Why do sweet potatoes catch fire in the microwave

Microwaves have built-in safety features to reduce the chances and severity of these types of fires. Sparks happen because the waves of energy that should get absorbed by your food instead bounce around between objects.

Metal with rough or pointy edges, like a fork or ball of aluminum foil, will almost always spark. Paper towels made from recycled materials can also unintentionally contain flecks of metal that might spark, according to the National Institutes of Health. Non-microwave-safe bowls and plates might crackle or spark too. And in the right conditions, food can also create sparks. Grapes have the ideal size and moisture content for sparking, but it can happen with peas, blueberries, and other foods as well.

Plasma feeds off of microwave energy, according to Slepkov, and if you glance up at the top of the oven cavity after you see the initial sparks, you might see plasma dancing around for the duration of the cook time. But the risk of an inferno is small, according to Slepkov. My sis can even taste water that has been nuked because of its "peppery" flavor, though I sense more of a disorganized mess of energy after eating nuked foods.

Join now to personalize. Homemade Baby Food Makers Sweet potatoes catching fire in microwave i. I baked some organic garnet yams for LO, then cut them into cubes and froze them using the tray method. I put them in a ziploc and twice now have popped a few in the microwave to thaw them, like I have dozens of other foods.

Twice they have caught fire. Am I missing something? Am I not supposed to put sweet potatoes in the microwave? It was for 15 seconds. Can someone explain why this happened? Want to stay up to date with this post? Log In or Sign Up to comment. Entertaining The Ultimate Guide to Thanksgiving by Kristin Donnelly The best way to cook a stress-free dinner is to think ahead, which is why we've created this comprehensive Trending Discussions.

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