The shocking science behind why you’re using your microwave all wrong

Your kitchen appliances are some of the most complex in the house, so there’s no shame in admitting you aren’t making the most of them.

We’re not here to regale you with more advice on using your air fryer, or how to use all those attachments that came with your food processor; this time, it’s all about the microwave.

You might think it’s as simple as bung it in, set the timer and wait for the ping, but you could be elevating that microwave grub to a new level with a few simple tips.

In fact, you may be completely misusing yours without realising, so we’re here to set the record straight.

Thanks to a viral TikTok video, the so-called ‘microwave hack’ has already corrected thousands of microwave users, and now it’s your turn.

She could be about to make a subtle mistake (LeoPatrizi/Getty Images)

TikToker ‘onlyjanus’ said: “You know when you reheat food in the microwave and some parts of it are hot enough to burn your mouth and the other part of it is frozen?”

There might be a hint of hyperbole there, but the truth of it is fair enough. Getting consistent heat through a microwaved dish takes some know-how.

They continued: “Well that happens because you shouldn’t actually have your food in the middle of the plate here.”

From there, onlyjanus moves the plate to the side of the microwave and says, “It should be on the edge so it can actually rotate around and cook evenly.”

It really is as simple as that.

Makenzie Bryson Jackson, a food scientist, told Well + Good that microwaves struggle to cook food evenly because ‘runaway heating’ warms up certain spots which then ‘heat up even more quickly’.

She explained that microwave plates rotate to allow for more uniform coverage, with food on the edge of the plate having a better chance of heating evenly.

While it won’t make an enormous difference, it’s worth a shot if you’re concerned about uneven cooking.

Or, of course, you can stop it halfway through, give the grub a stir, and then continue.

It's almost off-centre enough, but not quite (Connect Images/Getty Images)

If you want to delve into the weeds of your microwaves’ hottest spots, Jackson suggested laying some marshmallows on a plate and then cooking them for around 50 seconds.

“The ones that puff show where your microwaves hot spots are so you can place food in those areas for faster heating,” she explained.

"I feel like you should have told us this about 20 years ago!" said one TikTok user.

"Spent so much of my life carefully aligning it exactly in the centre," said another who speaks for most of us, we’re sure.