7 Microwave Hacks that you’ll thank us for one day

While I was sitting here heating up my hot chocolate, a rush of ideas hit me! And Voila, was born, ‘7 Microwave Hacks’! 

Now that’s the story I’d like to tell. But well, that’s not quite what happened. But wouldn’t it have been way more awesome if it had?

True Story: I looked around on the internet and stumbled on these so knock yourself out. 

1. Soften Butter

The next time your recipe asks for “softened butter”, just pop that slab in the microwave for 30 seconds and your butter, sir, is ‘softened’. 

2. De-stale Bread

 
Bread does that thing where it’s all dry and cardboard-like on the fourth day. Well, it’s lying. All you need to do is wrap it up in a damp cloth and push it into the microwave on high for 10 second bursts. Repeat as needed. 

3. More Juice out of Lemons

Pop your lemons for 30 seconds in the microwave, before squeezing them and you magically get more juice out of them. 

4. Peeling garlic made easy

No more struggling with garlic to get the skin off. For a single clove, zap on full power for 15 seconds. For a whole bulb of garlic,  cook on full power for 20 seconds. Next, turn the bulb upside down and cook again for a further 25 seconds. The skin will pop right off.

5. Poach an Egg

 
Pour boiling water from a kettle into a microwave safe bowl until about 3/4th full. Add a dash of vinegar to this. Break the egg into this water and pierce the yolk a bit to avoid exploding. Cover the bowl with cling film and pop in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and very gently turn the egg over and microwave for a further 20 seconds. Remove from water and serve immediately. 

6. Cheese it up

 
Fill a large microwaveable dish with full fat milk. Microwave until rigorously boiling. Keep an eye on it from time to time while you boil it. Squeeze in the juice of two lemons and stir a little. Pop back in for another minute. Remove and pour through a cheesecloth over a colander; then rinse the curds in cold water. Tie up and hang for 2 hours. Your cheese is ready in the cloth. 

7. Crispin’ good

Make potato crisps in the microwave just, like, that. Slice potatoes really thin and wash them under cold water until the water runs clear. Place them on a paper towel lined microwaveable dish so that they don’t touch each other. Microwave for 3 minutes. Turn slices over and microwave for another 3 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.