Jay Verma
My built-in microwave is the least used of all of the kitchen equipment I possess, yet it is also the most expensive. Although I use it for everyday tasks like reheating lasagna and popping a bag of popcorn on movie night, I’m a complete novice when it comes to utilizing its more sophisticated features such as defrosting.
When I learned about Anyday, a brand of cookware created to combat the microwave’s tarnished image, I started to explore alternatives to the appliance’s warming capabilities. Instead, the Anyday bowls are successful in maximizing the use of the microwave by enabling home chefs to prepare meals that are both speedier and more complex. Aside from being reasonably priced at $30 (for The Medium Shallow Dish), the bowls are also substantially less expensive than the cookware and appliances they are intended to replace (think: your pot, steamer basket, and oven). Until today, you would have had no reason to believe that your microwave was capable of cooking poached eggs or banana bread.
What is Anyday cookware?
A cookware firm devoted to making the microwave a more important component of the established home cook’s repertoire, rather than merely a fast-track to popcorn, has launched the Anyday line of microwaveable products. It was founded by Steph Chen, whose family owns the worldwide cookware firm Meyer Corporation, and debuted earlier this year. It has already gained the support of several notable figures, including Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Lopez.
Anyday manufactures microwaveable containers and lids that are airtight, leakproof, non-toxic, dishwasher-safe, oven-safe, and freezer-safe, as well as dishwasher- and freezer-safe. At the moment, there are four sets available: a small and big “shallow” dish, together with a small and large “deep” dish, each of which comes with a matching cover; Individual dishes (with lids included) range in price from $30 to $40 depending on the size, or you can get a set of four dishes for $120 if you like.
Anyday’s biggest selling point is its lids; without them, you’re just purchasing frosted glass bowls. Using a silicone gasket beneath the stainless steel rim (the smooth, curved form makes the metal microwave safe), each bowl may be sealed tightly in order to prevent splatters and moisture from escaping. Each bowl is dishwasher safe. Additionally, the handle knob built into the top of each lid has vents that let steam escape, which, according to the manufacturer, “creates the ideal climate for evenly cooking food.”
How can the Anyday bowls be used?
Anyday’s website is crammed with everything from one-ingredient dishes (such as beets, chicken drumsticks, and couscous) to more in-depth meals (such as quinoa) (like cacao e Pepe cabbage, squash curry, and fish over riced cauliflower). The bowls may be used to prepare an astounding variety of microwaveable meals, including precisely cooked salmon fillets, grains that can be prepared ahead of time, such as farro or rice, and even pumpkin pie. I found the free recipes supplied to be simple to follow, particularly since they all included images of the finished product; nevertheless, I wished the recipes had received evaluations from other home chefs.
I’ll admit that the thought of using my microwave for real cooking made me a little queasy. Despite this, I remained optimistic that the bowls would be able to live up to the expectations that they had set for themselves. The Anyday bowls were used for testing, and I tried cooking a vegetable (cauliflower), a protein (a poached egg), and a carbohydrate (a baked potato) in each one. The more I progressed through the testing process, the more pleased I grew.
The same amount of cauliflower florets cooked to fork-tender in three minutes, a properly cooked egg in two minutes and 30 seconds, and a medium-sized baked potato in five minutes and 30 seconds were a personal best for me (which, by the way, was sloppily cut in half in uneven sizes, yet still cooked evenly). All of the items tasted exactly the same as they would have if I had prepared them according to my regular way of preparation (a pot with a steamer basket for vegetables, a shallow pan for poached eggs, and the oven for baked potato).
How to use Anyday
While the manufacturer recommends that you learn the wattage of your microwave in order to get the best results, I relied on good ol’ fashioned trial and error to find out what worked for me and my meals. When cooking foods that need water, such as pasta or grains, the recipes default to 1000w, thus it’s important to know how much power your microwave is capable of delivering. I am aware that my built-in Viking is rather strong, so for the majority of the recipes I tried, I reduced the cooking time by 30 seconds to one minute, with the understanding that I could always go back and add more if necessary.
Then, after placing the raw materials in the appropriate bowl, all you have to do is close the lid and program your microwave to cook for the specified time period. The knob on the lid should always be elevated since this will enable any extra steam to flow from the valve when the lid is closed. After cooking, the glass bowls will be quite hot to the touch, but fortunately, the bowls have an ergonomic curvature that fits oven mitts for safe handling after cooking (they really thought of everything, folks).
In the unlikely event that you’re anything like me, you seldom serve your meals tableside in the same dish that they were prepared in. However, not only are the Anyday bowls aesthetically pleasing to serve in, but they can also be used to store leftovers. On the surface, this means you can prepare your meals in one bowl and then serve them and store them in another without having to clean a saucepan, a serving dish, and an empty leftover container. A huge tick in the “positive” column for anybody who despises doing the dishes (which includes me, of course) is given to this.
Some opponents to the notion of microwave cooking may have residual concerns about dryness and sogginess, which are both common concerns. By including a silicone gasket under the stainless steel rim of the lid, Anyday addresses both of these concerns. Using this method, you can guarantee that the lid stays airtight, preventing moisture from escaping (and thus, preventing dry chicken and tasteless veggies). Additionally, to avoid sogginess, the knob that is designed to be elevated during cooking allows excess steam to escape, which, when paired with the proper cooking time, results in wonderful results.
Conclusion
A resounding yes, Anyday bowls are well worth the effort. – While the bowls are intended to accommodate a variety of lifestyles, they are particularly well suited for busy people—from moms who would rather babysit their toddlers than their steamer basket to working professionals who would prefer to whip up a quick home meal rather than racking up a record number of takeout meals in a given week but lack the resources to do so due to a lack of time or resources. When you can get over the concept of using your microwave for anything other than reheating, it becomes the definitive kitchen companion. Anyday is the ultimate kitchen companion.
When I was younger, I would have preferred to drop a frozen baked potato into my air fryer rather than having to plan ahead for a 30-minute oven-cooked potato. I would have chosen to make scrambled eggs rather than poached eggs on the stovetop for fear of making a mess (despite the fact that poached eggs are my favorite way to consume them). Rather than using a sophisticated device, I prefer to keep an eye on my steaming basket of veggies since I invariably wind up under or overcooking the vegetables. Now, the Anyday bowls have made preparing all three of these dietary staples—as well as a slew of other dishes—a complete breeze.
