Disclosure: This write-up is based on a gift received from Anyday with the agreement of a review in return (no affiliate, no strings attached). A distinction to make, however, is this is geared toward fellow travelers who eat meat based.
I grew up in the era of reheating foods via the oven or stove top, or just eating cold leftovers out of the fridge. At the time, ready-made meals were frozen and meant to heat or cook in the oven. But the microwave changed all that. It changed how everyone operated in their kitchen.
The food I used to eat is not the same either. Reheating pasta, veggies, or sauces and cooking soups, Hot Pockets, and Lean Cuisine no longer exist in my realm of reality. I’ve been eating animal-based for about five years.
Meat eaters frequently debate about the best way to cook animal-based foods. With so many cookware choices, from the basic grill to fancy sous vide machine, options are nearly endless when it comes to cooking up some steak and eggs, bacon, ribs, or a rack of lamb.
But there are times when the best cooking methods just aren’t available; like when you’re traveling for business or on the road at your leisure. Though I’ve seen a few travelers haul grills or smokers on the back of vehicles, this isn’t a typical (or viable) option for many folks.
Whether or not you’re a fan of the fast food route, extended vacations or business retreats may require hotel rooms, bed and breakfast inns, or cabins, where you may have only one option for heating food or drink.
Enter the microwave. Most places come equipped with microwaves. And for the purpose of this write-up, I only tried the bowls and dishes in the microwave. Results are based on my personal experience.
Read on to find out:
- What is Anyday microwave cookware?
- How do you use the cookware?
- How well does it store, carry, and travel?
- Can the cookware handle steak?
- What about bacon?
- Do the microwave bowls cook eggs?
- How about fish?
- What else can the microwave cookware cook?
- Is Anyday microwave cookware worth it?
What is Anyday microwave cookware?
I had no idea what Anyday microwave cookware was until I was contacted by the company. Under zero obligation, I was asked if I’d like to do a review. I was intrigued and wondered what made the dishes so special. Given my current travel itinerary, the microwave has been one of my main ways of cooking meat-based meals. Sounded like a good trade.
I received the Anyday 8-piece everyday set, which includes a large 8-cup bowl and shallow 7-cup dish and a small 4-cup bowl and shallow 4-cup dish, all with lids. The most notable feature of the set is the heft. This is not flimsy cookware.
Anyday microwave cookware isn’t just for reheating leftovers; it’s designed to aid in cooking meals from scratch. The cookware and lids are designed to create even cooking throughout the bowl/dish. I had high hopes it would cook meat better in the microwave than traditional dishware. But did it?
Made from glass, the bowls and dishes are frosted and are dishwasher-safe, freezer-safe, fridge-safe, and oven-safe up to 500F for the bowl/dish and 400F for the lids. The lid-seal is silicone, as are the push down / pop up handles, which are designed to vent the steam. Unique to this set is the microwave-safe, stainless-steel lid edging.
How do you use the cookware?
Even though Anyday is specially designed for the microwave, you can use the set in the oven as well. (Note: I haven’t tried this.) They’re also designed to keep leftovers in the fridge (I rarely have leftovers) and they provide easy storage; they stack well — just push the knob down.
Anyday cookware set comes with recipe cards and instructions. But if you’re like me, you don’t pay much mind to those things. After glancing over the necessary information – such as lifting the knob on the lid to vent the steam, I used the set in the same manner I would use anything else I put in the microwave. And then I just experimented with a variety of foods multiple times.
Note: I cooked everything with the lid on. After all, who wants to clean a microwave?
How well does it store, carry, and travel?
The dish set itself came packaged with the pieces nestled in a sturdy box, making it convenient to store safely while en route to your next destination. I’m no longer traveling via recreational vehicle but they would also store nicely in a motor home. Secure the bowls and dishes as you would any other fragile item in your cupboards.
Can the cookware handle steak?
When you want to make the most of your meat, chances are you’re not thinking of the microwave. Neither am I. But why not add it to the list for when it’s a choice?
