Microwaving Melamine

[MickinMD ★]

Is the a good, doesn't-wear-out-in-the-microwave equivalent of melamine dinnerware?

Back in February, I searched for light, relatively unbreakable, everyday dinnerware with 10.5" - 11" plates, saucers, and about 32 oz. soup bowls with wide, stable bottoms.

I found Melamine dinnerware on Amazon with the warning, "NOT FOR USE IN MICROWAVE OR OVEN."  But there were comments from users saying microwaving is ok.

The set called the "Clay Collection" (4 dinner plates, 4 saucers, 4 soup bowls, $39.99) was exactly what I wanted if I could microwave it: 11" dinner plates that would hold a hearty dinner while watching TV, 7.5" saucers, and 8" diameter, 34 oz. soup bowls. They're nice and solid but very light:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GPBTMJC

So I researched the microwave possibilities and the most authoritative recommendation I could find comes from a food service company called G.E.T. It says (it's report is at bottom) you can microwave melamine without worrying about chemicals going into food etc.  BUT, frequent microwaving will shorten its life a lot.

So I bought it.  I nuke the soup bowls almost every day and 80% of the time it's ramen noodle soup where I nuke 2 cups of water containing a couple handfuls of frozen veggies for soup for 2 minutes, add the 3 oz. of noodles from the packet and nuke it for 5 minutes more. The soup's about an inch below the top of the bowl!

After some months of use, the finish coating begins to blister: the melamine beneath it is basically wood pulp that heat over 160F dries out and the coating begins to pull away. I toss them away when they blister.

So, in 8 months, I went through 3 soup bowls and 1 dinner plate and 1 saucer - on which I often nuke leftovers or nuke Prego poured over spaghetti, etc.  The question became: would I rather get something else that lasts longer or would I rather keep tossing the melamine bowls away as disposable after every 75 nukes?  I found a 6-piece soup bowl set of the "Clay Collection" (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074WFRB7Z) for $18.99.  $18.99/6x75 uses = 4.22 cents/use.  That works for me.  So I ordered the set of 6 plus another 12 piece dinnerware set.  That should last me a couple years for $58.98.  That's about $2.50/month for semi-disposable plates and bowls I really like.

 

G.E.T, Report (https://blog.get-melamine.com/is-melamine-dinnerware-microwave-safe ) :

The good news is that melamine dinnerware does not release chemicals - not in the microwave, not out of the microwave. It also won't explode from microwave use. Even so, we still recommend keeping melamine dinnerware out of the microwave in a commercial foodservice environment.

In residential use, melamine dinnerware is often microwaved. Even at G.E.T., most of our employees have microwaved their melamine at some point. You've probably microwaved melamine at home, too. But residential use is a far cry from commercial kitchens.  If you want to microwave your melamine dinnerware at home, that's completely up to you.

Wood pulp is the base component of melamine dinnerware. When melamine dinnerware is microwaved or generally exposed to temperatures exceeding 160°F (regardless of the heat source) on a regular basis or for a long period of time, it will eventually dry out. Imagine a tree that hasn’t been watered in ages. Its branches would be weak, brittle, and break more easily than if it was properly watered.

Melamine dinnerware acts much the same when it’s frequently microwaved or exposed to temps hotter than 160°F. The thirsty material will eventually brown, become brittle and break, chip, or crack long before its normal service life should be up.

Yep. That's it. It dries out.

 

[Longjohn ★]

I use Corelle for everything. It doesn’t wear out in the microwave.

[Kzoo]

Easter peeps are more fun to microwave.

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

My opinion is that what Mick is doing isn’t good for Mick. Don’t you have a stovetop to cook the stuff on and serve it in your melamine bowls for dining? The dinnerware would last ten years not one. We have the exact same bowls as pictured. I use them to make guacamole and serve soups and chili in but I’d never microwave them. I rarely use the microwave for much beyond defrosting in an emergency. Stovetop and oven are my go to’s for food prep.

[Longjohn ★]

1 hour ago, Kzoo said:

Easter peeps are more fun to microwave.

Florida Yankey used to roast them on a campfire and make s’mores with them.

[Further]

Melamine tastes like shit no matter how you cook it.

[Longjohn ★]

Didn’t the Chinese put melamine in dog food a few years ago and it killed a bunch of people’s dogs?

[Longjohn ★]

[donkpow]

I was curious about this issue myself but did not run down the answer. Thanks for the information.

[Ralphie ★]

This would make a good movie name, sort of like Driving Miss Daisy.

 

[Ralphie ★]

56 minutes ago, donkpow said:

I was curious about this issue myself but did not run down the answer. Thanks for the information.

