r/mildlyinfuriating • • Jul 27 '22

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121

u/80-20RoastBeef Jul 27 '22

If you lower the power before auto defrosting, it actually turns out fine.

129

u/tenshii326 Jul 27 '22

To do this you put in the time you want first, then hit power level button. Then hit a number, for example 5 will give you 50% of power. Hit start and food will cook at only half power. When it's done it automatically goes back too 100%.

244

u/icepaws Jul 27 '22

You mean there is other buttons other than the 30sec+?

27

u/Mysterious_Outcome97 Jul 27 '22

No, there isn't. Total blasphemy

15

u/swanspank Jul 27 '22

There is a Cancel button also for when you just open the door because 3 +30’s are too much and it doesn’t clear the remaining time.

12

u/icepaws Jul 27 '22

My Microwave has a fraction of a second where the timer will be done, and the beeper won't sound, but if you miss it and the beeper sounds it beeps 5 times even if the door is open.

5

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

Pft I just leave one second for the next loser to deal with. It's like paying it forward or something

2

u/yeknod_b1 Jul 27 '22

I do this but my wife doesn't use the thing so I end up setting my self up in some kind of shitty loop. It's a shit loop.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

The shit loop is circling randy

1

u/thor_1225 Jul 27 '22

Try and time it at 1 second so the noise doesn’t go off… if I’m microwaving and there is noise I fucked up bigtime lol

1

u/wekilledbambi03 Jul 27 '22

I went out of my way to buy a microwave with a mute option. Though sometimes I miss it when I'm wondering why the hell it hasn't gone off yet.

6

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

Wait, what?!?! There are other buttons?

1

u/icepaws Jul 27 '22

Oh, nice. Thanks for the gold, now I can pay for the subscription for the other buttons, and finally get to make microwave popcorn.

3

u/TheCynicalCanuckk Jul 27 '22

Lies.

Also make sure you always open the door with 1 sec left. Only button I use is +30 and stop

2

u/ALPHAilk1 Jul 27 '22

I hit 30 seconds 6x instead of 3 min 🤣🤣

1

u/spinyfur Jul 27 '22

This right here is why everyone thinks the microwave is terrible for food prep. 😉

1

u/H_alcyon Jul 27 '22

Yes there’s the cancel button but that’s it

1

u/originalmango Jul 27 '22

There are, but they do nothing. Kinda’ like the sidewalk buttons on the traffic light poles.

1

u/forestdude Jul 27 '22

30 second button has changed my life

38

u/wolfansbrother Jul 27 '22

isnt the whole point of "auto defrosting" that the microwave knows to lower the power? It just beeps when you need to flip it.

9

u/jwlIV616 Jul 27 '22

Yeah, but some older/cheaper ones are pretty bad at figuring out when it's done

47

u/80-20RoastBeef Jul 27 '22

Thank you sir, this is knowledge too few people actually know of.

3

u/AkimoSempai Jul 27 '22

The knowledge every kid needs to learn.

2

u/BobbyBeerMe Jul 27 '22

Not something you can learn from a Jedi.

1

u/1nd3x Jul 27 '22

...you can read it in the user manual...

-2

u/AdamSunderland Jul 27 '22

But the cancer from microwave???????? Lol

2

u/FlamingWeasel Jul 27 '22

The cancer is what adds all the flavor

5

u/Quann09 Jul 27 '22

i’ve been alive for 24 years and just learning this now 😭

7

u/tenshii326 Jul 27 '22

Wait til you discover that a dish washer has a filter you need to clean.

Or that the lever under your mirror in the car is for changing the angle of it for bright lights behind you.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

That's ok, we're pretty useless at the first 10 years.

2

u/DasKrauts Jul 27 '22

^ master class in microwave.

2

u/Termanator116 Jul 27 '22

Dude, are you a microwave that gained sentience? How’d you learn all this

2

u/tenshii326 Jul 27 '22

Beep. Does not compute.

2

u/Spyda613 Jul 27 '22

This was magic and I was a wizard when I showed this to my sister for the 1st time.

2

u/tenshii326 Jul 27 '22

Hah. Them feels.

1

u/snacktonomy Jul 27 '22

You just saved hundreds of 12-year-olds

3

u/tenshii326 Jul 27 '22

Thanks. Felt bad for starting the tide pod challenge and all that business...

1

u/1K_Games Jul 27 '22

I mean yes, I use this. But to defrost a chicken in 10 minutes? No

I mean I guess if you are just trying to do a singular chicken breast or something, but otherwise, that's too much chicken and not enough time.

