Can We Use Aluminum In A Microwave - Is It Safe? - Answered!

What can’t aluminum foil do? Aluminum foil is super popular in every household since it can be used in about any major tasks in cooking. If you want to grill fish and you don’t want it to be burnt too much, you can cover it with aluminum foil! If you are looking for containers and you cannot find any as all plastic wares are already used, put it in aluminum foil! If you need to cover a food while cooking or while it is on the table to avoid foreign objects from descending on it, still, aluminum foil can do the job!

Amazing how aluminum foil can do all these in a heartbeat! This may have been the all-time favorite when doing cooking activities but there is this question that has stirred many discussions and that is, “Can you use aluminum foil in a microwave?”There have been different opinions on this but let us clarify this for you.

How To Use Foil Papers Inside The Microwave?

Yes, you can use aluminum in a microwave but whether it is safe or not depends on whether it is done right or properly.

Aluminum is metal that has strong, lightweight, and malleable characteristics. It is tagged as an all-purpose tool as it can be used for almost all kitchen activities. This is why aluminum products are widely used especially aluminum foils, trays, and pans for cooking. Using it in a microwave oven, however, is something that you have to think first before doing it.

The Microwave oven works by injecting microwaves on the food, meaning the heating happens inside the food and not around the oven, making it safe. But when you use metal containers such as aluminum, the microwaves cannot pass through, it will only bounce off. This bouncing off is harmless but the problem is when the metal container, being thin, wrinkled or with sharp edges cannot contain the electricity to bounce it off instead it will run through it and cause overheating and sparking. This is why using aluminum is not always recommended.

If you still want to use it, even knowing this potential danger, you should remember to not completely cover your food with aluminum as it will damage your oven. Moreover, aluminum can be used to cover food in the microwave oven as long it does not cover the food entirely. Do not use wrinkled aluminum with sharp edges.

Above all, check your manufacturer’s recommendation on the use of aluminum in microwaving or any manual available that comes with the product.

Why Should You Use An Aluminum Pan In The Microwave Anyway?

With the rise of popularity of aluminum products, aluminum pans also follow. People uses aluminum pan in microwave due to its heat-conducting ability, lightweight nature, low maintenance, and a lot more.

The reasons are provided below:

Affordable

Aluminum pans are the most affordable cookware in the market. this is also because aluminum metals are highly abundant metal on Earth hence common metal. There is then no reason that it will be made expensive since we are not replete of its resources. With its affordable price, people are persuaded to buy it.

Heat-conducting ability

While this is one of the best advantages of using an aluminum pan, it will still depend on what you are using it for. If you use aluminum pan to cook or heat any food, it will not be good for the food especially when it is fully covered as microwaves cannot pass through it, it will take a lot of time to cook.

If, however, it is used in baking, this aluminum pan can be the best option! Aluminum is very much heat conductible, meaning it can heat up quickly. With this, cooking time is shortened thus it can really help you save much time!

Lightweight characteristic

Lightweight materials are very handy and manageable. It will not add up to the weight of the food or that you baked, making it easier to move. You wouldn’t want tripping just because of a heavy pan. This is why aluminum pans are great since they are naturally lightweight.

Easy to clean

Kitchen tools that are easy to use is just a great thing. Preparations in cooking is normally becomes tedious and the cleaning adds to it when it becomes too difficult to remove food excesses deposited in the utensils. With aluminum pains, cleaning is definitely easy as you do not have to use abrasive cleaning materials to scrub them, you just need warm water and soap to wash it with sponge.

Recyclable

Environment-friendly products has been getting more and more support. These products, like aluminum which is tagged as the most recyclable material, being sustainable are becoming more popular.

There might be cautions on the use of aluminum in microwave ovens, but it does not mean that it is totally not allowed to be used in it. Considering the benefits of using aluminum pans, as long as you do it the right way, it can help you many folds in your cooking or baking!

How To Use Foil Papers Inside The Microwave?

Since microwaves have been made available in residential houses in 1970s, many have been hooked up in buying this as buying it is like getting rice cookers within a similar budget. People have used it for many different purposes like cooking, reheating, and baking. Along with it, foil papers were mixed in microwaving.

Microwaves is absorbed by food but when it come to metal, it can only reflect the same as microwaves cannot pass through them,but this is only not possible if the food if entirely covered with aluminum foil.

Foil papers can be used in microwave so long as it does not cover entirely the food and you follow additional instructions on its use. Here’s how to use foil papers inside the microwave:

• When you choose to cover your food with foil, you can only do so by covering 1/4 portion of it. This is because no food should be totally covered with aluminum foil, otherwise the microwaves from the microwave oven will just bounce off, making impossible the cooking of the food.
• Use smooth foils over the food pan, avoid reusing.A wrinkled foil may be overwhelmed by the electricity running back and forth which will result to overheating. Hence you should make sure to use new and smoot foils.
• There should be no protruding sharp edges of the foil. Just like wrinkled foil, there should be no sharp edges as these will be where the electricity run when it cannot bounce off the microwaves otherwise it will cause sparking.
• The foil should not be placed too close to the microwave wall.The walls of the microwave oven can substantially tolerate the bouncing off of microwaves but too much bouncing might cause overheating.
• Take note that foil cannot be used when the microwave oven has shelves or turntable.

Following these tips in using foil paper when microwaving, you are assured that you are at least safe from any potential dangers. If you still have doubts on using such, it is best to not push through with it and read the instructions first.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

We prepared some FAQS to answer some of the questions we might have missed answering for you:

1Why can’t you put aluminum in the microwave?

You cannot put aluminum in the microwave as it might cause overheating and sparking if not properly used. Microwave ovens uses microwaves which does not pass through but only reflects metal. While the walls of the microwave oven can substantially tolerate the reflecting back of the microwaves, when it is excessive, overheating might occur. Plus, when aluminum products such as foil is not placed properly as being wrinkled and having sharp edges, sparking may happen.

Is it safe to eat food that has been microwaved with aluminum foil?

Yes, food that has been microwaved with aluminum foil is safe. There are many speculations that the use of aluminum foil poses health risks but even if it is true that some aluminum gets into the cooked food, the risks are not proven. Around 7-9 milligrams of aluminum per day is absorbed by average adult and neither the FDA nor the European Food Safety Authority have found that this causes health problems.

Can I eat food that was microwaved with metal?

Metal blocks microwaves as the latter cannot past though it. The microwaves can be absorbed by food but for metals, it cannot, it will reflect back. Hence it will not affect the food, but the only problem will be its effect on the microwave oven. So, you may eat the food that was microwaved with metal.

Conclusion

Aluminum foils can be handy in the kitchen as it can be used in nearly all your cooking activities. There are, however, precautions on using it with microwave ovens. There shouldn’t be any problem using them in microwaving as long as you follow the tips provided here or the recommendation of the manufacturer of your microwave oven.

It is understandable why a lot of people is into using aluminum foils in cooking as these are convenient, easy to use, and readily available in the market. But like most of the products, you will have to use it properly to reap its benefits.