While the microwave is a very convenient appliance that makes warm food accessible within minutes, it can sometimes feel a bit limited. What limits the appliance is, according to me, the cooking capacity of the microwave. However, there may be ways around this limit.
Can you microwave multiple things at one time?
You can microwave multiple foods at once but it takes double the time to heat two items. Using utensils with a high absorbency rate (glass) will speed up the process. If you can’t fit both items in the microwave, place an upside-down cup next to the first bowl and place the other bowl on top of it to create an extra layer.
Read on to find out how to microwave multiple things simultaneously.
Can You Microwave Two Things At One Time?
It’s pretty easy to cook two things at once in the microwave. You need to place the bowls or mugs on the turntable and ensure that they can rotate without touching the inner sides of the microwave.
Better yet, if the food in the bowls is the same & the same amount in a similar bowl, they would warm simultaneously.
However, if the foods are different, for instance, food and water, then the time required to heat both would be different. Thus, one will get cooked faster than the other.
For instance, if you have two bowls of the same size, chances are they won’t fit on the microwave plate.
So you can place one of the bowls on the microwave plate, then add a cup and place it upside down beside the bowl and place the second bowl on top of the cup.
Above all else, avoid using plastic containers as usual.
How Do You Cook Multiple Things In the Microwave?
You can cook multiple things in your microwave as long as your microwave is not too small to fit two bowls. But still, you must ensure that your bowls are on the smaller side.
Also, it depends on what you are trying to cook as different foods take varying times to cook. The bowl’s material also plays a crucial role in how fast your food gets cooked.
Lastly, the microwave energy absorption and reflectance characteristics of the foods being cooked also determine if you will enjoy all your foods at once.
For instance, if you want to cook a potato and a sausage, whereby you place the potato in a ceramic bowl and sausage on a glass plate, you will find that despite both weighing the same, the sausage will be cooked while the potato will remain the same.
This is because a glass plate has a high heat absorbency rate compared to a ceramic bowl. Thus, it will take less time for a sausage to cook.
If you have been using your microwave for cooking for a while, you might have noticed that it has the efficiency to food and weight, meaning that it does not work based on the weight of the food, but composition.
With that said, you have to try different bowls and mugs to see which one works best. If you place a bowl on a cup, you must ensure that the mug is sturdy enough and has a wide surface to hold the bowl securely.
The cup must also be tall enough to ensure that the bowl does not knock the bowl sitting on the turntable.
Sometimes, you may be forced to remove one item ahead of the other if you find it’s well cooked while the other still has some time left. This will help you avoid overcooking or undercooking one item. So keep checking on your food.
Since most microwave turntables rotate, it would be best to use a stable setting (ensuring that it doesn’t turn) as it reduces the chances of your bowls knocking into each other.
It also prevents a mug from shaking and toppling the bowl over spilling its content. Do this, and you will comfortably cook multiple things in your microwave.
Do You Have To Adjust Time When Cooking Multiple Items In the Microwave?
Although it’s a good idea to microwave two things at once, you will notice that it does not save on electricity. The temperature setting of your microwave will take a significant amount of time to achieve well-cooked food.
So you have to be patient because it will take almost double the time it would have taken to cook a single item at a time.
It is said that microwaving multiple things takes 1.6 times what you’d have used for cooking a single item, and I would say that’s a good guideline for many items.
For instance, if you were to heat up two cups at once, you would have to make some minor changes to the timing. Let’s say that a single cup takes approximately 3 minutes. Two cups would then take 6 minutes.
The more mass there is to heat up in the microwave, the longer it will take to heat it up. The same amount of energy may be converted to microwaves at any given time, but the microwaves are then distributed to all the different foods in the microwave. Therefore, you will be required to adjust the time accordingly.
Sometimes, your food may be partially cooked in the microwave. This happens more frequently if you microwave large meals or multiple meals.
In that case, you must pause the microwave, remove the bowl, stir the food, and return the bowls to the microwave to prevent it from coming out partly heated or uncooked. This helps mix up the food while ensuring that it’s heating up evenly.
Repeat this process until your food is evenly cooked.
And in the case of two different foods, there’s more to take into consideration.
Imagine microwaving a cup of coffee and a potato at once, the two will influence each other, but if you adjust the time based on the time it takes to cook the potato, your coffee will be overcooked and most likely boil over.
So you must find a middle ground and adjust the time on the microwave accordingly.
Cooking the same items in two similar bowls will always yield the best results as they will require the same amount of time to heat up. When you mix bowls and types of food, then you’ve made it far more complicated.
Well, “far more” might be an overstatement.
