Is it ok to cook vegetables in the microwave?

Question

I have heard conflicting views. Many say that microwaving foods, such as vegetables, can be harmful to ones health. However, others say it is fine. I would like to hear from people who are truly knowledgeable on this topic. Thanks!

Answer 1

yitogwa is a little confused.
Bark said the same thing... Maybe she is a little stupid.

People above talking about microwaves damaging food through radiation are ill informed (at best). Heating on a stove is exposing them to radiation as is growing them in the sun. The microwave has no evil magical properties that leave evil little "radiations" or "microwaves" in the food. It simply jostles the molecules around as any heating does.

Microwaved vegetables retain more nutrition than boiling and maybe steaming and taste better than those methods (microwave with some water). Raw is good too, but not better, just different. There are certain nutrients in vegetables that we cannot digest unless we cook them to open the cells.

Answer 2

I definately disagree with BARK. Steaming is WAY better than boiling. Boiling a veggy can lose their nutrients in to the water. As where steaming them, it just cooks them, rather losing their nutrients.

Working for MANY years in professional kitchens, it has become too long to cook vegetables. So, since the invention of the microwave, cooks across the globe now mircrowave their vegetables. I worked for Applebees a while back and ALL their vegetables were first steamed then refrigerated. Then they were microwaved-to-order. It's only faster.

Many people have the assumption that microwaves inject the food with "micro-waves" which could be potentionally harmful. But microwaves DO NOT do such things. There's a plate in the microwave that magnifies the heat from micro-waves thus using the heat to cook the food.

Microwaves are neither good nor bad. They are just an alternative to fast cooking. So please, do not be convinced by superstitions. Microwaves do not have any negative health effects.

So, continue to use your mircowave as needed. Just don't add metal in it.

Answer 3

This is normal procedure in my kitchen, but I also have a trick to do this right. Put your fresh veggies in a plastic food storage bag with a tablespoon or two of water, and a pat of butter and whatever fresh herbs you like. (the butter and the herbs are optional) Tie a knot in the bag, (DO NOT USE A TWIST TIE OR ELSE YOU WON`T HAVE A MICROWAVE ANYMORE!!) Place the bag in the microwave and set timer for 3 minutes. You may have to add more time according to how much vegetable you are cooking. What you are basically doing is STEAMING the veggies rather than nuking them. They will taste better and have beautiful color and texture, just don't over cook them

Have fun and good cooking!

Answer 4

Actually its a yes, it is ok to cook vegetables in the microwave, however for your health its even better not to cook them at all!
Also there are other cooking methods that keep more nutrients in vegetables, however, as far as we know its SAFE to cook them in the microwave, you just won't get the most nutrition out of them that way... (note: if your going to cook them its probably better to use some water to steam them on either the stove or in the microwave)

Answer 5

Certain types of plastic can leach into foods when microwaving. There was a scare about it some years back. Since then, the manufacturers made changes. However, to play it safe, I pour some water into a nonmetal casserole dish, I put on that new cling wrap that always sticks, stretching it across the opening so that it doesn't touch the food, then I poke holes in it with a sharp knife or skewer. Bon Appetit!

Answer 6

The cooking process ends when the microwave turns off. It's no more dangerous than heating the veggies in a pot on a stove.
Because of the short cooking time, they may retain more nutrients than cooked other ways.

Answer 7

Most frozen vegetables are frozen at their peak of freshness and can be healthier than those fresh vegetable lying around the supermarket. Loss of nutrients would be minimal, especially when microwaved.

Answer 8

Yes it is safe to nuke your veggies.. I do all the time.. Tho I dislike cooking meat. But you want to be technical about it.. The food is cooked using microwaves.. Which is the same as cooking it with radiation.
But.. Cooking in a microwave would save the nutrients in it, As compared to boiling them and losing them.

Answer 9

There is nothing dangerous or harmful in cooking veggies in the microwave! In fact, many nutritionists agree that it is the preferred method over boiling them.

Answer 10

there are those that say never use the microwave it is unhealthy- period= but you can microwave whatever you want= I have microwaved every kind of vegetable I can think of - but if possible I prefer to stir fry, steam or heat in a pan- esp when the veg or food is dense- D