No Microwave

[follyfancier]

why do food manufacturers assume that everyone has a microwave, I nearly bought a ready meal last week because i wanted to save time after being out all day but it was microwave only not oven cook

[ummmm]

Because most people do.

[ummmm]

Same with mobile phones.

[Mamyalynne]

I do agree that packaging should be clearer - it should be in bold on the front.

[Buenchico]

They probably assume that people who buy ready meals are, like you, people who want to save time - and that people who want to save time are also, logically, people with time-saving devices such as microwave ovens.

Almost every kitchen has a microwave oven these days, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that food manufacturers should assume that their customers will posses one. (I haven't got a fridge but I don't complain when I read 'store in a fridge' on product packaging; I simply accept that I'm in a very small minority).

Microwave ovens are great for heating ready meals and, for me, especially for defrosting stuff from the freezer quickly. (Yes, I do have a small freezer, even though I've not got a fridge). They're also the very best way of cooking some foods, such as firm-textured fish (e.g. salmon steaks or small trout).

[KARL]

I understand your feeling, even though it maybe said on the packaging how to cook it and reading it in at the time of purchase..... I would expect that decanting into a suitable vessel would convert the dish into one that can be heated in an oven.

My annoyance matches and probably exceeds yours when it comes to the insistence of some companies/service providers that you buy and finance the running of a mobile phone before they will deal with you.

[douglas9401]

Who'd have thought that chicken ding could stir such feelings?

[Jackdaw33]

The trouble with microwaves is that if you haven't moved into the 21 C they can be a bit difficult to operate. They no longer run on gas.

[douglas9401]

Oh really, Jackdaw? :-)

[douglas9401]

Whoops:

https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/citygas/item/ea20-0001/

[gingejbee]

I'd be really interested in knowing what ready-meal is "microwave only"....and a ready-meal is already cooked (so it's not oven cook, anyway...it's simply being re-heated) and a microwave is, by far, the easiest and most economical way to re-heat.

[KARL]

I didn't think this thread was about the merits or otherwise of microwave ovens. Nobody can get away from microwaves which are all around us, no matter where on the globe - but in the sort of form and concentration found in a microwave oven they are only found where they are intentionally created.

[TheChair]

//why do food manufacturers assume that everyone has a microwave//
I know what you mean, I nearly bought some custard the other day until I realised that you have to stir it. Why do manufacturers assume that everyone owns a spoon?

[Baldric]

When our Microwave packed up a while back, we had a pile of 4 Tikka Masalas we needed to eat, datewise,
We put them in ovenproof serving dishes, gave them a good stir a few times while they were in the oven and they were absolutly fine.

[chrissa1]

There’s a clue in the sort of packaging they’re in. Foil tin = oven cook. Plastic container = microwave.

[ummmm]

False Charissa. Many plastic ones go in the oven.

[chrissa1]

Naaa, naa, naaa, ummmm. Ha ha.


I’ve had a microwave since, 1982/4. Couldn’t be without one,

[ummmm]

I only use mine for heating up mainly.

[Peter Pedant]

because most do
the cheapest is aroudn £20 innit ?

around 90% of uses are just clunk click one minute warm ups
so get the cheapest

[follyfancier]

I have never needed one

[Tilly2]

...and I have never bought a ready meal and microwaved it.

I use my microwave to cook scrambled eggs and to start off jacket potatoes. That's about it really.