• diverging@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    There’s nothing special about a microwave that will superheat water. You can superheat water on a stovetop, but nobody ever says not to boil water on a stove.

    • cwagner@lemmy.cwagner.me
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      10 months ago

      Huh? How would stovetop boiled water ever be still without bubbling? That’s required for superheating it.

        • cwagner@lemmy.cwagner.me
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          10 months ago

          Not exactly the same way, because it can easily happen in a microwave, while on the stove top you’d probably need a brand-new never-used pan and purified water.

          • diverging@lemmy.ml
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            10 months ago

            I’ve boiled water in the microwave thousands of times, it’s never been superheated. It’s does not easily happen in a microwave.

            Every time I’ve seen someone test out this microwave myth, they use distilled water and a new container.

            • cwagner@lemmy.cwagner.me
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              10 months ago

              I’ve had it happen once (and I rarely ever boil water in there, usually just heat it up), and glass or ceramic are extremely scratch resistant, unlike metal, so no need for a new container. And filtered water tends to work well enough.

              • diverging@lemmy.ml
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                10 months ago

                So then the recommendation should be ‘never boil filtered water in the microwave, and never boil filtered water in a new pot on a stove’, not ‘never boil water in a microwave’.

                Edit: or maybe ‘Never boil filtered water in a glass or ceramic container’ that makes it clear that the method of heating is irrelevant, it’s the condition of the water and container that is important.