On the subject of defrosting frozen food in a microwave oven, you must refer to …

On the subject of defrosting frozen food in a microwave oven, you must refer to the old BTU formula which states “It takes one BTU to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1° (Fahrenheit), but when water is changing state from a solid (ice) to a liquid (water), it must absorb 144 BTUs (per pound).” – George R.

This observation accounts for much of difficulty with defrosting food in general and defrosting food in a microwave oven in particular. It often takes more heat to melt ice in the food than it does to actually cook the food once the ice has melted. Since ice doesn’t absorb microwaves well, heating frozen foods in a microwave oven is a tricky business. Any region of food that melts early will absorb microwaves strongly and overheat while any region of food that remains frozen won’t absorb microwaves well and won’t receive the enormous amounts of heat it needs just to melt. The result is typically a food item with some frozen parts and some boiling hot parts. To avoid this problem, microwave oven defrost cycles let the food sit in between bursts of microwave heating. That way, there is time for heat to flow through the food and keep the internal temperatures relatively uniform. Parts of the food that heat well have time to transfer heat to parts that don’t heat well and the whole item thaws and heats together.

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