Definitely Do Not Put Plastic in the Microwave
Definitely Do Not Put Plastic in the Microwave
Experts say, even if it claims to be “microwave-safe.”
That eliminates most of the frozen meals section. Before the jump in with "then don't buy those", you're not wrong. It's easy to point out the many things in society we shouldn't be doing, but not quite as easy to step back from them all.
Sadly true. I've been known to warm those meals up just enough to transfer them to a plate or bowl, and then finish their heating. It doesn't undo the plastic contact that happened when the food was prepared and packaged, nor does it help the with plastic waste problem, but it's better than nothing. Meanwhile, I look for frozens that come in paper fiber trays instead of plastic.
When I find a packaged food that I like enough to buy again, I'll sometimes email the company to let them know I would buy more if they replaced their packaging with something less toxic. My voice alone won't make much difference, but if they hear it from multiple customers, perhaps they'll put it on their roadmap. (This seems like a marketing opportunity, especially now that microplastics and other forever chemicals are getting attention in the news.)
Also, there's always the option of cooking/buying a big batch of food and freezing it in single-serving glass/stainless containers. No plastic at all this way, and the food is often better. :)
Where I live sous vide are pretty common in the readymade dinner section - wonder if they're better for you than microwaving and if we should maybe be doing that instead
Good article.
"Though various plastics are marked as microwave-safe—and plenty of plastic lobbyists have defended them as perfectly safe—the term is somewhat misleading. It’s simply referring to plastic types that won’t crack or melt when heated, not their chemical makeup."
Wow. I honestly didn’t think much about microwaving stuff like tupperware before, but I think this convinced me to switch to glassware.
I started replacing my food storage containers with glass a few years ago. It's not only safer, but also nicer looking and easier to clean.
I didn't want my old plastic to go in the waste stream, so I use it for overflow dry goods, hardware storage, and household cleaning tasks.
We ALL need to do what you’ve been doing.
My household eliminated plastic and non-stick items. We’ve been using only cast iron and stainless steel for stovetop, glass and stainless steel for oven and mixing, glass and stainless for eating. Even the pets’ bowls are stainless steel.
Plastics and Teflon coatings are pure poison.
Yeah I'm starting to think about this as well
Whelp, I may be screwed. Don't have the money to replace everything
Then don't - get a small glass/Pyrex casserole dish with a glass lid and decant your leftovers into that every time you go to heat something up. I think IKEA sell some nice sized ones.
If you don't drop it they last for decades and that's what I've been doing. I do not reccomend looking for vintage stuff though - the reason why they stopped using the original original glass formula is because it chips easily and yeah, something that gets used on a very regular basis with its lid constantly going on and off is going to start chipping something awful over time
Ok... but what about the plastic in the microwave that's part of the microwave?
Ok… but what about the plastic in the microwave that’s part of the microwave?
I think a glass and steel microwave oven could look pretty damn cool, but until we have those, I simply try not to cook my food on the microwave's surfaces. :)
What about the radioactive waves that touched my food?
Radiation isn't always the same as radioactivity. Microwaves aren't gonna cause you to mutate (they could boil the water in your body tho) or make your food irradiated. But I'm pretty sure the plastic is still plastic, and if all plastic is bad plastic then maybe we shouldn't use microwaves at all.
When it was growing in sunlight, aka red shifted gamma radiation coming from an open nuclear reactor?
We're gonna be needing a probiotic that breaks down plastic in the future.
Breaks it down into what though? The article stated that several of these plastics are made of toxic chemicals. So if we are not careful, that could make things even worse.
Ideally into something that doesn't poison us, something that we could either safely absorb, or expel from our bodies all together.
At the end of the day, they're still carbohydrates and theoretically could be broken down into Co2/methane/alcohol or other short carbon components.
There are fungi that break down plastics. Maybe if we are lucky we can find a fungi that wants to feed off of the poisons that we eat and live in our bodies taking up what our organs can't safely absorb.
Are there glass lids that can be used to cover food so it doesn’t scatter when it explodes? We already don’t use plastic/tupperware in the microwave but don’t have a lid if we need to cover it.
This is a good question, already covered in the other comments.
I will add here that exploding food has been much less common since I figured out how to choose a reduced power level on my microwave. (But I still cover the food anyway.)
I've always just used a bigger plate/bowl to cover things. They're much easier to clean than any plastic lid.
In the microwave, I always use the lid of a bigger glass bowl on top of my large, wide, glass, measuring-pitcher. It doesn't fit perfectly, but I turn the lid upside down so it doesn't slide when I carry it.
Pyrex/borosilicate dishes work pretty well here. Both Pyrex and IKEA do little single serving casserole dishes with a lid that work fantastic. Been using them for decades now
Alternatively you could upend a plate on-top of your bowl
Meh. Gonna die anyways. I'm probably 40% plastic by now. Might as well bump it up.
After 30 years of putting plastic in the microwave … I think I'm fine, definitely not worrying about my sperm count ;)
Obviously, it's good they study this, but apparently the microplastic is already in everything and we don't really know what it's doing to humans. Good luck, trying to convince the fossil fuel industry to produce less plastic.
I actually disagree with this cooking MYTH.
But; it depends on the TYPE of plastic. Don't trust takeaway containers or soft and flexible plastics.
Hard and rigid plastics are in fact SAFE if marked as "Microwave-Safe"; they HAVE TO BE SAFE to have that marking.
DO:
- avoid soft plastics
- avoid takeout containers
- avoid heavily damaged tupperware
- replace old tupperware plastics once in a while; especially if they're all scratched/dinged up.
As per the article:
"But what if my container is 'microwave-safe'?
Though various plastics are marked as microwave-safe—and plenty of plastic lobbyists have defended them as perfectly safe—the term is somewhat misleading. It’s simply referring to plastic types that won’t crack or melt when heated, not their chemical makeup. Supposedly microwave-safe products can still contain bisphenols, phthalates, and plenty of other potentially harmful ingredients."
Did you read the article?
I know plastic is scary but guys, you don't need to replace your entire plastic container selection - you could just, decant your food into a different container before microwaving it? The microwave is what's doing this, not the fridge.
I'd recommend getting a small borosilicate/Pyrex dish like This. I've been using two of them my entire life (did none of you get taught that microwaving plastic with food make it go funny as a kid?) And they last a good while. Provided you don't drop them. I think IKEA sells them and I've seen them around in my local kitchen store in non-pyrex brands. Also they're oven and dishwasher safe too!
Also I don't reccomend hunting for vintage Pyrex here - old pyrex chips super easily and constant use and slamming the lid on will chip the edges to hell and back. The European formula isn't actually the same as the old one so it's fine but unless you like glass chips in your cupboard and super sharp edges, don't go for it.
The microwave is what’s doing this, not the fridge.
Nobody said the fridge is doing this, but it doesn't prevent it, either. It happens through contact. The microwave accelerates it.
