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According to professional chefs, however, this nifty countertop appliance can blanch, steam, dehydrate, and cook certain ingredients just as well as a stove or oven — and way, way faster. Read on for seven unexpected ways that chefs use their microwave.

Cook bacon

“It’s a secret, but I love cooking bacon for breakfast in the microwave,” says 2014 F&W Best New Chef Matthew Accarrino. He lines a plate with paper towels, adds the bacon slices, then covers them with more paper towels. Accarrino microwaves the bacon for three to five minutes — checking every 30 seconds after the three-minute mark — until the slices are brown and crispy. “It ends up being way less mess and I’m able to focus on the eggs.”

Temper foie gras

If you happen to prepare foie gras — the buttery French delicacy made from fatty duck or goose liver — at home, 1989 F&W Best New Chef Christopher Gross recommends tempering it in a microwave before searing it in a pan. “A few seconds in the microwave warms the center of a thick piece,” he says. “It lets me get a quick sear on the outside without overcooking it or melting away all of the fat.”

Blanch garlic

Blanching garlic — or boiling the cloves for about a minute before dropping them in an ice bath — preserves their shape and snap while removing their sharp, bitter flavor. 1988 F&W Best New Chef Rick Bayless relies on an even faster technique to mellow garlic’s bite. He places peeled garlic cloves in a microwave-safe bowl, covers them with water, then microwaves the bowl for one minute at 100 percent power.

Soften chocolate

1994 F&W Best New Chef Gale Gand uses her microwave to slightly soften bars of chocolate so she can easily shave off delicate curls with a vegetable peeler. “The microwave warms the chocolate so it’s less brittle,” she says. “But you have to do it for five seconds at a time, checking in between intervals, so you don’t end up melting the chocolate — or worse, turning it into a pool at the bottom of your microwave’s glass turntable.”

Steam eggs and vegetables

Recently, Gand discovered an entirely new use for her microwave. “I wanted to cook off some cartoned egg whites I had left over from my holiday orange spiced pecan production, and thought I’d cook them in the microwave instead of my ‘nonstick’ pan that they always stick to,” she says. “So I poured the egg whites into a glass container and microwaved them on high for three minutes to totally set them.” Gand turned the eggs out onto a container and cut them in half. Once they were completely cool, she chopped the egg whites into small pieces for egg salad.

2025 F&W Best New Chef Jordan Rubin often leans on his microwave to perfectly steam vegetables. “I cover a bowl of broccoli with a damp towel and microwave it for a minute or two,” he says. The broccoli will be par-cooked — softened and bright green — ready to be enjoyed as a side or added to a bowl of ramen.

Dehydrate herbs

Surprise: Your microwave can also be used as a dehydrator. “If you want to dry herbs, it works wonders,” says Rubin.

2011 F&W Best New Chef Jason Franey suggests making crispy parsley chips in the microwave to use as a garnish on salads and crudo. “Wrap a plate with a tight sheet of plastic wrap, brush the parsley leaves with oil, lay them flat, then cover them tightly with another sheet of plastic,” he says. He pokes holes in the plastic wrap for steam to escape, then microwaves the parsley until they’re crispy and translucent, 30 seconds to one minute.

Test your meat blend

When you’re making meatballs or sausages from scratch, it’s important to make sure your meat mixture is properly seasoned. Rather than pan-frying a sample-sized portion, 2016 F&W Best New Chef Ravi Kapur cooks it in the microwave. “It’s quicker than heating it up in a pan and you don’t have to use excess oil,” he says.