I’ve never thought of the microwave as an essential element in my cooking ecosystem. In my life, sure, I have always used the microwave for reheating leftovers, but I’ve never used it to cook. Initially, I thought the idea of actually cooking something in the microwave sounded gross, or at least unhealthy (or just plain wrong). If you have kooky friends in your life who won’t even keep a microwave in their house because of potential radiation exposure, then you know what I mean.
I now know — thanks to this handy video courtesy of David Chang, and the FDA — that microwave radiation is akin to the exposure we get from cell phones and radio waves, and not the cell-killing kind you get from uranium. Good thing I have that information on hand after living in fear of a microwave my entire life.
I also found out that cooking in a microwave might be healthier than other methods of food prep. According to the FDA, “Foods cooked in a microwave oven may keep more of their vitamins and minerals because microwave ovens can cook more quickly and without adding water.” Plus, you don’t need to add cooking oils and fats to the mix. Instead, you can simply pop your food in an Anyday Bowl just as it is and have your food ready in minutes.
Anyday creates an outlet for microwave cooking that’s efficient and isn’t gross. The various bowls are made of glass, so the concerns you might have with microwaving plastics are eliminated (as are the red-tinted stains courtesy of marinara sauce). And the lids are the other game-changer: they’re vented so there’s no steam buildup, but the top still fits securely and stays in place.
Reasons I am now the David Chang of my apartment, with Anyday bowls as an indispensable cooking tool in my kitchen:
I Can Finally Cook Rice
I consider myself a pretty good cook. And by that I mean, I can cook most things well and throw together meals without recipes. Let’s just say I’ve got the “salt, fat, acid, heat” thing down. But there is an exception: I cannot cook rice correctly under any circumstances. I had conceded for years that boil-in-a-bag rice was all I was meant to eat.
As soon as my Anyday bowls arrived, I bought a fat bag of jasmine rice. My roommate said I was gross when I didn’t plan on rinsing it first (I guess that’s a thing), so I rinsed it and followed the instructions from Anyday’s website for white rice, popping it in the microwave for timed intervals until it was cooked to perfection. It came out so damn good, as good as any rice cooker rice I’ve ever had.
This is really the only reason I need to evangelize these bowls, but I’ll go on.
They’re So Dang Handy
The Anyday website has a slew of recipes (both single ingredients and full meals) to get you started. You can make a perfectly poached egg in less than five minutes or a full frittata in under 20. It’s like the Instant Pot without the learning curve. The other handy thing about the bowls is that they’re also great storage containers — simply push down the knob on the lid for an airtight, food-preserving seal. I also store “regularly” cooked leftovers in these bowls because I know they’re going to be in the same bowl when I reheat the meal anyway.
They’re Sleek and Functional AF
The bowls are sexy, I won’t lie. They’re thicc, they feel well-made and they’ve got some weight to them. The lids slide into the bowls perfectly and create a gentle yet firm seal. In addition to being microwave-safe, they’re also dishwasher-, freezer-, and oven-safe — including the lids! I had to look that information up twice because the lids look metallic, and then I stood six feet away from my microwave on the first trial run, but alas there were no explosions.
Perhaps the best news to come of all this is the fact that the Anyday Everyday Set is $20 off right now. When combined with free shipping on orders over $75, the whole ensemble is really a no-brainer. Basically, I’m a full convert to microwave cooking with Anyday bowls and you should be too. It saves time, makes your kitchen more versatile, and it gives you a foolproof way to cook rice.
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