POPCORN

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004, Bob in CT wrote:

What about the staples in the bag? I was always told you're not
supposed to
put metal in a microwave.



You can't. We had some dishes once that had a decorative trim which we
thought was painted on. Turned out it wasn't metallic paint, it was
actually a thin band of metal. When we used one in the microwave, it
caught fire _and_ it sent sparks shooting around inside the microwave
like
those ball thingies in science museums that you can touch and they make
your hair stand on end.


NO, NO, NO. The staples are smaller than the wavelength of the
microwaves; therefore, the microwaves don't "see" the metal. The
decorative was "gigantic" relative to the wavelength of the microwaves.
Seriously. You can do this. Next time I do it, I'll take pictures.

I think it may also be a problem with older microwaves that has been
resolved in the newer ones.

--
Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can
go. (T.S. Eliott)

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004, Bob in CT wrote:

What about the staples in the bag? I was always told you're not
supposed to
put metal in a microwave.



You can't. We had some dishes once that had a decorative trim which we
thought was painted on. Turned out it wasn't metallic paint, it was
actually a thin band of metal. When we used one in the microwave, it
caught fire _and_ it sent sparks shooting around inside the microwave
like
those ball thingies in science museums that you can touch and they make
your hair stand on end.


NO, NO, NO. The staples are smaller than the wavelength of the
microwaves; therefore, the microwaves don't "see" the metal. The
decorative was "gigantic" relative to the wavelength of the microwaves.
Seriously. You can do this. Next time I do it, I'll take pictures.

I think it may also be a problem with older microwaves that has been
resolved in the newer ones.

--
Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can
go. (T.S. Eliott)

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 15:09:29 -0400, Martha Gallagher
wrote:

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004, Bob in CT wrote:

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 16:31:14 GMT, Luna
wrote:

In article ,
Bob in CT wrote:


All microwave popcorn I've seen has hydrogenated oils. You can pop
it
in
the micro -- just buy regular popcorn, put in a paper bag, put two
staples
in the bag, and pop. When it comes out, add butter.

Hahaha. That's a great recipe for starting a fire. You can't put
metal
in
a microwave.


You CAN put metal in a microwave. Seriously. Try it.


I can confirm this. My new microwave came with two stainless steel racks
-
I think they're for defrosting, but they're also useful for putting
things
at multiple levels in the microwave. I thought GE was trying to kill me,
but I tried it out and they worked fine. No arcing or fires, or other bad
things.

On the other hand, the turntable stopped working after the first week.

Martha


That's a bummer. You need a turntable way more than a metal rack.

--
Bob in CT
Remove ".x" to reply

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 15:09:29 -0400, Martha Gallagher
wrote:

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004, Bob in CT wrote:

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 16:31:14 GMT, Luna
wrote:

In article ,
Bob in CT wrote:


All microwave popcorn I've seen has hydrogenated oils. You can pop
it
in
the micro -- just buy regular popcorn, put in a paper bag, put two
staples
in the bag, and pop. When it comes out, add butter.

Hahaha. That's a great recipe for starting a fire. You can't put
metal
in
a microwave.


You CAN put metal in a microwave. Seriously. Try it.


I can confirm this. My new microwave came with two stainless steel racks
-
I think they're for defrosting, but they're also useful for putting
things
at multiple levels in the microwave. I thought GE was trying to kill me,
but I tried it out and they worked fine. No arcing or fires, or other bad
things.

On the other hand, the turntable stopped working after the first week.

Martha


That's a bummer. You need a turntable way more than a metal rack.

--
Bob in CT
Remove ".x" to reply

"Kevin" wrote in message .. .

All microwave popcorn I've seen has hydrogenated oils. You can pop it
in
the micro -- just buy regular popcorn, put in a paper bag, put two
staples
in the bag, and pop. When it comes out, add butter.

--
Bob in CT
Remove ".x" to reply


Wouldn't the bag would catch fire first. I think there
must be popping oil in the bag too.

How about the staples and the "no metal objects" rule? Is that not
enough metal to cause the arcing?

Have you tried this?

I'm curious to know of anyone that's actually done this successfully.
Let us know!

Lee

"Kevin" wrote in message .. .

All microwave popcorn I've seen has hydrogenated oils. You can pop it
in
the micro -- just buy regular popcorn, put in a paper bag, put two
staples
in the bag, and pop. When it comes out, add butter.

--
Bob in CT
Remove ".x" to reply


Wouldn't the bag would catch fire first. I think there
must be popping oil in the bag too.

