OK, this goes against every instinct I have, but here we go.
This is MinuteFood.
My dad picked our first microwave out of someone's trash, and my mom made him put it in the basement in case... I don't really know, but she didn't trust the thing.
So I might not have had the most rational upbringing as far as microwaves.
But one thing I heard everywhere – so I knew was definitely true – is that you should never, EVER put metal in there.
At some point, though, you've probably put something metal in a microwave by accident – and on purpose – and chances are nothing catastrophic has happened.
Not to mention that the inside of a microwave is made of metal!
For me, though, the final straw was when I stumbled across these "microwave safe" metal containers; I could no longer deal with all this conflicting information, so it was time to griddle this riddle.
First, let's talk about how microwaves actually work, which we have a whole video about, but here's the TLDW version: this thing, a "magnetron", sends out relatively low-frequency electromagnetic waves known as – yes – "microwaves." The waves bounce back and forth inside the cavity, blending into an electromagnetic field that flips back and forth super-fast.
When the field meets up with certain types of molecules in food – like water, salt, and fats – it pulls the molecules into alignment, and as the field flips, it pulls the molecules the other way.
