Your pet peeve, technical or otherwise.

[Psi]

Mine is when people rinse off the dishes in the sink before putting them into the dishwasher - just what is the point in the dishwasher then? The dishwasher does a rinse cycle before it starts the wash. 

Funny, one of mine is dishwashers that don't get the dishes clean without that pre-rinse.  Which is the vast majority of them.  Unless you are in the situation where you can run the dishwasher before the food dries.  In our situation that means running a nearly empty dishwasher every time which we choose not to do.

It's absolutely critical that the dishwasher have most/all of its powder/liquid remaining after the pre-rinse is done (ready for main wash cycle).
Or even better to have two powder systems, one that activities immediately for the pre-rinse and one that activates later for the main wash cycle.
The tables you throw anywhere into the machine cause so many issues because your pre-rinse uses up most of the tablet and leaves very little for the main wash cycle when its actually needed.

When used properly handwashing stuff before putting it into the dishwasher is almost never needed.

There are a few exceptions where a manual hand-wash is needed. 
Dried-on spinach comes to mind, so you really want to wash that under the tap first, while its wet, to get it off, or put the dishwasher on before it dries onto the plate/saucepan.
One it sets its really hard to get off and even the machine has trouble.

[CatalinaWOW]

Other exceptions include rice, peanut butter,  oat meal and pancake batter.  There are many others.  And my washer does have two stage powder delivery and I use dw detergent that has best reviews for cleaning.

If your diet consists only of steak and baked potatoes dishwashers work fine.  And even with the bother of pre-rinse they are worthwhile.

[Psi]

oh yeah, and melted vegan cheese tends to be as hard as a rock if you let it dry on the plate.

[Squarewave]

Mine is when people rinse off the dishes in the sink before putting them into the dishwasher - just what is the point in the dishwasher then? The dishwasher does a rinse cycle before it starts the wash. 

Funny, one of mine is dishwashers that don't get the dishes clean without that pre-rinse.  Which is the vast majority of them.  Unless you are in the situation where you can run the dishwasher before the food dries.  In our situation that means running a nearly empty dishwasher every time which we choose not to do.

It's absolutely critical that the dishwasher have most/all of its powder/liquid remaining after the pre-rinse is done (ready for main wash cycle).
Or even better to have two powder systems, one that activities immediately for the pre-rinse and one that activates later for the main wash cycle.
The tables you throw anywhere into the machine cause so many issues because your pre-rinse uses up most of the tablet and leaves very little for the main wash cycle when its actually needed.

When used properly handwashing stuff before putting it into the dishwasher is almost never needed.

There are a few exceptions where a manual hand-wash is needed. 
Dried-on spinach comes to mind, so you really want to wash that under the tap first, while its wet, to get it off, or put the dishwasher on before it dries onto the plate/saucepan.
One it sets its really hard to get off and even the machine has trouble.

The tablets go in the tablet dispenser, they don't get dispensed until after the rinse. I've never had a dishwasher not wash properly, people are either using crap dishwashers or combination of that and crap detergent. I never have to hand rinse, it's just pointless, you may as well carry on by hand. It's like having a dog and doing the barking yourself.

[Psi]

Mine is when people rinse off the dishes in the sink before putting them into the dishwasher - just what is the point in the dishwasher then? The dishwasher does a rinse cycle before it starts the wash. 

Funny, one of mine is dishwashers that don't get the dishes clean without that pre-rinse.  Which is the vast majority of them.  Unless you are in the situation where you can run the dishwasher before the food dries.  In our situation that means running a nearly empty dishwasher every time which we choose not to do.

It's absolutely critical that the dishwasher have most/all of its powder/liquid remaining after the pre-rinse is done (ready for main wash cycle).
Or even better to have two powder systems, one that activities immediately for the pre-rinse and one that activates later for the main wash cycle.
The tables you throw anywhere into the machine cause so many issues because your pre-rinse uses up most of the tablet and leaves very little for the main wash cycle when its actually needed.

