Anyone else remember leftovers before the invention of the microwave?

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

I was preparing dinner this afternoon (my husband works 2nd shift, and I have to make the big meal by 1:30 in the afternoon), and putting a plate back for my son when he comes home from school, when I realized how lost we'd be without the microwave.

My husband just had a shift change after 11 years with this company, and we were used to eating together as a family at about 5:00 each evening. With the change, I feel like I'm in the kitchen all day. Some weeks I now do a lot of cooking on Sunday, and then just have to heat food up throughout the week.

It got me thinking back to the 60's when I was a kid. I pretty much hated leftovers. Soup was ok, because you could just put the pot back on the stove and heat. Anything else had to be reheated in the oven, or put in a pan and became mush on the stove top while reheating. And cleaning those pans, or the reheated casserole dishes with the double baked on mess was no fun.

I hadn't thought much about my microwave in awhile, but it gets a workout these days. Anyone else remember the extra work and ick of leftovers from the old days?

lovesrecess · ‎03-14-2010

I remember my mother reheating things on a round metal pan that had a dome on it.....I was very young so have no idea what it was called....but it worked! I also don't recall having many leftovers since I had three brothers.....you had to hope you didn't get to th e table late. Or you could miss out! I know I use the microwave far more than the oven or cooktop now....the microwave would be the one appliance I would want to keep if I had to give up all others

wingnut · ‎03-10-2010

I prefer to reheat in the oven or sauce pan instead of the microwave.

MarthaStewardess · ‎03-09-2010

I have a microwave, but I wouldn't be lost without it at all. In fact, if it didn't come standard with the house, I wouldn't have one. I've been in this house for six years and it's rarely used. Once in a blue moon for baked potatoes or popcorn. If it didn't have buttons on it that say potato or popcorn, it wouldn't be used at all. It hasn't been used for anything else.

lovesrecess · ‎03-14-2010

I have never used my microwave for baked potatoes. I usually cook on the weekends and then reheat during the week....with just 2 of us now...it makes reheating things much easier and faster. You also must learn how to use a microwave to get the results you want.....guess it takes some people more time than others.

QP Doll · ‎11-22-2011

I would love to go back to live in the 50's if I could keep my microwave!!

DoneTryin · ‎03-09-2010

I'm using my microwave less & less. So much so that I'm thinking of getting rid of it altogether because I need the counter space for something else.

In the ""olden days"" we just re-heated leftovers without giving much thought to preserving the moisture & texture. 20/20 hindsight. Now I know to how to prep & store specifically for leftovers that then get reheated either stovetop or oven.

millieshops · ‎03-09-2010

Fortunately my mom made lots of soups, stew, and casseroles that "aged" well, and often day 2 was every bit as good as day 1 or even better.

Still, I wouldn't want to give up the freedom we get from the microwave, the freezers most of us have, the TV's, the telephones that are in every room or travel with us, etc.

I like lots of the modern conveniences. What I miss from the golden days of old are family get-togethers which are really infrequent now that my family has spread across the country and/or fallen with age. Things just aren't a great replacement for people!

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

On 2/11/2014 QP Doll said:
I would love to go back to live in the 50's if I could keep my microwave!!

LOL! There isn't enough money in the universe to make me go back to the 1950's! So little was available to us then. Now I can get anything I want on the internet. The world was so small and there were so few opportunities for women. Cars were primitive. No, I don't long for those days at all. Oh, and BEST of all are digital cameras and books! I can read ANY BOOK I WANT right now!!!!! RIGHT NOW!!!!

Oh and we had a microwave for years before anyone else I knew had one. My dad LOVED stuff like that. We raised cattle so it was a real wonderful thing to thaw beef. And cook hot dogs! And heat up canned veggies.

goodstuff · ‎03-09-2010

On 2/11/2014 upsidedown said: I remember my mother reheating things on a round metal pan that had a dome on it.....I was very young so have no idea what it was called....but it worked! I also don't recall having many leftovers since I had three brothers.....you had to hope you didn't get to th e table late. Or you could miss out! I know I use the microwave far more than the oven or cooktop now....the microwave would be the one appliance I would want to keep if I had to give up all others

My Mom had some of those domed dishes, too -- mostly used to keep meals warm in the oven for kids coming in late from sports practice or after-school activities. I had FIVE hungry brothers, most of them active in athletics........so leftovers weren't something our family had a lot of!