The microwave — from a Heston Blumenthal to Dan Lepard — has a place in the kitchen.

[Kim Shook]

2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Tried poaching an egg in the microwave just now.  60 seconds @ 80% power.  Good news and bad news.  The bad news is the yolk was firm (and exploded).  The good news is the white was not slimey.

I'm going to try it, too.  Can't resist.  I, too, am snot-adverse 😁.  Would it work in a custard cup?  Or would that be too small?

Edited March 15, 2021 by Kim Shook (log)

[Naftal]

Halleluya!!! I love the microwave! And it is a great joy to find that others here do too.I use my microwave for veggies and grains and lentils. I use it for fish too. can you tell I am excited?

[Naftal]

This is a wonderful site devoted to this subject!

[MokaPot]

5 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Tried poaching an egg in the microwave just now.  60 seconds @ 80% power.  Good news and bad news.  The bad news is the yolk was firm (and exploded).  The good news is the white was not slimey.

 

I've experimented with cooking eggs in the microwave. You can try piercing (with something small & sharp) the yolk. That might help with the explosion situation.

 

[ElsieD]

48 minutes ago, MokaPot said:

 

I've experimented with cooking eggs in the microwave. You can try piercing (with something small & sharp) the yolk. That might help with the explosion situation.

 

 

Yeah, I read about the poke the yolk thing after I tried cooking the egg.  How did your experiments fare?

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I cannot envision life with a retired husband and without a microwave.    There's an old saying, "For better for worse but not for lunch."    Enter "planned overs" and the microwave.  

Edited March 16, 2021 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[MokaPot]

2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

Yeah, I read about the poke the yolk thing after I tried cooking the egg.  How did your experiments fare?

 

I never did get a down-pat method for the sunny-side-up type of egg in the microwave. But I did get some decent results. I did poke the yolk and never had an explosion.

 

If you like a runny yolk and a white that's not runny, I think you're still working against the different temps at which those 2 things set up. (The yolk sets up at a lower temperature than does the white.)

 

I did make some really good (IMO) scrambled eggs with cheese, though. IIRC, I adjusted the power level (down) of the microwave and paused to stir the eggs (then resumed cooking). Really nice, fluffy texture.

 

[weinoo]

I don't know how I've survived for years decades without one, though we did put one in the DC pied-à-terre, so Significant Eater could use it for various purposes (like preparing her amy's frozen burritos or whatever). Oh, now I remember - kitchen real estate, and the fact I can melt butter as well as bring water to a boil in a small saucepan on the stove.

Edited March 16, 2021 by weinoo (log)

[Naftal]

14 hours ago, MokaPot said:

 

I never did get a down-pat method for the sunny-side-up type of egg in the microwave. But I did get some decent results. I did poke the yolk and never had an explosion.

 

If you like a runny yolk and a white that's not runny, I think you're still working against the different temps at which those 2 things set up. (The yolk sets up at a lower temperature than does the white.)

 

I did make some really good (IMO) scrambled eggs with cheese, though. IIRC, I adjusted the power level (down) of the microwave and paused to stir the eggs (then resumed cooking). Really nice, fluffy texture.

 

I have had exploding yolks too. What did you poke them with?

[MokaPot]

8 minutes ago, Naftal said:

I have had exploding yolks too. What did you poke them with?

 

IIRC, I poked (pierced) the yolk with something really small & sharp, maybe a sewing pin or the tip of a paring knife. IIRC, I poked the yolk more than just once, maybe 2-3 small holes.

 

I think I also adjusted (down) the power level of the microwave.

 

[Kim Shook]

On 3/5/2021 at 6:37 PM, Anna N said:

I am still not seeing what you are seeing but I followed Faith Durand on microwaving eggs and found this .