When used properly handwashing stuff before putting it into the dishwasher is almost never needed.

There are a few exceptions where a manual hand-wash is needed. 
Dried-on spinach comes to mind, so you really want to wash that under the tap first, while its wet, to get it off, or put the dishwasher on before it dries onto the plate/saucepan.
One it sets its really hard to get off and even the machine has trouble.

The tablets go in the tablet dispenser, they don't get dispensed until after the rinse. I've never had a dishwasher not wash properly, people are either using crap dishwashers or combination of that and crap detergent. I never have to hand rinse, it's just pointless, you may as well carry on by hand. It's like having a dog and doing the barking yourself.

Some tablets don't fit into the dispensers on some machines, so the instructions say to put them in the bottom of the machine, or put them into the knife/fork/spoon holder thing.
Which, if you do that, usually results in dishes that dont clean as well as they would otherwise, because the tablet dissolves in the pre-rinse.
Often they try to claim that their tablet are special and coated in something that has a time delay release to avoid this problem, but it doesn't work properly

[Squarewave]

They always fit in my dispenser, I've never had any trouble what so ever. The filthiest of dishes go in, covered in all sorts, dried baked on stuff, they come out like new.

[Squarewave]

Other exceptions include rice, peanut butter,  oat meal and pancake batter.  There are many others.  And my washer does have two stage powder delivery and I use dw detergent that has best reviews for cleaning.

If your diet consists only of steak and baked potatoes dishwashers work fine.  And even with the bother of pre-rinse they are worthwhile.

My dishwasher gets rid of all of that. There are bowls and a saucepan in the dishwasher now which have had oats on them this morning. The dishwasher will go on later, by that point it'll all be dried on, it always comes out perfectly clean.

[SilverSolder]

Re dishwasher,  if you inspect glassware carefully under a very strong light, you will see a slight blue film left behind by modern detergents.  It is a consequence of removing a very effective cleaner (phosphates) and replacing it with something that doesn't over-feed the marine plant life...

[rsjsouza]

The user's manual of all the dishwashers that I had always recommended to remove food from the dishes before putting them in a cycle - to reduce the possibility of clogging the drain filter. Otherwise, they do a good job if the soap is worth its salt. I also leave a small splatter of soap on the door to help with the initial rinsing step.

[helius]

The user's manual of all the dishwashers that I had always recommended to remove food from the dishes before putting them in a cycle - to reduce the possibility of clogging the drain filter. Otherwise, they do a good job if the soap is worth its salt. I also leave a small splatter of soap on the door to help with the initial rinsing step.

I agree, and I have only used powder type detergent, so this is easy to do (a dose in both dispenser trays, and a small dose outside the flaps). I am naughty and add a small amount of TSP as well.
My view on "pods" or detergent tablets is a dim one.
The only thing I am constantly unable to fully clean is crusty carbon on baking dishes. I am not quite at the point of using hot sulfuric acid but it seems like nothing else works...

[Squarewave]

The user's manual of all the dishwashers that I had always recommended to remove food from the dishes before putting them in a cycle - to reduce the possibility of clogging the drain filter. Otherwise, they do a good job if the soap is worth its salt. I also leave a small splatter of soap on the door to help with the initial rinsing step.

I agree, and I have only used powder type detergent, so this is easy to do (a dose in both dispenser trays, and a small dose outside the flaps). I am naughty and add a small amount of TSP as well.
My view on "pods" or detergent tablets is a dim one.
The only thing I am constantly unable to fully clean is crusty carbon on baking dishes. I am not quite at the point of using hot sulfuric acid but it seems like nothing else works...

I remove excess food, as you usually would anyway, scrape off left overs into the bin, but I'm not rinsing it in the sink before putting it in the dishwasher.

I pull the filter once a week maybe and give it a good wash out.