Why Does It Take Longer To Microwave Two Things At Once?
The more food there is in the microwave, the more energy is needed to heat it up. Picture a microwave operating at 800W.
It will operate at that energy level regardless of how much food there’s in the microwave, but the food will need to absorb twice the amount of energy in order to heat up.
This causes the time needed to cook two items to increase. You increase the demand but maintain the same supply, so something has to give, and that’s the cooking time.
Several other things influence a microwave’s time to heat two bowls at once. These include:
Bowl’s Material
If you use a bowl or a mug with a low heat absorption rate, then it’s no secret that it will take longer for the food inside the bowl to heat up.
So, if you want your food to heat up quickly, use bowls made of glass material as it has a higher absorption rate.
Food Type
The type of food in the bowls also influences the time spent heating the food evenly. For instance, two cups of coffee will take a shorter time to heat up than frozen or raw food.
This is because they will need more heat, and for it to be evenly heated, you will need to stir it several times.
Amount of Food
The amount of food in the bowls also plays a crucial part. The lesser the food, the lesser the time needed to cook, thus it will take a shorter time. But the more the food, the more the load, thus taking longer.
And remember you have two bowls, so you need to half the temperature into two, thus taking double the time required to heat at the same temperature settings.
Heat Setting
You will have to adjust the heat setting accordingly if you want your food to heat in the shortest time possible.
Because the time it takes to heat your food depends on the amount of energy you are converting into heat waves. So the more food, the more power is needed.
Weak Microwave
We all know that the value of home appliances depletes the more they are used, and microwave is not an exception. So the more you use your microwave, the more its magnetron tube weaken, thus releasing less heat.
A magnetron tube is a high-voltage system that utilizes magnetic and electrical fields to create heat waves that bounce around the microwave, heating your food.
Note that a microwave does not work like an oven, therefore you need to be extra cautious when using it for cooking food and taking note of the microwave wattage to set the cooking time.
Can You Stack Items In the Microwave?
You can stack items in the microwave as long as you don’t block any vents, as this may cause damage to the microwave.
Stacking items in the microwave is best done by elevating the second plate, or bowl. This can be done by placing an upside-down mug, or any other suitable item on the turntable and placing the second bowl or plate on top of it.
Make sure that your construction doesn’t wobble. If it does when the microwave isn’t on, it will most likely fall once the turntable starts moving.
Placing items on top of each other without elevating them isn’t something I’d recommend.
Well, regardless of which method you decide to go with, make sure to be cautious to avoid damage to yourself, your home, or your microwave.
Check the microwave’s instruction manual before you decide to heat multiple items. I’ve merely shared the methods which I have used to do this, I advise you to consult the manufacturers before you decide to go for it.
Some microwaves have two sections, one for grilling and another for heating food. You might be tempted to stack items such as meat and potatoes on the grill while still heating some other food items.
This increases your load and prolongs its time to cook the food. More so, you will take more time than you’d have with single items, thus consuming more power.
If you plan on placing anything on a microwave, then take necessary precautionary measures.
For instance, if you are placing a toaster, you’d have to put a protective layer on top of the microwave before placing your toaster. The toaster emits too much heat, affecting the microwave material.
Can You Microwave Multiple Frozen Items At Once?
You can microwave multiple frozen items at once but you have to make adjustments to the cooking time. Increasing the cooking time by 1.5-2 times the recommendations on the package is a good start.
You should open the microwave to check the state of the food once you’re getting close to 1.5 times the recommended cooking time. Using the multi-level system created by an upside-down mug will allow you to multiple two frozen items at once with ease.
Frozen items that I have microwaved successfully:
- Bags of vegetables
- Frozen Meals
- Nuggets, spring rolls, cheese sticks and other fried items
- Pizzas
- Berries
- Easy Macs
…. and much more!
Is It Bad to Microwave Two Things At Once?
Talking about microwave safety is important. I know we’ve praised different workarounds that allow for more capacity in the microwave at any single time. One must, however, think about the consequences and make sure to practice caution when using any kitchen appliance.
It doesn’t matter if it’s the microwave, the oven, or the stovetop.
The process of microwaving two things at once doesn’t seem to have any negative impact directly. It has the same type of impact that microwaving a single meal would have.
So, microwaving two items at once shouldn’t be bad for your health. It can, however, be bad for the overall experience if the two items come out unevenly cooked – but as long as adjustments have been made to the cooking time, you should be fine.
The potential fire hazard is the only thing that you should be concerned about when cooking multiple items in the microwave. Use caution and refer to the instruction manual before you stack items in your microwave.