Sunday, October 21, 2007

Electrifying Butter

So to preface this, I'm going to be very clear that what I'm writing is not based on any real knowledge I have about how microwaves and chemistry works, and it is 99% based on information I read on the internet from sometimes sketchy websites (the 1% was based on conversations I had with Jeff while he was playing Halo).

So here's the story:
When we were in Michigan we were sitting down enjoying dinner when my sister and brother-in-law told us about a butter sparking problem they were having with their microwave. About a year ago (I think) they were trying to soften some butter in the microwave in a Denby (microwave safe) dish. After about 2 seconds there was a spark that shot across the microwave. They took it out and it didn't happen again until several weeks ago when it started happening regularly, that is, every time they tried to microwave butter.

So the facts are:
- only butter sparks
- they used the dish in the microwave with many different foods without any sparks
- the butter is unsalted (salt is an electrolyte)
- it happens well well before the butter melts, generally after 2 seconds or so
- they didn't leave the butter in long enough to know if it would continue to happen after the butter was soft/melted
- they had probably done it with two different types of butter
- I don't know what kind of microwave they have

We sat at the dinner table and peppered them with questions for the rest of the evening, not able to find anything obvious (we had 4 young well educated people: chemistry, engineering and biology majors sitting at the table, so hopefully our minds were at least asking the right questions). No physics majors though.

So we left without any answers, but I promised to blog about it if my sister showed me. So we went back to their house and stuck a piece of butter in. After about 1 second there was a PPPSSSHHHT! noise but no spark, but sister immediately stopped the microwave, although she was sure it would have sparked if she would have left it going.

So, after a bit of research on the web, here's my own personal crazy theory.
Two things are fairly well documented on the web (life lessons according to the interweb are often dangerous, but keeps things exciting, right?):
1. Microwaves spark on a more regular basis than you might imagine. Usually when this happens it is because it is dirty. It sounds like there is some side panel which is what gets dirty and the oil/food on there burns and sparks. I think that can be cleaned or replaced to solve the general sparking problem. But their problem only happened with butter.
2. Others have reported a butter sparking problem or other one-food related sparking problem. To explain this issue, a little background. Microwaves work by heating up the water in food (more specifically, it's a factor of the polarity of the water - at least according to some website). Microwaves are well absorbed by water, but not well absorbed by ice.

So here's my theory, assuming they don't have a dirty panel (which could cause sparking generally), I think when they start the microwave one bit of the cold butter starts to melt, and the liquid absorbs way way way more microwaves than the rest of the "pat" of butter (this was documented, that it can happen within a second). This large absorption of microwaves in relation to the rest of the butter causes the spark or at least the PPPPPPSSSSHHHHT! noise we heard. In addition, butter itself is a dipole and can get very very very hot in the microwave, so it seems reasonable to assume that in one or two seconds one little bit could melt and start absorbing more waves than the surrounding butter.

How's that for an uneducated guess at butter sparking?

There is also the well-documented experiment of grapes sparking in the microwave (actually, flaming), which is due to some very long complicated explanation which I didn't have the patience to read. So it is also possible that whatever causes grapes to flame might also cause their butter to spark. I'm not sure though. I think the mystery still continues.

But if anyone knows why this might be happening, let me know!

72 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is odd... This happened to me two nights ago, and it was the second time it happened to me. Only now did I realize that both times it happened with butter.

I was just telling a co-worker so i decided to google it and came up with your site.

What are they putting in our butter these days?

Anyhow, I am a random extra source of data for you......

Anonymous said...

I should also add that both cases it was on a microwave safe plate, with no wrapper, only just butter.

And both times produces many visable sparks, as well as noise.

old_house_fixer said...

Me too! A few weeks ago I tried to make microwave popcorn and ZZZZZZT! and lots of sparks. I took it out and started the unit; no problem, so I heated my tea and forgot about it. I assumed there was something "bad" in the popcorn. A few days ago I tried heating butter - LIGHTNING! SO... Butter and whatever is in the popcorn is no good. My unit is built by Sunbeam - Who built yours?

Anonymous said...

WE NEED TO IDENTIFY 1. THE BRAND OF BUTTER AND 2. THE BRAND OF MICROWAVE. ALTHOUGH MY GUT TELLS ME IT'S THE BUTTER. I HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN WITH COSTCO BRAND BUTTER, BUT NOT ANY OTHERS. OTHER BUTTERS MELT FINE, NO SPARKS NO SOUND.

