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Home > posts > 2010 > 08 > 20100822_233143_microwave-frying.html

Microwave Frying Sunday, August 22, 2010, 11:31 PM

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I first read about this method on a Lifehacker article about cooking easy. As anyone reading in archives know, I have been trying to make healthy chips with varying degrees of success. I have not totally figured it out with the oven. So, I read more and eventually found enough people say it was possible that I tried it. (main site - But I used pam).

Interestingly, maybe I used to much potato, but despite the fact that my microwave is more powerful than any mere mortal ever needs, I was surprised that I still needed to do it for 8-10 minutes and not the 5.

But, it was a great success! I made three batches today. The first was for breakfast, then I made a snack and then I made some for lunch tomorrow. I usually refrigerate my entire lunch but I am going to leave this one out with the bag open to make sure I do not trap steam.

So, I tried to extend it. I had a parsnip that was going to be bad any minute now. I peeled it, cut it, pammed, seasoned and microwaved it. I have not been chomping at the bit while cooking so much since making mussels with my mom earlier in the summer. Anyway, it took about 8 minutes. I think it is a mixed success. They are good but they are not crisp. Also, the sweetness of the parsnips mixed with the flavors. It is definitely interesting but it needs more refinement. One thought is that I may be crowding them and that is producing too much steam. I do not know but worth exploring.

Next I tried carrots. My leftover carrots were small and that may have contributed to the lack of definitive results, but the jury is definitely still out. They did not really crisp and some may have burned. Also contributing to the results was I may have used too much pam (evident in the photo).

The next photo is the parsnips followed by carrots.

Equipment Note: My plates say they are dishwasher, microwave and conventional oven safe. As you would expect, they came out of 8 minutes in the microwave quite hot. I let them FULLY COOL before trying to clean them because I do not want them to crack. Also, while the plates may be microwave safe, apparently, the writing telling you that is not. They no longer say anything on the bottom. Oh well.

Future Ideas: I think moisture is a killer in this but I do want to try with bananas, and plantains (Jamaican themed meal maybe?). Other ideas?

Addendum: I was thinking about it and I was wondering if the microwave is essentially doing anything differently other than cooking the potatoes for "longer" (even though it is less)? It may have to do with how a microwave works or it may simply be the cooking. I have not given up on the oven method.

One thing I really think I need to get to help nail this method is a mandoline with a spacing adjustment so I can consistently cut thin slices, and probably thinner than what I can do by hand at that. I may go buy one next week because I really want to test this out

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 252, 2010-08-22_233143