"Microwave five minutes"...

[Externet]

To start, 'microwave' is not a verb, but less bad than 'nuke'.  And irradiate sounds weird.

To the point, the  'five minutes'   <but your microwave power can vary, so adjust the time accordingly>

Should it properly be instead of a timer, a Joules counter/setting dial ?  Or Kilowatts-minute  ?

Could it lead to better recipes instead of the imprecise legacy?  A tree that grew crooked, crooked stays.  No 'irradiate 200 Joules'  setting to your yesterday pizza?

[Strange]

4 minutes ago, Externet said:

To start, 'microwave' is not a verb

Why not?

Quote

microwave verb

microwaved; microwaving; microwaves

Definition of microwave (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to cook or heat in a microwave oven

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microwave

But I agree that microwave instructions are weird. I just stick it on for a couple of minutes and then keep re-trying until it is hot.

[Externet]

Am not the one to fix the constant degeneration of the English language, nor the blind acceptance by the lamb public with no regulating entity to obey... For sure the entry above is from a dictionary publisher, because there is no language regulating entity.

..."keep re-trying until it is hot."  Because time is a wrong setting ? And hot means nothing, as hot for you may be warm for others ?

[Strange]

1 minute ago, Externet said:

Am not the one to fix the constant degeneration of the English language, nor the blind acceptance by the lamb public with no regulating entity to obey... For sure the entry above is from a dictionary publisher, because there is no language regulating entity.

The "language regulating entity" is the population who use the language. Dictionaries record that usage. 

Verbing nouns is standard in English, and always has been, even if some people think it weirds the language.

2 minutes ago, Externet said:

..."keep re-trying until it is hot."  Because time is a wrong setting ? And hot means nothing, as hot for you may be warm for others ?

Maybe because time is the wrong setting. Or maybe because I have never got used to them! (I never owned one.)

[iNow]

We live in a world where people are eating Tide pods. Changing microwave instructions to reference Joules instead of time is IMO titling at windmills.

Just now, Strange said:

Verbing nouns is standard in English, and always has been, even if some people think it weirds the language.

Exactly. Just google it...

[Strange]

5 minutes ago, iNow said:

We live in a world where people are eating Tide pods. Changing microwave instructions to reference Joules instead of time is IMO titling at windmills.

Agreed.

[Externet]

"Verbing"  ----> the practice of using a noun as a verb.  "is standard in English" ----> shows the degree of degeneration reached.

Then it is not a verb. it is misused as such.

 

But let's go back to Joules ?

[Strange]

33 minutes ago, Externet said:

Should it properly be instead of a timer, a Joules counter/setting dial ?  Or Kilowatts-minute  ?

You could get a marker pen and just relabel the dial on yours... 

[Externet]

Re-labeling won't work; as there is the duty cycle selection too; shown as 'power level'

[Sensei]

"Problem" are people who don't write "microwave in 1000 Watts oven 5 minutes". i.e. some of them skip wattage of microwave oven. You won't force entire world of cooks and kitchen chiefs what they should do and how to write their recipes. 1000 W * 5 * 60s = 300 kJ. That would be really weird to see recipe with info "total required energy needed to make your meal in microwave oven is 300 kJ".. Almost nobody reading recipe would be able to use this information, as majority of people has no idea how to convert it to wattage and seconds/minutes. Go to somebody, e.g. your neighborhoods, and ask what is wattage of their microwave oven. I bet they won't tell you without having to lookup manual or device.

 

Edited January 20, 2019 by Sensei

[StringJunky]

9 hours ago, Sensei said:

"Problem" are people who don't write "microwave in 1000 Watts oven 5 minutes". i.e. some of them skip wattage of microwave oven. You won't force entire world of cooks and kitchen chiefs what they should do and how to write their recipes. 1000 W * 5 * 60s = 300 kJ. That would be really weird to see recipe with info "total required energy needed to make your meal in microwave oven is 300 kJ".. Almost nobody reading recipe would be able to use this information, as majority of people has no idea how to convert it to wattage and seconds/minutes. Go to somebody, e.g. your neighborhoods, and ask what is wattage of their microwave oven. I bet they won't tell you without having to lookup manual or device.

 

I would bet it's on maximum for 99% of people.

[iNow]

3 minutes ago, StringJunky said:

I would bet it's on maximum for 99% of people.

You think the number’s that low, eh?     

[StringJunky]

51 minutes ago, iNow said:

You think the number’s that low, eh?     

