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How does a microwave kill microbes more effectively than any other cooking method?

• chiefalchemist 7y ago
  Microwaves. Not the same as gas heat, transfering thought a pan and into the food. Time. A thorough X seconds in the microwave is more convenient than standing at the stove. It's the tools. It's how they're most likely used.
  • nitrogen 7y ago
    If anything I'd expect microwaves' shorter cooking times and lower max temperatures to leave more bacteria alive.
    • jstarfish 7y ago
      They also don't cook evenly. You can have a TV dinner that is half molten and half frozen if you nuke it without the plastic lid. Microwave sterilizers depend on steam to sterilize, not radiation. They just get the water to that temperature quicker than boiling in a pot. Results also vary by organism being eradicated. Hamster in a microwave will end sadly. Cockroaches and ants will survive. Insects have less fatty tissue to absorb radiation I believe. Bacteria has none, so you do the math.
      • mrob 7y ago
        Uneven cooking is because of standing waves within the microwave. Lots of microwaves have rotating platforms to reduce this problem. If they're not being forcibly rotated, small enough creatures can avoid being cooked by staying at the nodes of the standing waves.