown sugar that is lump free and ready to serve.

7. Roast nuts - did you know you can make your own roasted nuts in the microwave? Simply put some nuts in a bowl, add oil and salt, and then microwave them for enough time depending on the type and amount of nuts you have. Generally 5 minutes should be enough. Remember to stir every minute for even roasting and less mess on the bottom of your bowl, if you don’t want to waste time for hard cleaning service afterwards.

8. Dry herbs - if you want to stock your pantry with dried herbs, you can use your microwave very effectively, without any waste. Put parsley or other herbs on high for about 2 minutes. That should be enough to dry the herbs beautifully, leaving them ready to crumble immediately after taking out.

9. Restore potato chips - if you open a big bag of chips, but don’t eat in one go, chances are it will lose its crunch the next day. Thankfully, your microwave can revive it. Simply place the chips on some paper towels and heat briefly. Any moisture will be soaked up from the chips and you can enjoy its crispness again.

10. Make heating pads - if you want to ease the symptoms of fever or apply some hot goodness to your sore muscles, you can make hot compress in your microwave. Simply wet a hand towel for a minute, and you will have your soothing compress ready for immediate use.

11. Disinfect sponges - sponges are often used in cleaning service for wiping surfaces and other areas of your home. Because of this, they accumulate a great deal of bacteria and germs. That is why it is a good idea to sanitise them from time to time. An effective method for this is to saturate them in water and microwave them for about 60 seconds. This is enough to kill a good 99% of all bacteria. Since it’s easy and fast, you can do it often.

12. Save letter stamps - if you want to preserve envelope stamps, you can add few drops of water on the stamp and then microwave it for 20 seconds. This will make it come off easily.

13. Sterilise soil - if you are a garden enthusiast and have decided to transplant seedlings, you probably know that they are quite vulnerable. For this reason, having the right soil is very important. You can sterilise soil in the microwave before introducing your seedlings to it. The way to do this is to place the soil in plastic container and heating 90 seconds per kilogram.

14. Clean the microwave the easy way - now that you have learned so many new tricks, you must remember to include your microwave in home cleaning routine more often. If you want to get away with easy cleaning, you can pour some vinegar in a bowl of water and heat it for 5 minutes. That will make the interior steamy and ready for wiping. One more method to soften the grime inside is to heat few wet paper towels inside. Wait for them to cool down and use them to wipe the interior.

Use all of these tricks with your microwave if you want to have an easier time in the kitchen. It is a truly convenient appliance, which can make your life easy thanks to all of these simple tricks.