I was being safe.  

[Carrock]

18 hours ago, Externet said:

No 'irradiate 200 Joules'  setting to your yesterday pizza?

You need a bit more. e.g.

'This is correct for a 647 watt oven. Adjust irradiation for different power levels to take account of heat lost, during irradiation, by convection and radiation etc and to minimise mankiness. See equations below.'

19 hours ago, Externet said:

To start, 'microwave' is not a verb, but less bad than 'nuke'.  And irradiate sounds weird.

If I've accidentally weirded the language in this post, I blame it on being required to study Shackspeare with no warning about his bad grammar and spelling.

(too much time wasted on the following not to include it)

Where are the ungrammatical hills of yesteryear?

"Torpenhow Hill" is a ghost word * and has been retrospectively desubstantiated out of existence.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_word#Origin_of_the_term

Quote

I only allow the title of ghost-words to such words, or rather forms, as have no meaning whatever.

* 'Two is equal to one' is good English and is useful when desubstantiation is required.

[John Cuthber]

I wonder if people have the same problem about nouning verbs.

We could have a meeting.

I have seen few microwave ovens rated over 1KW or below 500W.
So, if I make the assumption that they are all 707.106 W I will be within about 30%

That's probably about the same accuracy as saying "take a medium sized potato".

If you don't specify exactly what the starting temperature is then that's another poorly controlled variable.

Cookery is based on trial and error; live with it

[Sensei]

The more precise would be saying use e.g. 200 grams of potatoes.

Cooking recipes should have mentioned weight of ingredients.

Improper amount of ingredient could dramatically influence taste of dish, or even ruin it.

Improper cooking conditions i.e. wrong temperature could result in overcooked or undercooked dish.

 

Edited January 21, 2019 by Sensei

[Strange]

4 minutes ago, Sensei said:

The more precise would be saying use e.g. 200 grams of potatoes.

Cooking recipes should have mentioned weight of ingredients.

Improper amount of ingredient could dramatically influence taste of dish, or even ruin it.

Improper cooking conditions i.e. wrong temperature could result in overcooked or undercooked dish.

Remember, we are talking about microwaving food, not proper cooking!

[Sensei]

Just now, Strange said:

Remember, we are talking about microwaving food, not proper cooking! 

Result will be the same. If something has to be done 5 minutes in 1000 W, and is microwaved 5 minutes in 500 W..

 

[John Cuthber]

23 hours ago, Sensei said:

The more precise would be saying use e.g. 200 grams of potatoes.

I have an image of Sensei, in the supermarket, weighing potatoes until he finds one that's exactly 200 grams.

 

[studiot]

23 hours ago, Sensei said:

Result will be the same. If something has to be done 5 minutes in 1000 W, and is microwaved 5 minutes in 500 W..

 

Surely, Sensei, you also have to specify if the user is a Siberian microwaving his potato in -35^oC or a Sudanese in +35^oC ? 

 

9 minutes ago, John Cuthber said:

I have an image of Sensei, in the supermarket, weighing potatoes until he finds one that's exactly 200 grams.

 

 

  +1

[Endy0816]

Physics are really different with cold and hot spots being possible.

[John Cuthber]

8 hours ago, Endy0816 said:

Physics are really different with cold and hot spots being possible.

Is weighing potatoes a sport?

[Sensei]

I am weighting e.g. rice, noodles, every time I am cooking them..

10 hours ago, studiot said:

Surely, Sensei, you also have to specify if the user is a Siberian microwaving his potato in -35^oC or a Sudanese in +35^oC ?  

...and altitude at which we are cooking.. (atmospheric pressure varies with altitude and influences water boiling temperature)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-altitude_cooking

" The effect starts to become relevant at altitudes above approximately 2,000 feet (610 m). "

 

[Endy0816]

4 hours ago, John Cuthber said:

Is weighing potatoes a sport?

???

Mean like when you microwave a frozen meal and some parts can remain cold or even frozen while others overcook.

...and why is it still called weighing if you find the mass?

[Strange]

5 minutes ago, Endy0816 said:

Mean like when you microwave a frozen meal and some parts can remain cold or even frozen while others overcook.

You know that's partly because of standing waves? (Which is way they added rotating turntables.) And you can use that to measure the speed of light?

6 minutes ago, Endy0816 said:

...and why is it still called weighing if you find the mass?

Good point. If you are cooking up a mountain, you need to be sure you are measuring the mass and not the weight, as well as accounting for the change in boiling point.