4 Microwave Shortcuts That Actually Work

Sheela Prakash
Sheela PrakashSenior Contributing Food Editor
Sheela is the Senior Contributing Food Editor at Kitchn and the author of Mediterranean Every Day: Simple, Inspired Recipes for Feel-Good Food. She received her master's degree from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy and is also a Registered Dietitian.
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updated May 1, 2019
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A microwave can do more than just reheat last night’s dinner and make a bag of popcorn. In fact, it’s a more useful tool in the kitchen than most people think — and I am not just talking about the fact that you can bake cakes in mugs. In fact, there are a slew of tricks the microwave can do that save time and make things easier in the kitchen. Here are four of the best.

(Image credit: Faith Durand)

1. Get more juice out of your citrus.

Grab a lemon straight from the fridge and it’ll be too cold to squeeze out its juice efficiently. A microwave gets those juices flowing.

Read More: 20 Seconds to Juicier Citrus

(Image credit: Kelli Foster)

2. Scramble eggs faster.

Classic scrambled eggs on the stove are quick and easy, but sometimes they need to be quicker and easier. Or maybe the microwave is the only cooking tool you have around. Regardless, you can have them in 90 seconds.

Read More: 90-Second Scrambled Eggs

(Image credit: Emma Christensen)

3. Make peeling garlic easy.

Stop cursing the papery garlic skin that just won’t come off. A microwave makes it easier, so you won’t lose your sanity.

Read More: 20 Seconds to Easier-Peeling Garlic

(Image credit: KPG Payless2)

4. Sanitize that kitchen sponge.

It may look clean, but that kitchen sponge is actually pretty disgusting. Luckily the microwave kills 99 percent of its germs.

Read More: 1 Minute to a Cleaner Sponge

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