Do microwaves cook food from the inside out?
No. Microwaves penetrate the food to a depth of 1 to 1 inches. In thicker pieces of food, the microwaves don’t reach the center. That area would cook by conduction of heat from the outer areas of the food into the middle. In a microwave oven, the air in the oven is at room temperature so the temperature of the food surface is cooler than food in a conventional oven where the food is heated by hot air. Therefore, food cooked in a microwave oven doesn’t normally become brown and crispy. Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Web site: http://www.foodsafety.gov/~fsg/fs-mwave.
