Nothing could be easier than opening the lid, putting it in the oven and heating it up. But not all containers can withstand the heat and waves of the device. Some can even be poisonous. Fear not though: with a little caution, your lunch at work is safe.
How they would like, those who work away from home, to be able to have lunch from Monday to Friday in a restaurant, abandon themselves to the luck of the menu of the day or choose something on the menu out of curiosity. How would you like it? But since they are not all executives, managers or government advisers, the numbers simply do not add up: unless you eat sopaipillas or a few folds + mini promo drink, there is no way to make ends meet without resorting to food brought from home.
It’s not to be despised either: in addition to saving money, it’s also more likely to be more nutritious and healthier than most high street options. Even reheated in the microwave, some preparations become even more attractive. Some noodles in tomato sauce, kidney beans or a potato omelette get extra flavor when their particles are shaken by these invisible waves.
Electric Oven vs Microwave: Which Should Have More in the Kitchen?
The only problem is that not all containers are able to withstand microwaves; Although we may not notice it, some can contaminate our food when heated. It’s not news: BPA (bisphenol A for short), a chemical found in many hard and transparent plastics, became famous a few years ago when it was discovered that it was released with heat. and that it could be hazardous to health when mixed. with food.
According to several studies , Exposure to BPA can affect brain and prostate health in fetuses, infants, and children, and has also been linked to increased blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and disease. cardiovascular. Plastics can also contain dioxins, environmental contaminants typical of certain chemical processes, which in large quantities and with chronic frequency are capable of causing skin lesions, alterations in the nervous and reproductive systems and, in extreme cases, certain types of cancer.
Does that mean we’re all going to die? Yes, but not by eating in plastic pots, or not necessarily. Since these harmful effects became known, regulations in almost all of the world have evolved towards more information. In some countries, even the marketing of products containing BPA is prohibited for babies and children, such as bottles, cups and toys.
The same goes for food containers: in Europe, regulations require This type of utensil indicates whether or not it is suitable for the microwave, which is determined by its ability not to migrate chemicals into the food it contains.
Which yes?
The safest, of course, would be not to use plastic and to prefer glass containers, although more expensive and very fragile. One thing for another: glass is harmless, it resists heat better and can even be used in convection or gas ovens; but it has a higher value and if it falls or hits hard, the arrow breaks.
If you suffer from slippery hands or need a container for your child to take to school — where they’re bound to take all sorts of bumps, drops, and abuse — glass won’t be the best option. .
How to get the most out of your microwave
But to reassure skeptics, there is safe plastic for storing and reheating food. It is polypropylene for food use, the one whose containers bear a number 5 inside the classic triangle of recycling arrows. The container should also state that it is suitable for microwave use, with certifications stating that it is BPA-free.
Normally when you buy it it says so on its packaging, but if you want to know if your mother’s pot you took the leftover roast from home is for heating food, then make sure that ‘it says so on its base or it has at least two symbols: one of a fork and a cup — meaning it’s suitable for storing food — and another with some waves inside of a square, which is the one that guarantees that it resists the waves of the oven.
If you have it, go inside. Even better if it also bears the other symbols -dishwasher and freezer safe-, as this will increase its usefulness in your kitchen. But if it’s the classic repurposed ice cream pan, be sure to transfer the food to a porcelain plate before putting it in the microwave.
Do not discriminate against him because of his spots.
After sending you some good noodle bolognese or a delicate micro-warmed curry, it’s time to wash the tupperware. One, two, and even three swipes of detergent, but the tomato red or turmeric yellow — or orange if it was spicy homemade sausages — dye doesn’t come out of its corners.
Rumor has it that when this happens, when the container is dyed with the color – natural or artificial – of the food, it’s time to say goodbye. This is an unequivocal sign that its useful life is over.
But this is nothing more than a myth. Testimonial from a plastics specialist to the Spanish cuisine site the greedy “when you introduce a fatty food with dyes, they slip through these micro-slits and do not come out. Much more if the food is hot or if you put it in the microwave. It is not dangerous, because the plastic material is inert and micro-organisms do not proliferate”.
More dangerous than stains would be dishwasher leftovers in the container, so don’t obsess over them. It’s true: they don’t look very hygienic, but maybe apart from the color they also accumulate an extra layer of flavor, the one that gives your office lunches that je-ne-sais-quoi.
What containers do
Like we said, if your choice is plastic, make sure it’s microwave safe. If you can’t prove it, better suspect and heat the food in something else.
But not in just any! A cardboard container, so popular today with delivery and take-out orders, is used to wrap hot food and eat it from there, but not to fit into the complicated cavities of a microwave. .
Cakes, steamed vegetables and fries: 9 quick preparations for the microwave
With the heat, the glue carried by these containers can melt, contaminate the food and at the same time disassemble the container, which will end up transforming our lunch into a tragedy.
It is also not recommended to try it in bamboo or wooden trays or pots, which are also common due to the ban on single-use plastics. Its grace is that later it’s organic and compostable waste, but not that it can withstand being heated in your old dough microwave.
Because? Because wood, being a plant, contains water, and what the waves in the oven do is move the water particles around so that they generate heat. This is how to heat a meal or melt cheese, but also a surefire way to warp a wooden container and render it unusable to eat.
Finally, never put a container, container, pot, utensil made of paper or aluminum in the microwave. Not even like a scientific experiment: inside the device, the metals work like an antenna that changes the direction of the waves and in many cases redirects them to the magnetron —the oscillator that generates the microwaves— , which can end up burning it out and causing the magnetron to explode.
Source: Latercera
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
