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5.3 Suitable dishes for use in the microwave oven
1. Check that a dish is suitable to be used in a microwave oven.
Test: place the empty dish together with a glass of water, then heat at the
highest power level for 60 seconds. Never switch the device on when empty
or with only an empty container inside. An appropriate dish will be lukewarm.
If the dish is hot, it is not appropriate for use in the microwave oven.
2. Proper materials for dishes for the microwave oven allow microwaves to pass
through. Energy goes through the container and heats the food product.
3. Do not use metallic containers or containers containing metallic parts (e.g. gold
strips around the edge of a plate). Microwaves do not pass through metal.
4. Do not use products from recycled materials, as they may contain small pieces of
metal. If such containers are used, sparks and even fire may result.
5. Dishes of oval and round shapes should be used, as food products cook more
quickly in the corners of square-shaped containers.
6. Wide, flat containers are best suited to use in the microwave oven as compared to
narrow and tall ones. Food products cook evenly in flat dishes.
7. To avoid food from baking onto the edge of dishes, you may cover the edges with
thin strips of aluminum foil. Do not use too much aluminum foil, and leave a minimum
distance of 2.5 to 3.0 cm between the foil and walls of the microwave oven’s cooking
chamber.
8. The table below will help you in selecting the proper dishes:
Dishes/containers for cooking
Suitable for
microwave oven
Tempered baking glass, ceramics, porcelain
yes
Glass, ceramic, porcelain not resistant to high temperatures
no
Tempered ceramic glass
yes
Plastic dishes suitable for use in microwave ovens
yes
Metal dishes, dishes with metallic elements (e.g. gold lining)
no
Aluminum foil & foil containers
no
