On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 06:06:13 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 8:27:32 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wed, 24 Mar 2021 11:31:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 2:24:21 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wed, 24 Mar 2021 05:15:02 +0000, Gbeans
wrote:

I still hear this myth being pushed. Food does NOT heat from the inside, it heats from the outside in. DUH!!

It heats any water molecules when they get passed through and start to vibrate faster. If the water content is mostly on the inside (like a pie) it would actually heat from the inside out. If not, it wouldn't heat from inside outwards.
The microwaves still act on the water molecules closest to the surface
first. The center will be cold long after the outside burns when you
cook on high.

Not if there is little water on the outside and plenty inside. It vibrates the water molecules.
More molecules, more heat. The poster has it right. That's also why you hear pops
from small explosions. They occur without the surface burning because there is some
localized heating inside that creates steam.

The explosions are from pockets pretty close to the surface and happen
after the surface hardens. The inside is still cold.



That is why they pulse the gun (temp control) and tell
you to let things rest. They are trying to get you to wait until
thermal conduction can even out the heating.
Best is to stir things you can and spread stuff out on the plate.

That is true.

It depends on the thickness. I believe another poster gave an example of a pie.
Microwaves will penetrate to the middle of a pie that's 2" thick. And when I put
a piece of pie in set on high, the top crust isn't burning before the whole thing
is steaming hot. If I put in a pint size container of tomato sauce that's in the
shape of a sour cream or yogurt container, that doesn't just melt from the top
and/or burn there either. Seems to melt from the top and sides first. Or how
about ice cream? I pop a pint in on high for 15 secs to warm it up to make it easy
to scoop. It pretty much softens the whole thing. I don't wind up with just
soft in the very top or a pool of liquid at the top and the rest still hard. It's
probably because the composition has significant air making it less dense
and the waves can penetrate deeper.

Not to be pedantic but microwaves enter from all sides. If you didn't
have a tray in there and just set things on the metal can nothing
would get in the bottom but they are not made that way.