Dr mickin loves research!

[Prophet Zacharia]

I was hoping for a methylamine thread.

 

[Randomguy]

Wth is this post about?

[Ralphie ★]

19 minutes ago, Nicolas Cage said:

Wth is this post about?

I can’t wrap my head around wood pulp being an ingredient in melamine dinnerware. 

[Longjohn ★]

25 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

I can’t wrap my head around wood pulp being an ingredient in melamine dinnerware. 

Maybe it’s like composit decking?

[Razors Edge ★]

17 hours ago, MickinMD said:

Is the a good, doesn't-wear-out-in-the-microwave equivalent of melamine dinnerware?

Glass. Done. As a chemist, you should know that. Never have to worry about it wearing out, and no chemical worries. Just get this:

and

[MickinMD ★]

14 hours ago, Old#7 said:

My opinion is that what Mick is doing isn’t good for Mick. Don’t you have a stovetop to cook the stuff on and serve it in your melamine bowls for dining? The dinnerware would last ten years not one. We have the exact same bowls as pictured. I use them to make guacamole and serve soups and chili in but I’d never microwave them. I rarely use the microwave for much beyond defrosting in an emergency. Stovetop and oven are my go to’s for food prep.

Some things are less easily doable on the stovetop and result in extra cleaning and time.

As a master chemist and former industrial chief research chemist, after researching melamine online I'm sure I'm not getting whacked with bad chemicals from the melamine. It is a polymer of a C3H6N6 compound, mostly nitrogen by weight and nitrogen gas is what charring it produces, and small concentrations are considered safe in baby formula according to UN food standards.

A less-mess example: I weigh out enough spaghetti for one meal, boil it to al dente softness on the stovetop, pour it into a colander, put the spaghetti on an 11" melamine plate, take a jar of Garden Combo Prego spaghetti sauce, weigh it on the kitchen scale, then pour out the desired weight of Prego to go with the amount of spaghetti.

I put them in the microwave for 90 seconds and the Prego is hot and the spaghetti doesn't become overcooked because it's already been separated from water.  Separately heating the Prego in a small pot means wasting the little bit of sauce that's left in the pot after spooning it out and adds to what needs to be cleaned later.

[MickinMD ★]

5 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Glass. Done. As a chemist, you should know that. Never have to worry about it wearing out, and no chemical worries. Just get this:

and

Thanks for the advice.  I avoid glass because it breaks and the plastic containers aren't stiff enough for me and don't have the shapes I prefer to eat out of.

 

13 hours ago, Longjohn said:

 

The conclusion by the FDA and USDA that eating pigs, chickens, fish, and eggs that ate melamine poses NO human health hazard and the U.N. food standard that allows small concentrations of melamine in baby formula tells me I'm ok using the melamine plates.

[MoseySusan]

19 hours ago, Longjohn said:

I use Corelle for everything. It doesn’t wear out in the microwave.

But it explodes into hundreds of glass shards on the day it actually does break when dropped.

[Longjohn ★]

2 hours ago, roadsue said:

But it explodes into hundreds of glass shards on the day it actually does break when dropped.

We haven’t had that happen yet in 45 years of using it with foster kids, kids, and grandkids. Maybe it’s because we don’t have concrete floors.

[Rattlecan ★]

22 hours ago, Kzoo said:

Easter peeps are more fun to microwave.

Do they claw at the glass and scream before they blow up?

[Kzoo]

Just now, Rattlecan said:

Do they claw at the glass and scream before they blow up?

Yes.  It’s a horrible sight.

[Kirby]

8 hours ago, roadsue said:

But it explodes into hundreds of glass shards on the day it actually does break when dropped.

I had that happened once, and it shocked me!  But I still love my corelle.

[dinneR ★]

Who cares about the plates. Spaghetti sauce from a jar? Can I send you a cookbook. Better yet, get a library card.

This recipe is delicious. I think the red wine and balsamic are the key.

https://www.podiumrunner.com/food-zone-recipe-meatballs-red-wine-sauce_57677

Dr. Allen Lim is a sports physiologist who has worked with the biggest riders in professional cycling. One of his most influential contributions to the sport has been changing how the traditionally pasta-fueled peloton thinks about food.

Lim and professional chef Biju Thomas tested hundreds of recipes with Tour de France cyclists to find out what worked: what was easy to make, delicious to eat, and friendly to high performance. They share their favorite dishes in The Feed Zone Cookbook: Fast and Flavorful Food for Athletes, now available from VeloPress.

