It’s late, and you don’t want to stay up and make yourself a full-blown dinner. You grab some bread and butter to have some late-night toast. But, to avoid tearing the bread with hard butter, you pop the butter in the microwave for a minute. Thirty seconds in, the butter starts to spark, and you quickly shut off the microwave and feel very confused!
Butter sparks when placed in a microwave on high due to a process known as “arcing”. These sparks are caused by the magnetically charged electrical currents interacting with the butter’s internal compounds. These include magnesium, iron, and selenium.
Why does butter spark, and what can you do to prevent it? Is there a way to prevent the butter from popping and getting your microwave all dirty? We have all these answers and more!
Is It Bad When a Microwave Oven Sparks?
If your microwave sparks, it could indicate an issue with your microwave’s machinery. Sparking in the microwave could be caused by broken or loose parts inside the microwave. Or, it could indicate something you put in the microwave is reacting with the magnets.
Sparks in the microwave are not always signs of something seriously wrong with your microwave. However, make sure you check these parts of your microwave to ensure sparks are not being caused by the machine malfunctioning:
- Broken wave guard
- Damaged rack
- Diode burn out
The wave guard is there to protect the interior of the oven from the microwaves. If you notice this is damaged, rusty, or chipped, then you should get it replaced. It keeps all the moisture, food spatter, and other debris from getting inside the internal working of the machine.
Some microwaves have a rack or support rack above the plate, which spins on the bottom. If the coating on the exterior of the rack begins to peel, it might cause sparks. When these sparks are visible near the rack, it indicates that the rack is causing the sparks.
The diode in a microwave transfers AC (alternating current) and DC (direct currents) between one another. This creates heating in the microwave and cooks your food or warms your liquids. Damage to this can disrupt the flow of energy and create sparks in the microwave.
If you suspect sparks in your microwave are caused by these factors, you should take immediate action. You can find replacement parts for many microwave brands on Amazon. Or, you can hire an expert to fix your machine.
However, seeing sparks does not always signify something is wrong with your microwave. It could also indicate the food or dish in the microwave is reacting to the microwaves. If you notice these sparks, remove the food and dish immediately to prevent a fire from developing.
Is It Bad to Microwave Butter?
It is not bad for your microwave to heat butter inside of it for a few seconds. However, it is not the best way to warm your butter, depending on how you plan to use it. If you heat butter in the microwave for longer than a few seconds, it could cause the butter to pop and splatter your microwave.
Butter can be melted in the microwave, but this is not the best method. Because butter and other fatty foods have air pockets, they can pop under heated conditions. This is because the heat gets inside the fat structures of the food, expanding it and causing it to pop.
This will not harm your microwave, but the grease can be hard to clean up. For the best results, you should wipe down your microwave right away and avoid melting fats in the future. Softening butter is alright in the microwave because it does not get as hot as when butter is melted.
Last, butter can catch fire in a microwave if you are not careful. The best way to prevent this is to only heat it up at a low power setting and for a couple of seconds at a time. If you see sparks or see it turning to liquid and bubbling, remove it from the microwave immediately with gloves.
How Do You Keep Butter From Popping In the Microwave?
The best way to prevent your butter from popping in the microwave is to turn down the microwave’s wattage.
If you have the option on your microwave, you can also directly select the melt butter option on the control panel. Alternatively, you can warm it up slowly in 10-second intervals.
Melt Butter Setting
One of the best ways to prevent butter from popping in the microwave is to use the melt butter option on the control panel. This option automatically sets the microwave specs optimal for butter melting.
It lowers the energy of the microwave, so it does not get too hot too quickly This allows the fats a chance to expand slowly, so there are no sudden bursts from the heat.
Lower Power Settings
Even though we cautioned against melting butter in the microwave, there are ways to safely accomplish this. The best method is turning the microwave wattage down to 40 percent. We still do not recommend keeping your butter in the microwave for more than 30 seconds.
Even on a low setting, butter can get very hot. The hotter oil and grease get, the more potential it has to catch fire. Thus, you should avoid warming butter up to the point it boils. If you see sparks, then you should stop the microwave immediately.
Melt in 10-minute increments
Melting butter in short intervals is also a good option since it prevents the butter from getting too hot all at once. The best way to do this is to microwave butter for 10 seconds and then let it sit for 1 minute before microwaving again.
You might need to do this 3-4 times before the butter is melted completely. Mix and/or chop the butter in between the heating process to speed up the process.
How Should You Heat Butter In the Microwave?
Butter should be covered while you warm it up in the microwave. Covering the butter will prevent the butter from melting and getting onto the microwave plate. Additionally, if your butter pops, the cover will keep it from splattering on your microwave.
You can cover your butter with microwave-safe plastic wrap, a cloth, a lid of a container, or a pot holder. Always place the butter in a cup, bowl, or plate, so it does not leak onto the microwave as it melts.
Plastic wrap is best when used to over butter in a cup since the plastic wrap probably will not touch the butter. Make sure you poke small holes in the plastic wrap so there is a place for the heat to escape.
Heat up the butter for 10-20 seconds and stir before adding more heat. This will prevent the butter from popping, burning, or catching on fire.
However, covering it is unnecessary if you only want to soften the butter in the microwave. This is a great way to soften butter to put on bread or other soft food that cold, hard butter can break.
Can You Put Melted Butter Back In the Fridge?
You can put the melted butter back in the fridge. However, it will no longer be the shape of butter, and the fat and whey may separate significantly. This can impact the butter’s flavor and texture and makes it better suited for use on popcorn than on bread.
When butter melts, the milk proteins break down and separate from the fat. This will create a somewhat unpleasant cooled-off substance that is somewhat foreign to what you typically expect from butter.
Although you can re-melt the butter and mix the milk and fat together, it will not stay together when cooled off. It is perfectly safe to keep melted butter in the fridge and reuse it later, but it will not retain its original taste and texture.