Orange juice and other juices are very popular drinks. You always see people having their breakfast with a cup of orange juice. Little kids are always asking for juice boxes. Cocktail drinks and healthy smoothies are made with juice most of the time too.
Juice is made of fruits that have nutrients, like vitamin c, that are good for us; encouraging people to drink their juice. vitamin c is great for your immune system! Some people love juice so much that they want to never run out of it; however, there is only so much space in your average refrigerator.
What is the solution to that? Well, somebody invented these amazing little containers called “Frozen Juice Concentrate.” These containers come with concentrated juice so you can store extra juice in your freezer for back up. They need to be thawed out before use. But if you run out of juice and haven’t thawed out the juice concentrate, can you microwave juice concentrate in the can or plastic container it comes in? Nope. Can you microwave juice after it’s thawed out? Yes, but why would you? Let’s find out.
Don’t Explode Your Microwave
First of all, let me explain why it’s a bad idea to throw the can of juice concentrate in the microwave to thaw it out. To begin with, you need to avoid placing metal in the microwave. If you didn’t already know, certain shapes of metal in the microwave can create sparks that can catch things on fire in your microwave.
There is a whole science to what shapes of metal are safe to microwave, but we won’t get into that right now. Unless you’re a scientific specialized in microwaving metal, don’t do it! Can you microwave juice concentrate in those metals cans? No! That is all you need to know! What about the juice concentrate that comes in plastic containers? Can you microwave that? Also no. That plastic wasn’t manufactured to be safe to heat up in the microwave.
Let’s thaw out your juice in a different way. If you want to thaw out your juice concentrate, simply place it in the fridge overnight. But I understand that you may be in a rush. How do you quickly thaw out frozen juice concentrate, when you’ve gotten yourself in an “I am out of juice and really want it” dilemma? Well, that is simple. Whether you’ve got juice concentrate in plastic or metal, you really just need to sit it under running hot water for a few minutes.
You can also place it in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes too. This will thaw it out, and then you can go on to mix it with water and have yourself some juice. No need to ruin your breakfast over it. Can you microwave juice that’s already been thawed out? This question might sound off, but let’s find out why anyone would ask it.
Can You Microwave Apple Juice & Why Do It?
Placing cold juice in the microwave to warm it up might sound extremely foreign to you. Honestly, most people are drinking their juice over ice, not in a coffee mug! Why would anyone want to warm juice up in the first place?
Two words. Apple juice. You may honestly want to microwave apple juice after reading what I am about to tell you. It depends on whether you’ve ever had this amazing drink that I absolutely love around fall.
Apple cider. Every autumn, I go to a local orchard and cidery for their delicious apple cider donuts and amazing apple cider. I might have it cold or hot, depending on my mood. If you’ve ever been at home with an urge to drink cider and didn’t have any, then this is something you might try.
You can make a similar apple cider at home with apple juice. All you need to do is add apple juice into a microwavable mug and spice it. Add about a teaspoon of brown sugar and a pinch each of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Mix that up, and then microwave it for 1-2 minutes until it is hot. Don’t burn your tongue!
Once it’s done, you can enjoy it and pretend you’re drinking hot apple cider instead. Either way, it is a great drink to make when you need an apple cider fix; and all you’ve got is apple juice. You’re welcome.
Why You Might Want to Microwave Lemonade
When I first thought about microwaving juice, I thought that it sounded like a weird idea. But then it hit me, that my family has been microwaving juice for years! That’s right! My family has been microwaving a certain type of juice my entire life. Lemonade. We have nuked lemonade anytime we had certain ailments. Yup, ailments. Anytime we had a cough or sore throat, my mother would start heating up lemonade. She would actually make homemade lemonade with honey. It was the go-to cough remedy. But why?
Let’s discuss how she would make it. She would heat up water first in the microwave, then add lemon and honey to sweeten it up. It wasn’t that she was nuking lemonade so much as making a homemade one with honey instead of sugar. The reason it’s good for a cough is that the honey coats your throat and soothes it.
This is why they make honey cough drops too! The lemon juice has, you guessed it, vitamin c. Since vitamin c boosts your immune system, this warm lemonade drink was something my mother would make me drink if I was sick. I never really enjoyed it. Warm lemonade wasn’t my cup of tea. If you don’t have fresh lemons to make this cough remedy, you can always microwave lemonade with a little extra water in it, and then add some honey. That is easy to do and can make you feel better.
Juice is Good for the Soul
Apparently juice is good for the soul. I mean it’s just so popular. Not too many things are so popular that they sell compacted and concentrated forms of it just to stock up in your freezer. People really love their juice. I am a picky juice drinker myself; only indulging mostly in homemade mango juice or homemade orange juice.
I rarely buy juice from the store, but I guess I am just spoiled when it comes to juice. For those of you who love it so much to buy concentrated forms of it. Now you know the answer to your question. Can you microwave juice concentrate in the can or plastic container? Absolutely not. But now you know that there are several reasons to microwaving juice in general, like with apple juice or lemonade.
So the next time you want some hot apple cider, consider nuking some apple juice. And if you’re feeling under the weather, now you can try warm lemonade or make a homemade honey lemon drink. Either way, juice is good for the soul.