As we near the fall marathon season, Competitor is pleased to release some favorite recipes to help you fuel your morning runs, recover from each workout, and fuel up for tomorrow. Check back every Tuesday for a new healthy, delicious and useful recipe. 

SERVINGS: 6

TIME: 1½ hours

This is a one-pot dinner recipe to make you famous among your friends. Make sure your pot is large enough. It’s really a three-step process: First make and brown the meatballs. Then, in the same pot, make the sauce. Last, return the meatballs to the sauce to stew while you revel in your kitchen skills. 

MEATBALLS

1 pound ground beef

1 pound spicy Italian bulk sausage

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons grated parmesan

1 cup bread crumbs (see note below)

dry basil leaves and red pepper flakes

¼ cup olive oil

RED WINE SAUCE

½ cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons minced garlic

½ cup diced bell peppers

½ cup diced fresh tomato

1 small can (4 ounces) tomato paste

 

1 cup water

1 cup crushed tomatoes

½ cup red wine

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

chopped fresh parsley and basil

To make the meatballs: Place ingredients in a large bowl and blend together by hand, making sure that bread crumbs are worked evenly into mixture. Let rest in fridge for 30 minutes. Shape to be the size of golf balls.

Bring ¼ cup olive oil to medium-high heat in a large pot, then add a few meatballs and brown them on all sides. Remove them from the pot as they finish browning, adding more oil as needed. (The meatballs will finish cooking in the sauce.)

To make the sauce: Keeping the heat on medium, add the onions, garlic, peppers, and tomatoes to the pot and sauté until the onions are translucent.

Add the remaining ingredients in the order shown, thoroughly incorporating each item into the sauce before adding the next.

Keep scraping the bottom of the pan while the sauce cooks. Bring sauce to a low boil, then return the meatballs to the pot. Let simmer, covered, until cooked thoroughly, approximately 30–40 minutes. Adjust salt.

Makes 12 meatballs. Serve with your favorite pasta.

NOTE: To make bread crumbs, pulse stale or hard bread in a food processor.

PER SERVING (2 meatballs & sauce): Energy 449 cal • Fat 27 g • Sodium 748 mg • Carbs 15 g • Fiber 2 g • Protein 33 g

This recipe from The Feed Zone Cookbook used with permission of VeloPress. The Feed Zone Cookbook features 160 athlete-friendly recipes that are simple, delicious, and ready to go. For more sample recipes, please visit www.feedzonecookbook.com. 

[Kzoo]

Of all those words the ones that stood out the most - Time : 1 and a half hours.

Newman’s Own with. Pound of browned ground turkey- 10 minutes tops.

[MoseySusan]

8 hours ago, Kirby said:

I had that happened once, and it shocked me!  But I still love my corelle.

I sent all of it to Goodwill and replaced it with dishes that chip and break into large pieces.

[Randomguy]

6 hours ago, Kzoo said:

Of all those words the ones that stood out the most - Time : 1 and a half hours.

Newman’s Own with. Pound of browned ground turkey- 10 minutes tops.

I make my own sauce, but it is easy and quick.  Big can of crushed tomatoes, olive oil to taste, salt and pepper to taste, oregano and basil to taste, done.  Takes 15 minutes if you hurry it along, and it is fantastic.  Eat a bunch, stick the rest in the fridge.

I do this mostly because I find the jarred sauce disagreable in one way or another, mostly tons of sugar or tons of garlic or somesuch.  It sure would be nice sometimes to just pop a jar of something and go, though.

[MoseySusan]

That’s about my sauce recipe, too. Crushed tomatoes, spices, a little beef stock. 

[Randomguy]

8 minutes ago, roadsue said:

That’s about my sauce recipe, too. Crushed tomatoes, spices, a little beef stock. 

I have some powdered bone broth I could throw in, I will try that next time!

[dinneR ★]

8 hours ago, Kzoo said:

Of all those words the ones that stood out the most - Time : 1 and a half hours.

Newman’s Own with. Pound of browned ground turkey- 10 minutes tops.

Skip the meatballs. The sauce alone takes less than 30 minutes.

[MickinMD ★]

17 hours ago, dennis said:

Spaghetti sauce from a jar?

...some favorite recipes

...1 small can (4 ounces) tomato paste

...1 cup crushed tomatoes. 

Why are tomatoes from a jar worse than tomatoes from a can?

[Ralphie ★]

28 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

Why are tomatoes from a jar worse than tomatoes from a can?

No added sugar. 

[Wilbur ★]

On 11/9/2019 at 8:46 AM, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

I can’t wrap my head around wood pulp being an ingredient in melamine dinnerware. 

Sure beats a beehive burner.