Microwave Cookware
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When you have a microwave in your home, using it almost any time you are working in the kitchen becomes second nature. Whether it is heating up water for tea or warming some leftovers from your dinner last night, we are so used to just "popping it in the microwave" that we sometimes take for granted that everything we put in the microwave oven should go in there. But it is a good idea to think about your dishes and cookware so if there are items that should not go into the microwave, you keep them segregated to avoid a problem.
For the most part, almost all of your dishes, cups and bowls can be heated in the microwave. Unless the dish is stoneware or made of some delicate material, to put it in the microwave for a minute to heat up your food should not be a problem. The exception is any dish that has metal in it such as pots or pans or dishes or cups that are decorated with some type of silver or gold pattern that could cause the microwave to spark. But because we use our microwaves so often, you are no doubt aware of any items in your kitchen dishes and implements that should be kept out of the microwave.
Finding cookware that is microwave safe these days is no challenge. Because the microwave oven dominates most kitchens, all of the major cookware manufacturers know enough to make their products safe for both the microwave and the dishwasher. But one criterion that you might also impose on any new pieces of cookware that you buy is to make sure anything you buy for cooking can be used in the microwave, in the conventional oven or even on the stovetop. That is good flexibility.
Most cooks have a small collection of bowls and other cookware that they use for almost every cooking task they do. Kitchen storage is usually limited and we don't want to have to sift through drawer after drawer of cookware to find a piece that you can start out warming up in the microwave and then switch to the conventional oven to finish the cooking process or to put it on warm. Similarly, if you are cooking a dish in the conventional oven and the time for the dinner arrives and the food is not totally done, it is a tremendous convenience to be able to just take that dish out, put it in the microwave and give it several minutes on high to finish cooking the dish.
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That is the kind of convenience and flexibility to respond to kitchen circumstances that you need and want from using each cooking method to its best advantage. And to give you that flexibility, your cookware has to be able to make those transitions without any problems.