[rsjsouza]

The only thing I am constantly unable to fully clean is crusty carbon on baking dishes. I am not quite at the point of using hot sulfuric acid but it seems like nothing else works...

For these I tend to scrape the crust using a wood spoon or something else that does not scratch the bottom of the pan (our pans are cast iron, which helps by being much sturdier than the fragile T-Flon ones). Otherwise it is as you said: the crud becomes caked and fused into the pan.

I remove excess food, as you usually would anyway, scrape off left overs into the bin, but I'm not rinsing it in the sink before putting it in the dishwasher.

Since our sink has the food disposer, we end up rinsing the food away on the sink but not overdoing it.

[Zeyneb]

Sigh. Aliexpress product titles.

I just want to buy foam wiping swabs. One of the sellers describe these as:
"Inks Wiping Foams Sponge Cotton Sticks For Roland Epson Mimaki Mutoh Inkjet Eco Solvent Printer Printhead Cotton Bud Sticks"

I had to ask if they dipped it in solvent already of if they come dry.

I only love how McMaster-Carr describe their products on their website.

[rdl]

Why, when I go to use the microwave, do I have to push a button labeled "Cook" first? Is that not what the thing is made for? Open door, put item inside, close door, enter a time and press "Start'. But the last two I've had require an extra step of pressing "Cook" before entering the time.

Yes, it's a minor thing, but still annoying. Not that I've had all that many microwaves, but only the last two required the extra button press. Maybe this is a brand/manufacturer thing, I don't know.

[Bud]

Maybe you want to defrost a frozen food, for which I am guessing there is a different button.

[paulca]

People have taken to ranting about Microwaves getting IoT internet connections.  They cry "What possible need does a microwave have for an internet connection?"

Well, it would certainly provided a way to solve the No. 1 problems with microwaves.  Nobody knows how to cook with them.

The manufacturer of the microwave knows what it will do, but does not know exactly what the food you are putting into it is.  So they can't give you exact answers.

When you buy pre-made food to heat in them, the manufacturer of the food has no clue what your microwave is capable of.

The result is blanket, absolutely non-sense cooking guidelines which are far, far, far removed from how the microwave was intended to be used.  Nobody can "safely" give you instructions to cook the food propoerly with YOUR microwave.

Instead they put things like:  "900W  Heat for full power for 4 minutes.  Allow to stand for 1 minute.  Heat on full power for 3 minutes."

This will absolutely 100% nuke the HELL out of whatever you are microwaving.  After about the first minute, parts of it will be agressively boiling and drying out while other parts are frozen.  The initial 4 minute is FAR too long.  It would far, far, far better to use the intermediate power settings, however those are not standarized across manufacturers or models.  So nobody can safely advise you use them.

If the microwave could be facilitated with a database of bar-coded products, you could simple scan the Pizza or ready meal and stick it in, close the door and it would cook it correctly based on what the microwave is capable of the best way to heat/cook that particular food in "This" particular oven.

[vk6zgo]

People have taken to ranting about Microwaves getting IoT internet connections.  They cry "What possible need does a microwave have for an internet connection?"

Well, it would certainly provided a way to solve the No. 1 problems with microwaves.  Nobody knows how to cook with them.

The manufacturer of the microwave knows what it will do, but does not know exactly what the food you are putting into it is.  So they can't give you exact answers.

When you buy pre-made food to heat in them, the manufacturer of the food has no clue what your microwave is capable of.

The result is blanket, absolutely non-sense cooking guidelines which are far, far, far removed from how the microwave was intended to be used.  Nobody can "safely" give you instructions to cook the food propoerly with YOUR microwave.

Instead they put things like:  "900W  Heat for full power for 4 minutes.  Allow to stand for 1 minute.  Heat on full power for 3 minutes."

