What if I microwave Beyond Meat?
I have a bag of Beyond Meat crumbles. Before reading the bag, I microwaved the crumbles in a bowl until they were thoroughly heated.
...Then I noticed that the bag says "DO NOT MICROWAVE". Is there a health concern with microwaving the product, or are the directions intended to ensure that the product is as enjoyable as it can be?
Best Answer
There are no health concerns with microwaving food. Microwaves excite water molecules to heat food, they don't change food or make it dangerous. When a product says do not microwave it means one of 3 things:
- The packaging is not meant to be microwaved: heating some types of packaging can cause bad tastes or smells in food, or cause the packaging to release unhealthy chemicals. Putting the food in a microwave safe dish solves this problem
- Microwave heating causes undesirable texture changes in the food. Microwaving can sometimes cause a rubbery texture, or make it soggy
- As @fraxinus rightly points out some foods can explode in the microwave, especially food with a shell or airtight covering of some sort like eggs and potatoes. Heat causes pressure to build until the shell or covering fails, causing a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly' as they say in the aerospace industry when something blows up
Number 2 is the most likely reason the package said do not microwave.
Pictures about "What if I microwave Beyond Meat?"
Quick Answer about "What if I microwave Beyond Meat?"
Yes, it is safe to reheat Beyond Burger in the microwave. Though the packaging instructs not to microwave, there are no health concerns with microwaving Beyond Burgers as long as the internal temperature is reheated to 74 degrees Celsius or 165 degrees Fahrenheit.Can you get food poisoning from undercooked Beyond Meat?
Can You Get Sick from Eating Raw Beyond Meat? Yes, you can get sick from eating raw Beyond Meat. Eating raw Beyond Meat means you are eating raw pea protein powder, among other ingredients that will make you feel sick. Plant-based foods are less likely to cause food poisoning, which makes Beyond Meat beneficial.Does Beyond Meat have to be cooked all the way?
Note that like regular beef and pork, Beyond Meat needs to be cooked before eating and also has an expiration date, so if you're not going to use it right away, purchasing and storing it frozen is a great idea. Once the packaged is opened, it should be used within three days.Can you microwave beyond beef crumbles?
The packaging advises not to microwave and instead to cook for a mere three minutes in a frying pan with oil. I found this repeatedly too little, and as noted, cooking anywhere from 5-8 minutes.Can you microwave a frozen Beyond Burger?
All you need is to put the frozen Beyond Burgers on a microwave-safe plate, let it defrost for around one minute on each side, and you're good to start cooking. What is this? Even though the Beyond Burger patty is fully cooked, it must be reheated to an internal temperature of 74\u2103 or 165\u2109 to be safe to serve.Here's What You're Really Eating When You Eat A Beyond Burger
More answers regarding what if I microwave Beyond Meat?
Answer 2
On the Beyond Meat website there's no mention either way of microwaving (other than the section that reproduces the packaging you've already seen), however searching their tweets reveals that they concede it's possible, though undesirable, to microwave the stuff:
https://twitter.com/BeyondMeat/status/615620476862230528
while you can microwave the #BeastBurger, we always recommend grilling for the best taste, texture and experience!
https://twitter.com/BeyondMeat/status/424243984341684224
most of our fans eat them [Beyond Chicken Strips] out of the box, we recommend pan frying them, but they are totally microwave safe!
Answer 3
Health related concerns are off-topic here, but pretty much anything that can be cooked on a stove can be heated in the microwave, whether the food is then palatable is another issue. There are a few things that are worth considering:
- Microwaving food cooks differently to on a stove in that the water in the food is heated by the microwaves, this can lead to unpleasant textures in some foods
- Similarly, microwaving some items has a burning risk if they are a dry food like bread - the inside browns before the outside (reverse toast anyone?) and could potentially catch fire without warning
- Cooking on a stove usually means adding some other ingredients such as oil or water to help heat it, which alters the taste and can enhance flavour; you might not get this with food heated directly in the microwave.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Curtis Adams, Charlotte May, Max Vakhtbovych, Max Vakhtbovych