MICROWAVE SECRETS

YOUR MICROWAVE ISN’T JUST FOR REHEATING YOUR LEFTOVERS! FIND OUT THESE OTHER SURPRISING USES.

Keep that garlic smell off your hands.

No, we don’t recommend attempting to microwave your hands; this is a pre-emptive measure. Get around the nasty garlic smell that you get on your hands by simply blasting the whole head in your microwave on high settings for no more than 15-20 seconds. After that, the garlic cloves should be much easier to peel.

Un-crystallise honey.

It can be hard to spread crystallised honey on toast, and even harder to cook with it or use it as a sweetener. The quickest and easiest way to get your honey back to its original form is to spin your honey around the microwave for a few seconds just before using it. The sugars should melt back down, and you can enjoy your smooth sweetener again.

Soften hard brown sugar.

There’s nothing more irritating when you’re baking than running into hardened brown sugar that surely won’t mix into whatever you’re making. But the fix is easy! Simply put the brown sugar lump in a bowl. Wet a paper towel and cover the bowl with it, then microwave in ten-second bursts until the sugar is crumbly again. Poke the sugar with a fork between bursts to help break up the lump. Just be sure you keep the “cook” time low. If you leave the sugar in the microwave for too long, it will melt.

Get more freshly squeezed orange juice. This trick works on all citruses. “Put your fruit in the microwave for 10-30 seconds (larger fruit needs more time). Remove the fruit and allow it to cool for about a minute. Then, slice the fruit in half and use a manual juicer to get every drop of juice out of it.”

Chop onions tear-free

Once you trim off the end of the onion, microwave it whole for 30 seconds. Once it is cool, chop away! It isn’t enough time to cook the onion, but it will keep you from crying!