The FDA has received reports of serious skin burns or scalding injuries around people's hands and faces because of hot water erupting out of a cup after it had been over-heated in a microwave. Over-heating of water in a cup can result in superheated water (past its boiling temperature) without appearing to boil.
When you open the microwave door and grab the mug, the sudden movement and temperature change causes a sudden explosive boiling of superheated water, which can be as harmful as hot oil. You can microwave water safely by adding a wooden chopstick or coffee stirrer to the mug.
A microwave oven heats water because the microwave radiation interacts with the dipole (separated positive and negative charge) of the water molecule. The microwaves turn the water molecules back and forth at approximately the frequency of the microwaves, imparting energy to them.
Although a microwave may not save much energy or money over a stove burner when heating water, it can be much more energy-efficient than a traditional full-size oven when it comes to cooking food.
While kettles may heat water more evenly, other scientific research has shown that microwaves can draw out more of tea's potentially beneficial compounds like catechins and caffeine.
Boiling water on a cooker is about 70 percent efficient, although it depends on the type of pot or kettle you use. Most of the energy is lost heating the air around the cooker. An electric teakettle is about 80 percent efficient, although again this varies from kettle to kettle.
Such ultra-hot water destroys desired aromatic compounds and elicits an excess of astringent, bitter notes by overcooking the leaves. Overheated water can also accentuate naturally occurring impurities in the water that contribute off flavors to the final brew.
If electricity is your only choice, an electric kettle is more efficient than the stove, because the heating element is in direct contact with the water. And microwaves are the least efficient method of all.
Low minimum fill – It's always cheaper to boil less water, so kettles with a lower minimum marker will save you money if you're heating water for just one cuppa.
Microwaving water is a fast and convenient way to make hot beverages or cook meals. Generally, microwaves that are 700 watts or higher can successfully boil 1 cup (8 ounces) of water in 2-3 minutes. If you have a lower wattage, boiling the same amount of water might take up to 4 minutes.
Now, if you consider other variables we talked about above, the same cup can also take up to 5 minutes to come to a boil in a microwave! Every 1/2 cup of water added will add roughly an additional minute of heating time. So, 2 cups will take about 4 to 4 1/2 minutes to boil.
In general, you just need to heat the water for about one minute time in the microwave using a microwave safe mug or cup to make the tea. If you need the tea to be very hot, you may heat the water for about one minute and 30 seconds.
Teas Require Drastically Different Brewing Temperatures
Many times, microwaving a mug heats the water way too much. This, in turn, makes lifting it from the microwave a task that can come with finger-burning and potential spilling of scalding water.
Apparently, most Americans do not own kettles, but instead microwave their water.
Boiling water is extremely warm or very hot water - it is when water reaches 100 degrees centigrade. You would typically use boiling water when cooking food. Just to extend on Gareth's answer - note that he wrote "boiling water", not "boiled water". Boiled water is sterile.
While boiling water eliminates bacteria in the water, it does not make the tap water pure. Water can contain other contaminants such as microplastics, pesticides, fertilisers, industrial chemicals, hormones, medications, heavy metals and neurotoxic microorganisms which are not removed through boiling water.
General Information. How does boiling make my tap water safe? Boiling the water kills microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, or protozoans that can cause disease. Boiling makes the tap water microbiologically safe.
Disadvantages of Boiling Water
Boiling water can only remove bacteria, meaning it will not remove harmful substances such as chlorine and heavy metals such as lead from tap water. Boiling tap water with lead actually concentrates this contaminant making it more dangerous than if left alone.
Experts at Uswitch.com have explained how the cheapest way to boil a cup of tea is by using a covered pan on a gas hob, instead of depending on your usual kettle.
Any stove-safe vessel, whether a sauce pot or whistling kettle, can hold water to be heated, and the direct heat of a gas flame heats water quickly and evenly. Whether in a home kitchen or over a propane-powered camp stove, a gas flame is a reliable way to heat water.
But microwaves have three other major nutritional advantages: The short cooking time helps preserve heat-sensitive vitamins (like vitamins C and B9). The internal temperature also goes no higher than boiling which helps preserve the flavor of the vegetable.
According to the pH of water, an initial value of 7.2 (without microwave heating) was measured. However, after 2, 8 and 16 min of microwave radiation, new values were respectively attained as 7.1, 6.6, and 5.9, showing progressive decreases from the initial one.
Re: Does microwaved water cool quicker? No. Water at a specific temperature will cool at a determined rate which depends only on the environment that its in and not how it arrived at that temperature. I.e. if you have a cup of water at 100C there is no way to determine how it got to that temperature.