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Lentils, chickpeas or beans can be boiled in a perfectly reproducible way and with minimum energy consumption in a microwave oven. The boiling time depends on

Lentils, chickpeas or beans can be boiled in a perfectly reproducible way and with minimum energy consumption in a microwave oven. The boiling time depends on the quantity and on the oven, but it is unlikely to exceed 15 minutes (preferably after soaking them for a half day in acidified water, then rinsing them) (by acidified I mean adding a little lemon or lime juice, or vinegar or citric acid; such acid soaking removes much of the phytic acid from seeds or nuts). I even bake my bread or my cakes in a microwave oven, because it is much faster and more reproducible than in a traditional oven. Thus I have stopped cooking for multiple days, because cooking any dish takes much less than a half hour (the wall clock time may be greater, but it includes times when the food is either in the oven or it must rest, but it is unattended and I can do other activities).

YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago
That's interesting to know. Unfortunately I don't have a microwave oven. Just a traditional one. I do make lots of dishes that need sauteeing and slow cooking in a French oven. How does that work with a microwave?
- adrian_b 3y ago
  Slow cooking is very easy in a microwave oven, but only if it is a good oven that has a power control with many steps, which allows the selection of a power much smaller than the maximum. For instance my oven has 6 power steps, the maximum is 1000 W and the minimum is 100 W. This is enough to be able to choose for any food how fast or how slow to be cooked, within a large range. However, even the equivalent of slow cooking is much faster when done in a microwave oven, because the heat is introduced directly inside the food, so it is heated uniformly in all its volume. On the other hand if you like food done by sauteing, a microwave oven is not helpful for that. A microwave oven is optimal for replacing boiling, steaming, roasting or baking for any kind of vegetables or meat (also for dough, cakes, creams, eggs). The vegetables that contain much water, e.g. potatoes, sweet potatoes or quinces, are more tasty if they are not boiled but just baked in a closed glass vessel, without adding anything to them. Meat is also done best by roasting in a closed glass vessel without anything added. A microwave oven is not useful for replacing frying or sauteing. Nevertheless, in my opinion, these are bad habits. As a general rule, it is useful to heat only the parts of food that consist of proteins and carbohydrates. Heating any kind of fat cannot provide any useful effect from a nutritional point of view, it only degrades the fat and it makes it harmful, even if many people are addicted to the taste of burned fat. I have transitioned from cooking with a traditional oven and kitchen stove to using only a microwave oven a few years ago, but I had stopped heating any kind of oil or fat many years earlier. I add to the food the various kinds of oil that I use or any other kind of fat only after the food has been cooked and it has cooled down. Except if the taste of burned oil is desired, there is no need for using oil or fat when cooking in a microwave oven, because when using closed glass vessels it is possible to heat anything of interest without the risk of the food sticking to the vessel or becoming burnt.
  - YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago
    "Addicted to the taste of burned fat"? Can you please tell me more about that?

YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago

That's interesting to know. Unfortunately I don't have a microwave oven. Just a traditional one. I do make lots of dishes that need sauteeing and slow cooking in a French oven. How does that work with a microwave?

adrian_b 3y ago
Slow cooking is very easy in a microwave oven, but only if it is a good oven that has a power control with many steps, which allows the selection of a power much smaller than the maximum. For instance my oven has 6 power steps, the maximum is 1000 W and the minimum is 100 W. This is enough to be able to choose for any food how fast or how slow to be cooked, within a large range. However, even the equivalent of slow cooking is much faster when done in a microwave oven, because the heat is introduced directly inside the food, so it is heated uniformly in all its volume. On the other hand if you like food done by sauteing, a microwave oven is not helpful for that. A microwave oven is optimal for replacing boiling, steaming, roasting or baking for any kind of vegetables or meat (also for dough, cakes, creams, eggs). The vegetables that contain much water, e.g. potatoes, sweet potatoes or quinces, are more tasty if they are not boiled but just baked in a closed glass vessel, without adding anything to them. Meat is also done best by roasting in a closed glass vessel without anything added. A microwave oven is not useful for replacing frying or sauteing. Nevertheless, in my opinion, these are bad habits. As a general rule, it is useful to heat only the parts of food that consist of proteins and carbohydrates. Heating any kind of fat cannot provide any useful effect from a nutritional point of view, it only degrades the fat and it makes it harmful, even if many people are addicted to the taste of burned fat. I have transitioned from cooking with a traditional oven and kitchen stove to using only a microwave oven a few years ago, but I had stopped heating any kind of oil or fat many years earlier. I add to the food the various kinds of oil that I use or any other kind of fat only after the food has been cooked and it has cooled down. Except if the taste of burned oil is desired, there is no need for using oil or fat when cooking in a microwave oven, because when using closed glass vessels it is possible to heat anything of interest without the risk of the food sticking to the vessel or becoming burnt.
- YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago
  "Addicted to the taste of burned fat"? Can you please tell me more about that?