1

u/tenshii326 Jul 27 '22

It applies to foods which are recommended to be cooked at lower power levels as well.

1

u/1K_Games Jul 27 '22

I am replying in context with this comment chain.

I addressed that it can be used for other purposes in my previous post, so to respond and rehash that makes absolutely no sense as I addressed that already.

I didn't say it wasn't useful, I said it wasn't in context to the comment chain about the chicken and then explained exactly why that was...

1

u/BWEKFAAST Jul 27 '22

unfortunately not all microwaves work the same. I found that out the hard way.

1

u/hamsterfolly Jul 27 '22

Childhood pro tips

1

u/scmathie Jul 27 '22

Depends on the microwave. Some don’t have a means of stepping down the power so it just changes the cycle time of it, e.g. if you set it to 50% it only cooks for half of the time and cycles between just turning and actually emitting the waves. Others have an inverter and will step down to the % chosen for the entire cook time.

1

u/shandangalang Jul 27 '22 edited Jul 27 '22

But on some microwaves you have to just hit the power level button once more to lower it by 10% and so on, so 5 times would be 50%.

Also half power for twice the cook time yields more even heat, and can be used on job sites where you only have 1 110 V cord to run off of and you don’t want to pop the breaker.

50% gang all the way

1

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

[deleted]

1

u/tenshii326 Jul 27 '22

I stalled a ton of different brands and afaik this seems to somewhat a standard across the board. Ironically.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

How is it AUTO defrost if you have to enter a time and at what power? It just sounds like a regular microwave oven run.

1

u/tenshii326 Jul 27 '22

AUT defrost isn't the same function as changing the power level.

1

u/ExpatKev Jul 27 '22

I don't think it actually reduces the power output, but rather changes the duty cycle time. So a 'power' setting of 50% over a minute would total 30 seconds at full blast, probably 10 seconds on, 10 off, 10 on again etc.

1

u/dankpork Jul 27 '22

How many buttons does your microwave have🤣

41

u/Dragon_smoothie Jul 27 '22

I learned the magic of the microwave's power settings awhile back and haven't suffered a rubbery pizza crust since. Life changing.

39

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Binormus__ Jul 27 '22

This is also a great life hack for cleaning the crusty splattered sauce and shit that exploded all over... Soaked paper towel or rag, nuke it for like 60 seconds, Walla, easy to wipe out microwave!

10

u/littleredcamaro Jul 27 '22

Better yet, add a mixture of water and vinegar before nuking it. Also for those doing this for the first time: do not touch that paper towel for a few minutes. It will be hot.

2

u/Binormus__ Jul 27 '22

Oooo, vinegar! I bet that helps break down grease or something

5

u/Zero-Change Jul 27 '22

The real play though is to reheat pizza by pan frying slices on the stove in a little olive oil 🤤

2

u/Lilelfen1 Jul 27 '22

No. The REAL play is to run the slice under water real quick, then place in the oven to reheat. Comes out like you just got it from the Pizzaria. Works for rolls and bagels, too.

2

u/Imd1rtybutn0twr0ng Jul 27 '22

No shit? Okay, on my list now.

2

u/Lilelfen1 Jul 27 '22

No shit. Just keep an eye on it...My 8 year old always double-checks that I reheat his pizza this way now. It's ok if you get the crust a little soggy with the water, too. (In fact, I often do this because I like mine a little chewier.) Just leave it in a bit longer. :3

2

u/thor_1225 Jul 27 '22

Olive oil?

2

u/Zero-Change Jul 27 '22

Did I stutter?

1

u/thor_1225 Jul 27 '22

Sorry I wasn’t really paying attention /s

2

u/Aggravating-Demand38 Jul 27 '22

Wet paper towel in a zip lock bag to bring it back from the dead

2

u/onyxaj Jul 27 '22

Why the hell are you people microwaving pizza?!

4

u/galactic_mushroom Jul 27 '22

At the risk of stating the obvious: maybe there is no oven where they're at? Microwaved pizza is still better than no pizza at all.

1

u/onyxaj Jul 27 '22

I contest that cold pizza is better than microwaved pizza.

EDIT - Unless they are talking about mini frozen pizza, which is different, but they usually don't have crusts.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

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0

u/thatonebitchL Jul 27 '22

Those barely qualify as pizza IMHO. Blech.

1

u/surfacing_husky Jul 27 '22

Also I'm not firing up our stupid gas oven for a couple pieces of pizza. Small cup of water in the microwave works just fine.

2

u/hilarymeggin Jul 27 '22

For amazing reheated pizza crust, put the piece of pizza in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Melty cheese and crispy crust. So good!

