Microwave oven is fast. Heating a mug of water needs only about 15 to 30 seconds. Add a sachet of coffee and voila! The quick and easy coffee fix is here. Can you microwave boiled eggs too? Make a sandwich to complement your hot coffee? You don’t want to spend your 15-minute break making a sandwich and hot coffee. Instead, relax, take a sip, and grab a bite.
Basically, you want to do two things. Get a fresh egg and boil it inside the microwave oven. Retrieve the egg you’ve stored in the fridge to reheat. Eating a cold egg is fine but it’s more enjoyable while scorching hot.
Egg has various components. From inside to outside, yolk, egg white, membrane, and fragile shell. Has 75% water and 25% other components such as proteins, fats, vitamin, minerals.
The two egg compositions give you the basic idea of whether can you microwave boiled eggs or not. Then, I’ll add more. Bear with me.
How Does Microwave Oven Works?
Microwave oven exposes the food in electromagnetic radiation. Specifically, the radiation excites water molecules creating heat. The reason why a glass of water heats up fast.
Microwave is effective for soupy dishes. While low moisture foods need to tag with a glass of water. The water absorbs excess microwave energy and creates vapors to moisten food items.
Knowing how does microwave oven works will give you a hunch if you can use it for cooking eggs or not.
So, can you microwave boiled eggs? Or, can you boil an egg in the microwave?
Does a microwave kills bacteria? Find out here.
Hard-boiled Egg in Microwave Explodes
It may explode. Especially true when the liquid inside came to a running boil. It will splatter around the oven interior. Then the meal you’ve anticipated goes to nothing. Instead, you must spend few hours cleaning up the mess.
From soft boiled eggs to hard boiled eggs. Hard boiled has the least chance of exploding. It is so because most moisture is bound in a gelatine structure. It’s not foolproof though. Water when excited enough will break up protein bonds and eventually burst.
How Do You Microwave an Egg Without Exploding?
Put the eggs in a glass bowl. Pour enough water to submerge. Stir enough salt and vinegar to taste.
But flavor is not your goal. Egg white coagulates faster in salty water. Thus preventing egg fountain upon shell cracking. While vinegar softens the shell preventing crack, and coagulate the white, just in case.
So how do you microwave and egg without exploding? I’ve told you the answer but there is more.
Try dividing the instructed boiling time into portions. Boil for a minute and rest for a minute. This way you’re lessening the pressure within egg. The remaining heat between intervals is enough to continue cooking.
A minute of rest won’t cause much drop in temperature. And the egg yolk cooking temperature is at 80°C. It’s 20 degrees below the boiling point.
Use only fresh eggs. Buy from trusted vendors and get only eggs within expiry date. To make sure, discard all the eggs that never sink in water bath.
As the egg spoils, gas builds up. Boiling adds pressure thus increasing the likelihood of exploding.
Be careful. Always microwave eggs submerge in a water bath. Eggs have 75% water. Microwave energy will create intense pressure causing the egg to erupt. Explosion strong enough to open the microwave oven door, and spray the eggs around.
Soft Boiled Egg in Microwave
In a glass bowl, put eggs and submerge in water. Put salt and vinegar just enough to make it both a little salty and acidic. Then microwave between 3 to 8 minutes.
- 3 minutes for soft boiled eggs
- 5 minutes for medium boiled eggs
- 8 minutes for perfectly hard boiled eggs
Don’t go beyond 8 minutes. Green coloration around the yolk will form. It’s fine but it never taste great.
You only asked for soft boiled egg in microwave, but I gave you a plus. Buy me a beer next time we meet.
Reheat Boiled Eggs
To reheat boiled eggs, place the egg in a thick glass or ceramic mug. Fill with water. Then heat in the microwave oven for 15 seconds. Allow to cool for a minute. Remove and peel off the shell. Conversely, peel off the shell before reheating.
Another method. Place the egg in a ceramic bowl but don’t add water. Instead, get another bowl and half-filled with water. Put inside the oven and microwave for 15 seconds.
You shouldn’t microwave low moisture foods without a glass of water. The water absorbs excess microwave energy and creates vapors to moisten the food.
Keep in mind, the soft boiled eggs might turn into medium, medium to hard, and hard to overcooked.
And be careful, hard boiled eggs may still explode du to microwave reheating.
Avoid Microwaving Eggs
To save yourself from trouble, just avoid microwaving eggs. Always buy fresh eggs enough to last for a week. Likewise, cook enough for each meal to get rid of reheating.
Instead, use the regular stove for boiling eggs. It may not be as fast, but it will save you a lot of trouble. You don’t have to worry about the explosion and don’t have to clean up the mess.
If you’re obsessed with microwave oven, use regular oven instead. It has a different mechanism but works as good as boiling over the stovetop.
Conclusion
Can you microwave boiled eggs? And boil eggs in the microwave oven? Do you think it’s worth the risk? The machine can heat up food fast, and this rage can backfire.
Watery egg within a thin fragile shell can erupt causing a mess. Not only inside the oven but around the area too. In worst case, may cause body injury.
If you think it is worth it. Then do so.
To prevent exploding egg, make an acidic and salty water solution. Place the eggs in a ceramic bowl. Submerge with the prepared solution. Put the bowl inside the microwave oven. Then turn the timer for 3-8 minutes. Three minutes for soft boiled, 5 for medium, and 8 for hard.
Do the same for reheating boiled eggs. You can do it without the prepared solution, but place a glass of water beside the egg. The water will absorb excess microwave energy. If you’re in doubt, don’t use microwave to boil or reheat egg. Fire up the gas stove and boil some water to cook. You’ll have peace of mind plus the hot boiled egg.
Can you put glass in a microwave? Find out here.
