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Microwaves are without a doubt one of the most used household electronic appliances. Most of the times people use it to heat food. However, what you may do not know about that is most Microwaves also come with an amazing defrost feature. Now you do not have to wait hours for that meat to defrost. You can easily put in inside your Microwave, and get the job done within a few minutes. Majority of the times, people do not know how to properly use the Defrost feature, and it can indeed be confusing. Knowing how much you should set defrost to can be a bit tedious.
Waiting for that big chunk of chicken to defrost on its own can be time-consuming. If you have to urgently prepare a meal, then it can be frustrating to wait a whole day for it. This is why, rather than turning your stove on, your Microwave Defrost can certainly be a timesaver.
Defrosting can not only help you make cooking easier but also safer as it kills off all the bacteria’s. You can simply take anything you want to out of the freezer and move on to the cooking phase. Although modern Microwaves are easy to operate and so is their defrost option. It is the old models that can be a bit tricky.
Wondering how you can efficiently defrost your meals? Do not worry, because we have got you covered. Let’s see a couple of pointers you need to keep in mind to defrost your food and how you can do it the right way.
Finding the Right Container
One of the most basic steps of defrosting your food is to make sure that you have the right container. This is where most people go wrong, and using the wrong container can potentially cause problems as well. When you are defrosting or heating anything in a Microwave, generally using a glass container is recommended.
Although there is a common debate that whether one should use plastic or not. It is generally recommended to avoid it. Instead, if you do not have a glass container, you can always go for ceramic as well. Plastic can melt/break down in a Microwave and even lead to fire. This is the reason it should be avoided.
Defrosting Power
The defrosting power depends mainly on the type of food that you are trying to defrost. The bigger the item, the longer it might take to defrost and more power it would require. In general, if you are trying to defrost a medium-sized item, then you are going to have to set the power at around 30-50%. However, if it’s a larger item such as a chunk of meat, then it might require even more power and time.
If you find that after defrosting the food, the heat hasn’t been evenly distributed, then consider increasing the power.
Setting the Timer
The timer you are going to set entirely depends on the size of the food. Depending on your requirements, and the degree you want to defrost it to, you can adjust it accordingly. If you are trying to defrost harder items, then you might want to wait 5-8 minutes. However, for loose foods, it would not take that long.
Just to make the process even faster, you can take out the foods that are defrosted once the timer ends. If there’s anything remaining, you can always put it back into the Microwave once gain.
The time it would take to defrost may vary depending on the model and overall performance of your Microwave. However, with a little patience, you can get the job done with minimum effort. Once you have defrosted everything, then it’s time to cook and enjoy your meal!
Safety Measures to Keep in Mind while Defrosting
1) Use a Thermometer
If you still feel sceptical about the temperature to set while defrosting, then using a thermometer is recommended. It would help you to make the overall process easier and you would have a concrete temperature in your mind that you can set.
2) Cook the Defrosted Item
It is normally not recommended to defrost the same item multiple times. If you are defrosting a packet, then consider cooking it in one go. If you think that the quantity is too much, then it would be advised to first make multiple small packets before you begin defrosting. This would enable you to not only conserve the defrosted items but also, decide the quantity.
3) Clean the Microwave
Hygiene plays a major role, especially when you are about to cook a meal. Just to be on the safe side, make sure that you properly clean your Microwave after you defrost any food. You never know the bacteria’s that may be lingering inside your Microwave waiting to attack any time you cook your next meal.
4) Avoid Re-storing
Similar to what we mentioned above, you might want to avoid re-storing the food that you have defrosted once. Defrosting the same food multiple times can potentially lead to bacteria build up. This is one of the primary reasons that defrosting the food only once is advisable.
Why My Microwave Defrost is not working?
If you have followed all the methods we just mentioned, and find that defrost still does not seem to be working fine, then the problem may be with your Microwave. However, do not worry, you do not necessarily have to worry about purchasing an entirely new Microwave.
Play around with the temperature a bit. Sometimes, it also depends on the type of container you are using. It often happens that people think defrost is not working because of a problem in the Microwave. However, it also depends a lot on the item and its hardness. So, this is something that you may want to keep in mind. Depending on how old your Microwave is, there is also a chance that the defrost feature may not be up to the mark.
In the end, if nothing works, regardless of how high the temperature is, consider calling a technician. Before you do replace your Microwave, it is first worth checking whether its normal function is working or not. You can simply put a glass of water into the Microwave and see if it is boiling the water. If it’s not, then you officially have a dead Microwave in your hands.
Conclusion
Most of the times people use a Microwave for heating food. However, if you learn to use the defrost feature the right way, then the time you would save would surprise you. You can say goodbye to waiting for hours and hours hoping that when would you finally be able to cook your meal. With the help of a Microwave Defrost, your life will become easier than ever.
This is why make sure that you follow the steps we have mentioned above. In the end, if you are still not able to defrost your food then consider calling a technician.
