If are landed here then there’s a huge chance that you’ve put an empty plate in the microwave oven, and you observed that it didn’t heat up. So, what’s the fact behind the empty plate not heating up in the microwave? Let’s find out.
So, the easiest answer to this is that for a plate to get hot in the microwave you need to have something with moisture on it. Anything that doesn’t have moisture in it will not heat up in the microwave. That’s the reason an empty plate in the microwave doesn’t heat up. However, if you place any portion of food on the plate then that will be hot to touch.
Facts Behind Empty Plate Not Heat Up In The Microwave
When you put any food into a microwave oven, the water molecules within that food are the ones that get hot. That, in turn, makes the entire food warmer, and eventually, hot.
Further, if you’re familiar with the transfer of heat from one substance to another, you would notice that the heat from the food also made the plate heat up. The rays that come from within a microwave when it’s operating affect the temperature of the food you put inside it. These waves actually cause the water molecules inside the food to vibrate rapidly.
These rapid vibrations are enough to generate heat. This eventually heats the food up quite a lot, even within a minute. But if you put an empty plate into a microwave oven, you won’t see the same kind of impact.
In fact, you might even feel a bit of heat from an empty plate. But that might be because the plate had quite a few drops of water molecules on it.
Microwave ovens actually heat the water molecules inside the food substances and they are quite different than the way a stovetop oven works. A stovetop oven will actually apply heat to the food from one side or both sides. However, a microwave oven works in a completely different way. That is, they truly heat food up from the inside out.
Microwave Oven Cooking Process
The microwave actually works on the waves which are produced inside the oven. To the core of all these lies a magnetron. A magnetron is an electron tube that actually creates these microwaves.
The interior of the microwave oven isn’t as hot when you’re getting the food out of the microwave oven. The water molecules inside the food substances vibrate and produce heat and that cooks the food.
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However, when you’re cooking something thick, the outer layer of the food heats up in the normal microwave process. Then the heat transfers from the outer layer to the inside and transfers the heat.
Microwave ovens are more efficient because they cook things much faster than conventional cooking methods. The downside is that you can’t cook absolutely everything in a microwave, but they are definitely the best for modern-day cooking.
Microwave Containers
You should know that you cannot place some materials inside a microwave. Like, some plastic containers may actually end up melting if they stay too long in a microwave.
Even aluminum foils and metal containers aren’t recommended for use inside microwaves. That’s because these waves may actually reflect off the containers and eventually cause some damage to the microwave oven. Using containers made of glass, plastic, paper, or ceramic is okay to use.
The Bottom Line
By this point, you should already know why does an empty plate not heat up in the microwave. Further don’t forget to only use microwave-friendly containers for your own safety.
