The microwave has numerous uses that can be above and beyond reheating your cold leftovers from last night's dinner. For food-related uses, this kitchen appliance can also make the lemons more squeezable for max juice output, recrystallize hardened honey, roast garlic heads, dry up fresh herbs, and more.

As for completely non-food related uses, the microwave oven may sterilize the garden soil for starter seeds, dye fabric, and if you would like to urge super-creative, melt the broken crayons so you'll mesh them together into one giant super-crayon of multiple colors. Pretty amazing for a humble kitchen appliance that's usually related to TV dinners and hot pockets.

Someone who is using the microwave to heat only water and food is under-utilizing the microwave. Read on for a few incredible ways to use the Microwave that may not just surprise you, but also will allow you to urge the utmost utility out of it.

Making the perfect Poached Egg:

Pour boiling water into a microwave-safe bowl and add a pinch of white vinegar to that. Crack the egg into a bowl and lightly pierce the yolk with a toothpick. Microwave it on full power for 30 seconds after covering the bowl with cling film. Remove the bowl, turn the egg gently, and then microwave again for an additional 20 seconds. Your eggs are perfectly poached.

Re-hydrating Stale Bread:

Cover the loaf or slice of bread in a water-soaked kitchen towel, and put it within the microwave for 10 seconds. Repeat the procedure as necessary until you discover the bread properly hydrated.

Toasting Nuts and Spices:

To bring out the attractive aroma of spices and seeds, nuts, one could zap them in a microwave in bursts of 15 seconds. Do the same procedure until the aroma from the nuts and spices engulfs your kitchen. Your nuts should be perfectly toasted by then.

Soaking Lentils and Beans:

Do you often forget to soak lentils and beans overnight? Microwave involves the rescue in these situations. Soak the beans or lentils into a bowl filled with water. Add a pinch of bicarbonate soda thereto. Make sure that the beans or lentils are fully covered in water, Microwave the bowl at full power for 10 minutes, and then leave them inside for an additional 40 minutes. Your lentils or beans are going to be soaked perfectly by then.

Steaming Vegetables:

Similar to fish and potatoes, vegetables also can be cooked in the microwave. Prick them with forks and cook them within the microwave for 3-4 minutes as needed. Steaming vegetables within the microwave minimize nutrient losses and are quicker than steaming the vegetables inside a cooker or a steamer.

Inducing Crunch in Potato Chips:

If the potato chips have lost their crunch, place them in the microwave on a kitchen towel for 30 seconds. Repeat the procedure as necessary until the towel absorbs the moisture from the wafers and therefore the crunchiness of the chips is restored.

Cooking Potatoes:

Potatoes may be cooked in a microwave rather quickly. First, prick the potatoes on all sides using a fork. Then put as many potatoes as will slot in your microwaveable bowl, and cook them at high voltage for two minutes. Remove the bowl and switch the potatoes over, Cook them again for an extra 2 minutes. Your potatoes should be cooked and prepared.

Cooking Bacon:

Wrap the bacon slices in kitchen towels and put them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. The Kitchen towel soaks the moisture from the bacon and makes the slices crisply cooked.

Recrystallizing Honey:

If honey solidifies inside the jar, then use a microwave to melt it. After uncovering the jar, and microwave it for 30 seconds to 1 minute. This may liquefy honey and convey it back to a decent consistency.

Chopping Onions:

Do you get teary-eyed, whenever you chop an onion? Place the onion within the microwave for 30 seconds before you begin chopping it. Microwaving the onion may take the sting out of the onion juice. Hence you'll not get teary-eyed, although onion juice enters your eyes.

Peeling Garlic:

Do you find it hard to peel cloves of garlic? If yes, put the garlic cloves on top of kitchen tissue in the microwave for around 10 seconds. The tissue will absorb the moisture and permit you to peel the garlic effortlessly.

Squeezing Lemons:

Are you within the habit of compacting every little drop of juice from a lemon before throwing it away? Putting the lemon during a microwave for 1 minute makes it very juicy. This enables you to squeeze the lemon easily until you reach the last drop.

Cooking Fish:

Fish is often cooked quite perfectly within the microwave. Wrap the fish during a microwaveable plastic and add some seasoning – salt, pepper, and lime. Microwave the wrapped fish for around 2 minutes. The cooking time depends on the strength of the microwave and therefore the thickness of the fillet. Watch the fish closely, to stop it from getting overcooked.

Disinfecting Cutting Boards:

Similar to the kitchen sponges, the cutting boards also can be disinfected in the microwave. Wash the chopping board well, and scrub a slice of lemon on the side that's cut. Microwave the board for a moment and therefore the board is going to be fully disinfected. You’ll use a similar procedure to disinfect children’s and dog toys.

Disinfecting Sponges:

Do you throw away dirty kitchen sponges after a few uses? You would like not to do this. Instead, put the dirty sponge into a bowl crammed with water and a touch of vinegar or juice and zap the bowl at high power for around a moment within the microwave. This may clean the sponge and disinfect it thoroughly.

Using it as a Proofer:

This is a tip for all those people that bake bread reception. The microwave works as a superb proofer – A contraption that is still warm and moist for yeast bread to rise. Bring back boil a cup of water for 2-3 minutes. Once the water starts boiling, stash your dough alongside the cup of boiling water within the microwave, and leave it there until the yeast does its thing.

Warming hair oil and Other Beauty Products:

In winter, the hair oil hardens inside the bottle, and it becomes difficult to get rid of oil. During this case, microwave the bottle for 20 seconds. This liquefies the oil within the bottle, which may then be poured out quite easily. Similarly, if hot wax cools down before you're done waxing your leg, then microwave the jar for 20 seconds. It’s a simple and non-messy technique to reheat wax.

Heating Medical Aids:

To effectively get a hot water compress, does one use hot running water? You’ll get a predicament compress by soaking a face towel in water, then microwave it for 1 minute. In no time, will you've got a soothing hot compress? Similarly, if you employ heated gel packs to alleviate headaches, but you'll heat and reheat the gel packs inside the microwave.

Removing Postage Stamps:

If you're a collector of stamps, then you'd rather not cause damage to the stamp when tearing it out of the envelope. To avoid causing any damage, sprinkle a few drops of water on the postage and microwave it. The stamp gets peeled easily off the envelope.

Identifying Microwave-safe Containers:

A microwave can itself be wont to test if the container is microwave-safe or not. Fill a cup that you simply already know to be microwave-safe with water. Place the cup of water on or within the container (do not pour the water into the container) and microwave both of them for one minute until the water starts boiling. If the container you're testing is cool to the touch then its microwave safe, if it's warm or hot, you shouldn’t use it within the microwave.