It takes a lot less effort to serve on paper plates but is microwave good for heating food on paper plates? or is it not possible to put paper plates in a microwave?
With the usage of paper plates, you don’t have to clean the paper plates. You can throw away once after use. This is the main benefit of using such plates.
Microwaves are a handy appliance to heat food especially when you quickly need to reheat the food which you made an hour or two ago. But what if the food is kept on a paper plate. Can a microwave heat the food with a paper plate without damaging the food?
Let’s take a deeper look into our question.
What are Paper Plates?
Paper Plates are easily disposable and are suitable to use at large gatherings. They can be used once and then have to be thrown away.
However, various types of paper plates are more durable and can be used more than once. These durable paper plates are made up of plastic coating which makes them easier to wash once you use them.
Now if you are thinking that since plastic plates with plastic coating are durable, they must be safe to microwave. That is not the case with paper plates made with plastic material. Not all plastic-coated paper plates are suitable for microwaves.
Plastic, in general, can be melted at high temperatures, and given the food is touching the surface of a plastic-coated paper plate, the plastic will likely melt into the food making it uneatable at that point.
There are some types of plastic-coated paper plates which do not melt the coating and they are usually labeled as “microwave safe” in the package.
Can you microwave paper plates?
There is no “Yes” or “No” answer to this question since many paper plate manufacturers are making different types of paper plates with different materials of coating.
Paper, in general, does not have any negative effect when put in a microwave at high temperature but a certain type of paper will take a toll if they are made up of different material or coating.
White Paper Plates are usually the ones that can be put in a microwave without any issue. These paper plates have a “microwave safe” mark. Certain plastic coatings are acceptable in the microwave but keep in mind that not all plastic coating paper plates are “microwave safe”.
Do not use Paper Plates with a plastic coating that does not have a “microwave safe” sign in the package. It will just melt the plastic into the food and make it toxic.
Other types of paper plates that are not microwave friendly are brown paper plates and very thick disposable paper plates. Do not use hand-made paper plates made out of newspapers as well, since the ink can melt out and can have the same effect that a melting plastic does.
The most important thing is to check the package information and try to look for the “Microwave-safe” sign or a sign that indicates that they are safe to use in a microwave.
