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technowarlock t1_j6roq6q wrote

Reply to comment by the-practical_cat in LPT: Microwave food instructions include a wattage that you have to convert for your own microwave. If the package says 5 and a half minutes at 1200 watts on high and your oven is 700 watts, you need to cook it for 9 minutes. by breaktime1

You're adjusting the duty cycle not the power. Does it work out the same? I always try to reheat things at 50%, seems to avoid the "boiling on one side cold on the other" issue

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sixstringsg t1_j6seesl wrote

Some microwaves do actually have variable wattages, but you are correct that the vast majority of residential ones do vary the duty cycle instead.

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the-practical_cat t1_j6wfbuc wrote

I've never had an issue, so I'm guessing it works the same.

I was taught to cook when microwaves were still considered the greatest invention of mankind, so I've always adjusted to suit whatever I'm cooking. It used to be really common in microwave recipes to start out at 50% and cook things a bit longer (like roasts), then uncover the food and blast it the last few minutes. Most recipes after 1990 or so just nuke everything on 100% and ignore power levels, and it makes a huge difference in how things cook.

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