This will absolutely 100% nuke the HELL out of whatever you are microwaving.  After about the first minute, parts of it will be agressively boiling and drying out while other parts are frozen.  The initial 4 minute is FAR too long.  It would far, far, far better to use the intermediate power settings, however those are not standarized across manufacturers or models.  So nobody can safely advise you use them.

If the microwave could be facilitated with a database of bar-coded products, you could simple scan the Pizza or ready meal and stick it in, close the door and it would cook it correctly based on what the microwave is capable of the best way to heat/cook that particular food in "This" particular oven.

I use 2.5 mins initially, open the microwave, then with a spatula, break up the frozen food, (which is definitely not "nuked" in that time) so it has a chance to cook evenly (messes up pasta, but who cares?).

Subtracting the 2.5mins from the recommended time, I then put it back in for the resultant time.
Sometimes it works, sometimes the food needs another 30 secs to a minute, but it is a much better method than slavishly relying upon the directions.

Why do you assume the microwave & food manufacturers would take the time to generate a whole database just for your convenience & at no profit to themselves?

[vk6zgo]

The only thing I am constantly unable to fully clean is crusty carbon on baking dishes. I am not quite at the point of using hot sulfuric acid but it seems like nothing else works...

For these I tend to scrape the crust using a wood spoon or something else that does not scratch the bottom of the pan (our pans are cast iron, which helps by being much sturdier than the fragile T-Flon ones). Otherwise it is as you said: the crud becomes caked and fused into the pan.

I remove excess food, as you usually would anyway, scrape off left overs into the bin, but I'm not rinsing it in the sink before putting it in the dishwasher.

Since our sink has the food disposer, we end up rinsing the food away on the sink but not overdoing it.

Interestingly, dishwashers for different markets are programmed with different wash cycles.
Some years back, I had a temporary job re-programming dishwashers to the Australian market settings.
They had been inadvertently supplied with the German program.

To this end, a bunch of us were flown to Melbourne from various parts of Oz, as well as a solitary person from NZ, & were shown how to do the job which consisted of opening the cartons, undoing the front panels, reprogramming them, then returning the devices & cartons to normal.

It was hardly rocket science & they could have just made a video of someone doing it & distributed it, but we weren't complaining as we all got a free trip to Melbourne.

The actual job was a bastard--very hard on the back & boring as hell, but we got it done (well, I got mine done, & I assume the others, who were all much younger, did too).

[paulca]

Why do you assume the microwave & food manufacturers would take the time to generate a whole database just for your convenience & at no profit to themselves?

Oh come on.  Have you been living under a rock?

They spy on you and advertise at you of course.  If that model doesn't work they then, after your already paid for the microwave, charge you a subscription to use the service.

Taking the example of frozen pasta ready meal, they can be a right pain.  I will typically take the stated "first heat" time and put it in at 66-75% power for that time, not HIGH.  By then it is usually stir-able, it's also pretty much defrosted.  Stiring the hot parts into the frozen parts hurries that up.  If I can't stir it or don't want to, I will probably run it the entirety of their stated "second heat" timer also at 60-75%.  However, if it's stirred and defrosted, 1 minute on high will get it to "barely warm enough" and 2 minutes on high gets it to hot enough to eat with some parts a little frazzled.  I like to heat my food so I can immediately eat it.  (assume it's already cooked).  I have never burnt the scare tissue into my mouth that others have, so I have no tolerance for "piping hot food", it simply hurts and literally burns me.

That said... risk... The other factor to consider why they tend to over do the cooking is that they specifically want to boil the food.  They don't just want you to heat it up to eatable temps ~60-70*C.  They want you to pin it at 100*C for at least a while.

Why?  It will save them about 25% on their public liability insurance if they have lab tests showing this will significantly reduce the changes of any bacterial contamination making it to the customers guts.
Additionally, this allows them to put MORE water into the product.  In the knowledge they are asking you to microwave it 2 or 3 minutes longer than is necessary, that excess will boil off.  If you short cut the times on these meals they are sloppy.  More water = more weight = higher price.