How about the staples and the "no metal objects" rule? Is that not
enough metal to cause the arcing?

Have you tried this?

I'm curious to know of anyone that's actually done this successfully.
Let us know!

Lee

In article ,
Martha Gallagher wrote:

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004, Bob in CT wrote:

What about the staples in the bag? I was always told you're not
supposed to
put metal in a microwave.



You can't. We had some dishes once that had a decorative trim which we
thought was painted on. Turned out it wasn't metallic paint, it was
actually a thin band of metal. When we used one in the microwave, it
caught fire _and_ it sent sparks shooting around inside the microwave
like
those ball thingies in science museums that you can touch and they make
your hair stand on end.


NO, NO, NO. The staples are smaller than the wavelength of the
microwaves; therefore, the microwaves don't "see" the metal. The
decorative was "gigantic" relative to the wavelength of the microwaves.
Seriously. You can do this. Next time I do it, I'll take pictures.

I think it may also be a problem with older microwaves that has been
resolved in the newer ones.

Well, I'm glad I didn't take Bob's advice and go try it, because I don't
want to ruin my perfectly good, working microwave, even if it is old.

--
Michelle Levin
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick

I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

In article ,
Martha Gallagher wrote:

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004, Bob in CT wrote:

What about the staples in the bag? I was always told you're not
supposed to
put metal in a microwave.



You can't. We had some dishes once that had a decorative trim which we
thought was painted on. Turned out it wasn't metallic paint, it was
actually a thin band of metal. When we used one in the microwave, it
caught fire _and_ it sent sparks shooting around inside the microwave
like
those ball thingies in science museums that you can touch and they make
your hair stand on end.


NO, NO, NO. The staples are smaller than the wavelength of the
microwaves; therefore, the microwaves don't "see" the metal. The
decorative was "gigantic" relative to the wavelength of the microwaves.
Seriously. You can do this. Next time I do it, I'll take pictures.

I think it may also be a problem with older microwaves that has been
resolved in the newer ones.

Well, I'm glad I didn't take Bob's advice and go try it, because I don't
want to ruin my perfectly good, working microwave, even if it is old.

--
Michelle Levin
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick

I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

"Bob in CT" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 15:09:29 -0400, Martha Gallagher
wrote:

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004, Bob in CT wrote:

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 16:31:14 GMT, Luna
wrote:

In article ,
Bob in CT wrote:


All microwave popcorn I've seen has hydrogenated oils. You can pop
it
in
the micro -- just buy regular popcorn, put in a paper bag, put two
staples
in the bag, and pop. When it comes out, add butter.

Hahaha. That's a great recipe for starting a fire. You can't put
metal
in
a microwave.


You CAN put metal in a microwave. Seriously. Try it.


I can confirm this. My new microwave came with two stainless steel racks
-
I think they're for defrosting, but they're also useful for putting
things
at multiple levels in the microwave. I thought GE was trying to kill me,
but I tried it out and they worked fine. No arcing or fires, or other
bad
things.

On the other hand, the turntable stopped working after the first week.

Martha


That's a bummer. You need a turntable way more than a metal rack.

--
Bob in CT
Remove ".x" to reply

I always microwave popcorn for my daughter using this Alton Brown method.
The staples aren't a problem. They're too small.

Sid...

"Bob in CT" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 15:09:29 -0400, Martha Gallagher
wrote:

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004, Bob in CT wrote:

On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 16:31:14 GMT, Luna
wrote:

In article ,
Bob in CT wrote:


All microwave popcorn I've seen has hydrogenated oils. You can pop
it
in
the micro -- just buy regular popcorn, put in a paper bag, put two
staples
in the bag, and pop. When it comes out, add butter.

Hahaha. That's a great recipe for starting a fire. You can't put
metal
in
a microwave.


You CAN put metal in a microwave. Seriously. Try it.


I can confirm this. My new microwave came with two stainless steel racks
-
I think they're for defrosting, but they're also useful for putting
things
at multiple levels in the microwave. I thought GE was trying to kill me,
but I tried it out and they worked fine. No arcing or fires, or other
bad
things.

On the other hand, the turntable stopped working after the first week.

Martha


That's a bummer. You need a turntable way more than a metal rack.

--
Bob in CT
Remove ".x" to reply

I always microwave popcorn for my daughter using this Alton Brown method.
The staples aren't a problem. They're too small.

Sid...