Anonymous said...

Mine did it while I was trying to defrost frozen chicken. Also did it within seconds. Chicken no where near thawed.

Anonymous said...

happened with me too! and costco butter is the brand. hmmmm.... whats going on with costco butter.

Anonymous said...

I am having the same problem with butter that sparks in the microwave as well. It happens when I am trying to melt the butter, and I am only having problems with butter. It has been occurring for several months now. I am using the Wal-mart brand. My biggest concern is there is some type of metal in the butter causing the sparking. Perhaps something being fed to the cows.

Anonymous Conservative said...

I'm having the same problem, but what is odd is that the sparks are occurring up behind the ceiling panel (which I assume contains the magnetron) and not anywhere near the popcorn. We're using 100-calorie Redenbachers popcorn bags.

Everything else works fine. This is extremely weird.

Anonymous said...

Wow - thats is fascinating! Yes - only butter has been making my microwave spark, smoke and sound like its going to explode!

JR said...

Yesterday Jan 7, 10, we were melting unsalted butter in a microwave safe dish, one quarter lb. stick sliced into 1 inch pieces, no wrapping. Within seconds the microwave began to flash with sparks.

We removed the butter and put water in the same dish and tried it again, no sparks.

Went to another store and got a new lb. of unsalted butter and melted it uneventfully in the same dish the same way. This was a popular brand of butter we have used and bought in the same supermarked for years. The second was another supermarket brand name butter.

Anonymous said...

I am having the same problem and found this site through Google. I was melting a small amount of butter (unsalted, from BJs Wholesale Warehouse) in a ceramic ramekin when I get the sparks. I have used the ramekin in the microwave prior to this with no ill effect.

Here's an additional data point. The butter, although thawed at the time I nuked it, had been previously frozen. This happened to me a few days ago with the same butter (which I don't usually buy) but has never happened with any other butter.

Anonymous said...

this happened to me as well. lol. my butter was salted, frozen and land o' lakes. i thought my microwave was going since it's 12 years old.

Anonymous said...

This happens to me only with microwave popcorn. My concern is whether it has damaged my microwave, i.e. made it unsafe to continue to use. Any answers?

R. J. Corbett said...

I am having the same problem, with Whole Foods organic butter. Like someone else, this was in the freezer before being moved to the fridge weeks ago (perhaps the freezer damages the milk fats?), but I haven't repeated it with fresh butter.

I do not think that it has to do with the difference between liquid and solid butter after they have been in the microwave for a little while. I continued melting the better over a water bath, put the melted butter back in the microwave, and still got sparks.

This is an 11 year-old microwave. Perhaps that is the crucial variable, since it has only started happening in the last month but now happens regularly.

R. J. Corbett said...

Actually, now I'm sure it is the microwave, since now it happens with everything. There is still the question of why it would happen to butter first, but it sounds like it is a dying magnetron.

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Doris said...

The sparking happens every time I use "Can't Believe Its Not Butter" spray. Makes me think twice about eating it. Scarey! I have a 1000 watt oven.

Vashti C. said...

Finally took the time to look this subject up, and came up with this blog post - land o'lakes butter is sending sparks through my microwave as well - so bizarre. I haven't had trouble with anything else, and the microwave is new. Strange, and scary! I thought there much be metal or something in the butter, but I feel better that I am not the only one experiencing this problem.

Anonymous said...

I am much relieved to hear of this happening to others! I tried two kinds of butter,3 brands, even a stick of margarine, it sparked for all. However, this just started a few weeks ago, though my microwave is perhaps six years old. My first thought was like another: some metal in the butter, but after trying different containers,salted, unsalted, even lower power, nothing made a difference. And we never got sick on what I used it for!

Kathy said...

I have had the same problem, and I think it has to do with butter temperature and quantity. If I melt a half stick of butter from the fridge at 1 minute, 50% power, I get sparks. If I microwave it at 40% power, no sparks. The size of the container may also play a role. This never happens when I use a bigger bowl, but in smaller bowls it does. Since this is simply anecdotal, I might just be getting lucky. But it is consistently lucky.

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Anonymous said...

This is truly weird! So glad I'm not the only one. I thought it was my microwave hitting the end of life, but the sparking when I try to melt butter (unsalted from Costco)is the only thing that causes this reaction. It only started about a week or so ago. I've never had this happen before & have melted butter in the microwave for years. What has changed? Is it something in the butter?

