I Don't Like Crunchy Vegetables
Written: Oct 21 '07 (Updated Oct 22 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice for cooking small amounts of vegetables for one or 2 people.
Cons: Bag is really hot, to the touch, when removing from the microwave.
The Bottom Line: The product works well enough but I don't like steamed vegetables so I probably won't use these too often. My daughter, on the other hand, would like them.
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| rfish's Full Review: GLAD SimplyCooking Microwave Steaming Bags |
I have been an avid gardener for over 35 years and pride myself in the vegetables I grow and how they are cooked. I also realize that most health conscious people would say vegetables are best when you steam them for a few minutes versus boiling them for 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour. I just don't like vegetables that I have to chew for 5 minutes before swallowing. When I received my sample of GLAD SimplyCooking Microwave Steaming Bags, over a month ago, I wasn't very excited about trying them. Why should I test something that steams vegetables (just the way I don't like them)? I was partially wrong and I am glad I finally gave it a try.
The Product
GLAD SimplyCooking Microwave Steaming Bags are available in a 10 pack for about $2.99. I did see them in the supermarket the other day but didn't think to check the selling price. The bags are large enough to cook three or four small servings of vegetables. The top are zip-lock and the bottom expands to form a flat surface that helps the bag stand up in your microwave oven (if your microwave is large enough). These bags are built for 1000 watt microwave ovens. If your oven cooks faster than what is recommended for other products reduce the cooking times when using a GLAD SimplyCooking Microwave Steaming Bag.
The outside of the bag has some helpful hints about the portions you can cook and how long you cook for. There is also a safety warning about the steam that may be inside when opening.
Three cups of carrots will cook in 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 minutes if fresh and 7 - 8 minutes if frozen.
Ten to twelve asparagus spears will cook in 3 - 4 minutes fresh and 4-5 minutes frozen (I never tried frozen asparagus spears).
Two medium potatoes cook in 7 to 8 minutes (I imagine that you cut them up before cooking but the bag doesn't say).
Three cups of green or yellow beans cook in 5 - 5 minutes fresh and 5 -6 minutes frozen.
Four Hot Dogs cook in 1 1/4 - 2 minutes.
There are even some recipes for cooking a ham and cheese omelet and Beef Stroganoff. I've tried eggs in the microwave before and never liked them. I don't think I'm going to try cooking eggs in one of the bags. (I have cooked an omelet in a plastic bag in boiling water and they weren't too bad).
My First Test
I decided I wanted to try something really simple and also something I could compare with the cooking method I usually use. My garden is still producing broccoli and it was quick to go out and cut a few small heads. I cut enough to get about 1 cup. I rinsed them and removed any heavy pieces of stalk that I thought would be harder to cook. I didn't shake them off leaving water on the heads to help the steaming process. The bag said that 3 cups would cook in 3 - 4 minutes and my microwave cooks quickly. I figured that I'd try 1 minute to start and see what I had after that. The bag itself was easy to handle and was designed to so that when you opened it you didn't get burned by steam. A steam burn can be very nasty and that's the last thing I wanted. The flaps, on the bag are large enough, that your fingers are well out of the way when opening.
I waited the recommended 30 seconds and opened the bag. The first head was real crunchy and not really very hot. I resealed the bag and cooked it another minute. Once again I waited 30 seconds and opened the bag. This time there was a lot of steam when the bag was opened. I also noticed that the bag seemed to expand, this time, as the broccoli cooked. The head was fairly well cooked and very hot. I actually didn't mind as much as I thought I would.
My Second Test
The other vegetable that is still doing very well, in my garden, are peppers. I have sweet peppers, hot peppers, and really hot peppers. I really enjoy peppers in an omelet but they took a long time to cook. I decided to give a GLAD SimplyCooking Microwave Steaming Bag a test of my own. I removed the seeds and diced up 6 medium sized green bell peppers. I rinsed them under the faucet and put them in one of the bags. I put them in the microwave oven and cooked for 2 minutes. When I took them out they were quite soft and hot. Next I made an omelet (in a frying pan, on the stove). I was very pleased with the results. I
Overall
I was surprised at the way the vegetables came out. If you cook them as long as recommended or a little longer they will turn soft but you need to include a little extra water in the bag so the vegetables don't dry out. As I have said before, in this article, I don't like crunchy vegetables very much, so I probably will not use these very often but they are nice to have in the drawer when needed like cooking peppers for an omelet.
I received a sample SimplyCooking Microwave Steaming Bags free of charge, from Fleishman-Hillard in exchange for my trying them and giving my honest opinion. Thanks for the opportunity.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
rfish
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 in Magazine Subscriptions, Home and Garden |
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Location: East Hartford, Connecticut
Reviews written: 341
Trusted by: 583 members
About Me:
Enjoys Star Trek, Science Fiction conventions/collecting, gardening(flowers and vegetable), working with the Boy Scouts.
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