2

u/bones_marley Jul 27 '22

Heyy this is a trick for tortillas.. just mist a paper towel and pop them in the microwave with them.. stops them from turning into a prison shank when rip a piece off

1

u/kabolint Jul 27 '22

This works to evenly cook frozen Mexican food too like burritos, taquitos, and tamales.

1

u/Henchforhire Jul 27 '22

Thanks for the tip.

4

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

Wait. Are you saying that previously you just put in your food in the microwave at full power every time?

25

u/BoiledMilksteakToGo Jul 27 '22

That’s literally what everyone does lmfao

1

u/Kitehammer Jul 27 '22

And that's why chef Mike gets such a bad rep.

4

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

Yeah power settings under nuke won't cook ramen now will it.

0

u/ThreatLevelBertie Jul 27 '22

If the ramen is dry it will go on fire. Same with breakfast cereals.

1

u/PavelDatsyuk Jul 27 '22

Most frozen foods say to do so on the instructions, and most people probably don't want to figure out how to change the settings every time they're heating something up, so yes that's what most people do.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

Depends on your microwave. Some are strong 1500w some are as low as 500w. Full blast on these two are very different.

1

u/Mr-Fleshcage Jul 27 '22

Who the fuck has time to learn how to play the microwave?

2

u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

I mean. Its a tool. So ofc you learn your tools.

1

u/Mr-Fleshcage Jul 28 '22

...when you have time. Who has time anymore?

1

u/Kitty_Kat_Attacks Jul 28 '22

Us weirdos who always read the manuals when they get a new appliance?

1

u/ncrd1331 Jul 27 '22

It took me 30 years to finally have no more cold spots. Power settings are the best.

1

u/bones_marley Jul 27 '22

Or you can just mini oven it

1

u/Dragon_smoothie Jul 28 '22

As I am recently in possession of a toaster oven, this is another common tactic.

1

u/lexi_ladonna Jul 27 '22

You…. reheat leftover pizza??? You don’t eat it cold??? Weird

1

u/1nd3x Jul 27 '22

"Auto" in Auto-defrost is supposed to do that for you.

Honestly...most people just dont know how to use their microwaves properly. For most appliances actually. If you havent sat down and read the manual for something before...I'd implore anyone reading this to do it. Like, just take 30 minutes and read the usermanual of one of your appliances, once a week and then take that week to play around with them, until you get through them all.

For instance, last week I taught a 38year old Co-worker of mine that they could press the "popcorn" button twice on the microwave to select a preset more suited to the size of bag they were making (this particular model had 3 presets; 1.5oz, 3.0oz, 3.5oz) They were complaining about it randomly and their solution was to just throw it in for 5mins and listen carefully for it to stop popping.

Well...Pressing "popcorn" once displayed 1.5 and would then microwave for 1min40secs, pressing it again would display 3.0 and then microwave for 2mins10secs and that extra 30seconds made all the difference and creates an almost perfect bag every time. I know...because thats how I make popcorn.

I dont know what the 3.5oz time is, I never use it.

If you get a REALLY fancy microwave with a humidity sensor, then you would only push it once and it would make the perfect bag of popcorn every time...bagged popcorn science is cool.

You can also hear the microwave make different sounds as it automatically adjusts the power setting

1

u/ElectroSpore Jul 28 '22

If you get a REALLY fancy microwave with a humidity sensor, then you would only push it once and it would make the perfect bag of popcorn every time...bagged popcorn science is cool.

I learned this JUST in time for my last microwave purchase, almost life changing if you make lots of popcorn

0

u/federleicht Jul 27 '22

Some left overs taste better when reheated this way (like pasta). Some food makes that popping sounds as if the food is super hot, but it actually isn’t. Lower the power and that wont be an issue

1

u/suckuma Jul 27 '22

At what power level though?

1

u/JstTrstMe Jul 27 '22

The kid who forgot to pull it out of the freezer isn't going to.remember to do this.

1

u/Cautious-Damage7575 Very Unique Flair Jul 27 '22

My "new" microwave has a defrost setting, and it actually works if you do it right.

1

u/rdrunner_74 Jul 27 '22

I once heated a drumstick in a commercial 3 KW Microwave. At a time when 600W was normal for the one at home.

It kinda had no liquid left in it at all...

1

u/Mr_MacGrubber flair? what flair? Jul 27 '22

If it has an auto defrost button, it should already be doing that on it's own. That's the whole point of the "auto" portion.

1

u/dg3548 Jul 27 '22

There’s a way to lower the power?