 

 

I tried this method today and got similar results to @ElsieD's.  The ingredients:

Couldn't be simpler - egg and water with a touch of vinegar.  But, though my yolk didn't explode, it did get too done for me.  The white was very frothy in some areas and just done.  I don't think I'd want it any less done:

 

The recipe writer says, "the microwave tends to cook the yolk even faster than the white".  I'm not sure that you can get around this reality (assuming it is a reality), but I'll give it couple more tries.  I love the ease of the method.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I tried this method today and got similar results to @ElsieD's.  The ingredients:

Couldn't be simpler - egg and water with a touch of vinegar.  But, though my yolk didn't explode, it did get too done for me.  The white was very frothy in some areas and just done.  I don't think I'd want it any less done:

 

The recipe writer says, "the microwave tends to cook the yolk even faster than the white".  I'm not sure that you can get around this reality (assuming it is a reality), but I'll give it couple more tries.  I love the ease of the method.  

 

Anything cooks the yolk even faster than the white.

 

[MokaPot]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Anything cooks the yolk even faster than the white.

 

 

Yes, that's the sad realization I came to during my boiled eggs experiments.

 

[chromedome]

Several years ago I futzed around with microwaved eggs for a while, and got to the point of separating them, starting the whites only, stirring them, doing the whites for another brief increment, stirring them again, adding the yolk, cooking for a brief interval, leaving it sit for a carefully measured minute or two for the temperature to equalize, then finishing it for juuuuust a few more anxious seconds....

 

And then, just as I was close to getting the whole rigmarole dialed in perfectly, I gave my head a shake and went back to doing them in water.

 

Now I only nuke 'em on the infrequent occasions when I want a hard-cooked egg quickly for a breakfast sandwich or similar usage.

[Kim Shook]

10 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Anything cooks the yolk even faster than the white.

 

I did not know this.  I thought that cooking an egg to the point of the white being firm and the yolk runny meant that the yolk was cooking slower.  I'm confused.  

[gfweb]

On 3/16/2021 at 11:05 AM, weinoo said:

I don't know how I've survived for years decades without one, though we did put one in the DC pied-à-terre, so Significant Eater could use it for various purposes (like preparing her amy's frozen burritos or whatever). Oh, now I remember - kitchen real estate, and the fact I can melt butter as well as bring water to a boil in a small saucepan on the stove.

 

* this is not an anti microwave statement*

 

We have one for my wife's popcorn* whose foul stench I'd ban if I could.  For me, the microwave is like the airfryer. It does things the stove can do but requires a lot of experimentation to come close to the stove's results. 

 

* I will use it to unfreeze a slice of pizza before the CSO or BSO finishes it.

[MokaPot]

3 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I did not know this.  I thought that cooking an egg to the point of the white being firm and the yolk runny meant that the yolk was cooking slower.  I'm confused.  

 

I see what you're saying. I think the problem is for people who are zoned in on the egg whites and don't want *any* of the egg whites to be runny. (But still want the yolk to be runny.) The experience I have is that the egg yolks get set up (to the point of turning a lighter color) while *some* of the egg whites are still runny.

 

To complicate matters, there's also the method of straining out the thinner part of the egg white.

 

IME, poached eggs & over-easy eggs give you the best chance of a set-up white & runny yolk.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I did not know this.  I thought that cooking an egg to the point of the white being firm and the yolk runny meant that the yolk was cooking slower.  I'm confused.  

 

The major egg white protein, ovalbumin, does not denature (become firm) until 78C/172F -- by which temperature, to my taste, egg yolks are overcooked, unless one is striving for hardboiled.

 

https://repositorio.ucp.pt/bitstream/10400.14/6682/3/A calorimetric Study .pdf

(See Table 1)

 

 

[jimb0]

5 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I did not know this.  I thought that cooking an egg to the point of the white being firm and the yolk runny meant that the yolk was cooking slower.  I'm confused.  

 

as @JoNorvelleWalker mentioned, egg whites set at a higher temperature. typically they get done first in many preparations because they're acting as insulators for the yolk rather than exposing the yolk to the same levels of heat.