The Microwave Tip That Won't Leave Your Food With A Cold Middle

Microwaves are extremely useful inventions, but they don't come without their set of drawbacks. Not only can you not put certain materials in the microwave, most notably metal or plastic, but unless they're used properly, some foods and liquids can even burn or explode if left in there for too long.

But one of the biggest downsides to using a microwave is that it just doesn't do as good of a job heating your food evenly as other devices might, like the oven or stove. We've all been there — you nuked your leftovers for a minute, then removed the plate to find half of your food steaming hot and the other half room temperature at best. If this happens to you, you can stir your food immediately after heating or in between short intervals of microwaving to keep it consistently warm. But to avoid it heating unevenly in the first place, we have an easy tip.

Why do microwaves heat food unevenly anyway? The appliances don't actually create heat the same way a stove or oven would — they generate non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, the same kind that comes from your cell phone. But a microwave's radiation, of course, is much stronger and gets trapped in your food, which heats it up. Microwaves also generate standing waves, which cancel out when they run into each other, creating cold spots. The energy absorption capacity of your food matters too — if certain elements in your dish absorb heat quicker than others, those sections will come out hot while the rest of your plate may be cold.

But this trick can help you avoid uneven heating. Instead of placing your food in the center of the microwave, try putting your dish on the edge of the appliance's rotating plate. This way, it will get exposed to more areas of the microwave when rotating and is less likely to be cold when you remove it. Even if your food does go through cold spots, the constant movement will make sure it gets exposed to the hot spots, too.

If you're trying to heat more than one dish at a time, you can try placing one plate on top of an upside-down mug. This will add height distribution to help everything warm up more evenly.