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Anonymous said...

I've been using a "gifted" microwave for close to 9 months now. Every time I microwave butter, regardless of brand, power settings, length of time, container used, etc. it sounds like the microwave is going to explode. Never a burnt smell or anything like that, just lots of sparks and noise. Everything else is fine and the microwave works great, otherwise. So, the theory I've developed, against all scientific odds, is that the little demons that make my microwave run just don't like butter at all. Also, for a time, the microwave would turn itself on at random... it seems to have stopped that since i gave it a stern lecture and threatened to leave it unplugged. Bad demons ...

Linda said...

I posted something on facebook about this and a friend linked to your blog. I tried butter (salted & Roundy's brand). I tried a cup of water and that was ok. After reading all of the comments I am now afraid of microwave popcorn.....my grandson makes it all the time. Actually I am afraid to use my microwave at all. IF I do I will stand right next to it. I think I will call the number on the butter container tomorrow. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Linda said...

I am posting my experience on my blog and linking to yours.

Anonymous said...

This started happening to me recently. I have always put butter in the microwave to melt for popcorn. (Land o Lakes brand) Then, just a few weeks ago it started sparking. I thought it was the container so I threw it out. Since then, it has happened multiple times. I thought my microwave was just getting old so I unplugged it and thought we'd have to buy a new one on boxing day. After reading this I'm going to plug it back in and try it with regular food. I guess I just have to stick to melting butter on the stove.

Unknown said...

My butter didn't spark . . . it exploded all over my microwave. I have melted hundreds of cubes of butter in my Bosch microwave, usually taking about 40 seconds,in a 1/2 cup ramekin. I often use Land O Lakes. This time I used Land O Lakes 1/8 lb size cubes. After about 30 seconds, just before being fully melted, the cube exploded with a loud Pow!!! . . . coating my entire microwave with butter, and sending it out onto my range top below, and ceiling above. Spent 30 full minutes cleaning it up. My microwave was scrupulously clean at the time. I tried it again and same thing happened. Now I'm afraid to use these 1/8 cubes again. I just used a whole 1/4 lb cube with no problem. What's up with Land O lake 18LB cubes? They assured me that no water was being added, but had no explanation for the phenononon.

Tom34895 said...

SOLUTION: I put my bowl of butter in a larger bowl of water. The same butter that sparked alone did not spark with water. Microwaves cook by vibrating water molecules, and there isn't much water in butter. Try it.

Tom34895 said...

SOLUTION: I put my bowl of butter in a larger bowl of water. The same butter that sparked alone did not spark with water. Microwaves cook by vibrating water molecules, and there isn't much water in butter. Try it.

Unknown said...

We had the same thing happen with walmart butter too.

Unknown said...

We had the same thing happen with walmart butter too.

Unknown said...

No land o lakes in microwave. It time it happened my microwave was salvaged. Years later, ,not! Only times it ever happened. Land o lake.
Sorry land o lake

Anonymous said...

My butter does this and it's the kirkland brand!

Unknown said...

I believe the water theory.. mine sparks with pure butter so I put a cup of water in beside it and it no longer did it! Thanks!

ReneeK said...

My Costco butter sparks. When you use water do you put butter in a small container and then put that in a container of water? TIA

Unknown said...

Land olakes butter ....just started sparking a few days ago...regardless of container....

I was convinced they had changed the cow diet with high iron supplements! We bought a different land olakes butter premium. .and same results. So strange. I have only bought land olakes for a decade. Had this microwave for two years. Same ramekins bowls plates for years.

They did something to thier butter. More water, more iron, minerals something. Also, Kirkland's is land olakes. Kirkland buys best products in bulk and slaps thier name on it for branding . Note ..the brand can change every six months or so.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Melanie. Land O Lakes butter does it. It has made me nervous because it did NOT used to as I have used that butter for more than 10 years. So I switched to Challenge butter. No issues. I read where Challenge is actually good butter. Also, I had bought some homeade Amish butter and did not have an issue. So I am done with Land O' Lakes...and any other butter that might spark.

Unknown said...

This just happened to me! I put land o lakes butter from it's tub into a microwave safe dish and 2 secs in it is sparking and making noise! just cleaned the microwave. also, no problem at all to put my pizza slice in there...yes, i was making a garlic butter sauce for it lol...what is up with butter?? supposedly only has 3 ingredients in it...canola oil, cream, and salt....weird!