Tagent:  Where I have found the most significant gains with "ding ding" cooking, is when it's used in combination with other things like grill or oven.  This also tilts towards the "smart ovens" future potential.
Example:  Frozen Pizza.  Microwaved alone... you'd need to be desperate.  Oven alone and typically the surface cheese is burning before the centre has fully defrosted and the centre is left soggy and sloppy.  My technique is to pre-heat the microwave with it's fan oven to 230*C.  Then put the pizza in on a stand so it's mid oven and use the "Pizza Auto" mode set to 400g.  The automatic pizza mode uses a combination of oven, grill and short pulses microwave and produces the best looking and eating frozen pizza I have seen!  Those short bursts of microwaves are just what it takes to rapidly defrost the core of the pizza while the oven is working on bringing it up to temp and browning it.  The microwave basically get the pizza from 0 up to 100 and then the oven and grill do the browning.

Similarly, defrosting in microwaves.  They go banded as being "ideal" for defrosting and I honestly have no idea why.  Microwaves do not heat up ice.  The hydrogen atoms held in the crystal latice do not transmit their resonance anywhere near as much.  So what actually happens is, the part where your hand was holding the frozen item when it went in has got a small amount of defrosted water at just that point.  That water takes the whole whack of the 900W -loses.  It boils, it runs off into the tray and continues to boil the food from underneath, all while the mass bulk of the thing is still frozen and absorbing sod all microwaves.  The approach of "pulse" and wait.... "pulse" and wait....  "pulse and wait...." will either take hours with only 1 or 2 second pules and minute or it will partially cook bits of the food (say a lump of steak).

However, what I now do is put the oven into "Convection + Microwave" mode.  Which is about 10% microwave, 90% 2kW fan oven.  3-5 minutes.  By which time the oven cavity is up to about 60*C, some of the food has been lightly and infrequently microwaved.  Leave it alone for an hour and when you come back it will be perfectly defrosted and have virtually not rubberised leather, boiled grey meat to cut off.

[mendip_discovery]

Software companies just hiking up prices and inconsistent prices that depend on where you live.

I used to have Adobe Crearive Suite but now it's at £660 a year so I have had to give it up.

I have been tempted at paying for Fusion 360 as I have been using that a fair bit recently but they have just announced that it's going from $490 to $680 (oddly looking at prices online it's already £510 in the UK). The free option remains but for how long and I expect it to loose more features.

[helius]

I think it has taken you a very long time to realize what I knew almost immediately, from a young age:
Microwave ovens are a gimmick product sold to a gullible consumer who values a mythical "convenience" more than his enjoyment or health. The kitchen equivalent of Crocs. You shouldn't feel any shame sneering at this kind of consumer; after all, you have yourself been tricked into it in the past.

[PlainName]

A poor workman blames his tools 

[mendip_discovery]

I think it has taken you a very long time to realize what I knew almost immediately, from a young age:
Microwave ovens are a gimmick product sold to a gullible consumer who values a mythical "convenience" more than his enjoyment or health. The kitchen equivalent of Crocs. You shouldn't feel any shame sneering at this kind of consumer; after all, you have yourself been tricked into it in the past.

Socks with crocs for the win.

Microwaves have thier uses, handy if you don't want to faff with the saucepan when you just want to warm up some rice pudding.

[jonovid]

Sigh. Aliexpress product titles.

the best of chinglish, top effort

[Circlotron]

Sigh. Aliexpress product titles.

I just want to buy foam wiping swabs. One of the sellers describe these as:
"Inks Wiping Foams Sponge Cotton Sticks For Roland Epson Mimaki Mutoh Inkjet Eco Solvent Printer Printhead Cotton Bud Sticks"

How about 3D Gravity Night Light Gravity Jumping Comb Carrot Butterfly Knife Decompression Toy Halloween Christmas Gift Kids Toys.