However, when it comes to cooking steak, I can’t think of too many cooking options that might rank lower than the microwave. But I’m not giving up meat because I might have to microwave my New York strips rather than grill them. So I was pretty serious about this portion of the test.
The steaks never looked appetizing to me. In the large dish they cooked evenly and easily to my preferred medium rare (steaks were flipped once during 3–5-minute cook time). While the meat remained tender, juicy, and full of flavor, the steaks lacked the quintessential sear just about every meat lover looks for and, therefore, that extra umami was missing.
Pre-cut beef chunks, often labeled as stew meat, cooked up pretty well in the large bowl. I topped the meat with bacon fat and stirred it once during the short cook time (4 minutes) for more even cooking throughout the various-sized pieces. Yum.
What about bacon?
Let’s face it, not many folks opt for the microwave when it comes to cooking bacon. My preferred cooking method for bacon is frying on the stove top, at least so far.
I tried cooking bacon a couple of ways in the Anyday microwave cookware: twisted and rolled. Since the entire package wouldn’t fit in the cookware the long way, I twisted the bacon. Twisting it resulted in cooked, soft, chewy bacon after 4 minutes. Not bad.
And then I discovered a new way to enjoy bacon. I rolled the bacon slices and then placed each bacon roll – protein edge down – in the dish standing up. I left enough space between each to help with even cooking. After 4 minutes the top fat edge was crispy, and the remaining roll was like ham. But the best part was the bacon roll became a full bacon bite; just pop it in your mouth to enjoy. Yum.
Do the microwave bowls cook eggs?
I was curious whether or not these microwave bowls and dishes would make much difference to the end result of scrambled eggs and frittatas: two egg dishes I’ve cooked in the microwave previously.
And since I eat a lot of eggs, I used the small bowl and shallow dish for multiple egg meals. I scrambled eggs a few times and definitely preferred the result with Anyday cookware. The cooking method was the same but the eggs cooked more evenly, retained more moisture, and were delightfully fluffy (mix eggs with water for fluffier eggs). They also didn’t overcook at the edges, which can happen with mugs or other small bowls.
I created a couple of different frittatas and got varied results. I made a cheeseburger frittata and cooked and drained the burger prior to adding it to the egg mix, which included eggs, cream, and cheese. It came out delicious but had excess water that never evaporated or absorbed into the cooked eggs. Likewise with the steak, cheese, and pepperoni frittata (but I’m definitely making these again and may try without the lid.)
How about fish?
We’ve all been there: The co-worker who brought fish for lunch; who then proceeded to stink out the entire cafeteria in a measly few minutes of microwaving.
Needless to say I was weary about microwaving fish.
But I did. I microwaved some salmon.
And it was good. Good enough that I’d like to experiment a little more with it. A few minutes and I had flaky, tender, tasty salmon.
And no stink.
What else can the microwave cookware cook?
Anyday microwave cookware is made for any foods you can think to cook in a microwave, so long as the food fits in the bowls and dishes. And since I don’t venture far from animal-based foods, you can check out this review of Anyday, published by Tasting Table, that speaks to other foods such as pasta and veggies.
Other than steak, stew meat, bacon, salmon, and eggs, I made a lot of cheeseburgers, some with pepperoni. But since burger meat lets off a lot of water and fat, I’d recommend a lean mix like 93/7 and then top your cooked burgers with your favorite fat or sauce.
Is Anyday microwave cookware worth it?
Anyday microwave cookware features a higher price tag than most cookware meant for microwaves. So is the set worth it? I think so. The everyday set has already been a game changer for me while I’ve been traveling these past couple of months, enabling me to eat fresher meats and not have to rely on restaurants or BBQ joints. Likewise, I’m not at the mercy of plastic containers or insufficient microwaveable glassware.
While I don’t currently have access to an oven, my decades of cooking and creating recipes tells me I’ll probably like this set for ovenware. And I look forward to using them as such. The bowls could also make for mixing bowls. And a major bonus is how easy they were to clean. Neither melted cheese nor cooked eggs got stuck to the cookware. Even the fat from meat was easy to wipe clean from the bowl or dish before washing with hot water and soap.
The Purple Sneaker 