Anonymous said...

Agreed!! Mine was Costco (Kirkland) butter too. Only with this brand has it happened.

Anonymous said...

hashtag mine too! LOL I use Kerry Gold. I have melted butter in the microwave since there were microwaves, but it has just stared doing this. I am in the states. I thought it was the butter as it is imported, but seems from reading these posts , that it is more than that. High strangeness in deed. Makes me jump every time I melt some. As Shirlock Holmes would say, something is afoot. September 25, 2018, Illinois

Anonymous said...

Ours is doing it with land o lakes butter.

Anonymous said...

My microwaves does this with any brand of butter

Cindi said...

This just happened to me with Land O’ Lakes butter. Any answers yet as to why?

Beans4sale said...

I tried 3 different brands. Then I melted the butter in a pan and put the fully melted stick butter back in the microwave and it still happened. I tried different bowls and just the bowls with no butter.

Beans4sale said...

I forgot to mention that on top of all that, I melted stick butter earlier this morning with no issues.
Also I tried salted and unsalted

Neanie said...

I used to melt butter in my previous microwave often, but when it died, a friend gave me a 700 watt microwave (as my other had been) because he'd purchased a house with an over the range microwave. It (a Sunbeam) had been almost new. The first time I attempted to melt butter, it sparked.....loudly and with terrific flashes of light. I was foolish enough to try it again some weeks later, and the same thing happened. (Kroger brand and Land o' Lakes brands, both unsalted.) I had previously "baked" potatoes in the same microwave, but now they were also causing the arcing, and as with the butter, within two seconds. I learned that if I placed the potato in a bowl instead of directly on the turntable it didn't arc. However, four days ago I put a potato in and immediately,the sight and sound was horrific!!! When I opened the door of the oven it smelled like I'd been burning a fire. The oven was blackened on both sides along with the waveguide. I won't put anything in it now and need to buy a new microwave.

Unknown said...

“Arcing,” according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, usually happens with foods that contain high amounts of minerals, including iron, magnesium, and selenium. Since those minerals act like “tiny pieces of metal,” microwaves bounce off them just like they would a fork, causing the sparking effect.

Lydia B said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lydia B said...

My butter did it twice over the last 2 days. It was the imperial stick butter. No problems with microwave before the butter nor after the butter. And it was on a microwave safe dish and our microwave is clean as a whistle. I started thinking if there is some type of lead or aluminum in the butter we aren't aware of. Just a thought I had. No evidence of this though. As a side note, we have microwaved butter several times over the years to soften for cakes and whatever. This is the first and second time this has ever happened.

Windsor Bear said...

While I have never tried to melt butter in my microwave, I have had the serious arcing effect from popping a certain brand of popcorn. Only that particular brand caused the arcing, so I stopped buying it. That was a few years ago. Tonight... I put something in the microwave to warm up... something I hadn't bought in many, many years... a MOONPIE!!!! I got sparks almost immediately. Took the moonpie out, put something else in, machine worked fine. Put the moonpie back in... more sparks. Tried a different moonpie... again... SPARKS!!! I'm at a loss.

Douglas Waldron said...

This happened long ago to me with butter. And then it happened all of the time.
I figured out that the butter had splattered on the mica board. It looks like
a piece of cardboard. I bought several sheets of it and trimmed one sheet
to match the old one. Replaced it and the arcing stopped.
However, the butter still does arc so I melt it in a pan on the stove.

Unknown said...

It happens with cream cheese also. It has to be mineral content. I just don't understand why it hasn't done it for the number of yrs that I've had the microwave. Just recently.

Unknown said...

I just had this happen while melting butter too. The first time, it was Earth Balance vegan stick butter. The second time, it was Clover brand salted butter. Nothing else has sparked.

Anonymous said...

This happened to me this morning. I used the store brand unsalted butter bought at BJs. And later I try to reheat my tea, it worked fine. Then when I try to soften some sticky honey ( I added a table spoon water) this evening, it happened again!

Anonymous said...

This has been happening with Costco brand unsalted butter. I have not tried it with any other butter but i have been melting butter in microwave for a couple of year now and this never happened before. i really think something changed in the butter.

Anonymous said...

I first noticed it happening when I was trying to melt plant-based butter (Earth Balance brand). And now it happens with all brands of butter unless covered well.