As Shalryn hinted to, not all glass is the same.
Although I would recommend glass also, I wouldn't recommend something like a thin colored glass cup, as they can't typically take the thermal shock of heating.
What happens is that the glass absorbs microwaves differently than the food being heated; if you're heating a liquid, the top of the glass above the liquid can stay cool while the portion touches the liquid heats up from conduction with the liquid. Not all glass can take that strain, and it breaks. (the opposite happens in the oven, the stuff above the liquid line heats while the part in contact stays cooler.
In theory, every piece of glassware that is rated for the oven should be safe for the microwave, but I'd be wary of colored glass, as they're typically colored using metal. (eg, I have blue glasses, which is often cobalt). Things that are neither oven save nor microwave safe include:
One test for microwave-safe containers is to heat the glass in the microwave on high for a couple of minutes (possibly more if you have a low-wattage microwave), and see if it heats up. If it does, it's definitely not microwave safe. When I've done the test, I check every 30 seconds or so and stop if it's warm.
inserted: You may want to place another microwave-safe container with water in the microwave when testing (see comment from Ecnerwal). If you do this, you'll also need to increase the time, to let the test container absorb enough microwaves (as a good portion will be absorbed by the water)
... but that really only checks to see if it absorbs microwave radiation (which was a frequent problem when microwaves were new). It won't test for thermal shock, which may not happen the first time, but after a few uses.
These days, new products will be advertised as 'microwave safe' or possibly as not microwave safe, so if you're unsure, stick with the ones that claim to be safe.
As for speed issues -- if the container breaks and you have to clean up the mess (and can't eat the food, then yes. I don't know how much the vessel absorbing microwaves actually affects speed ... the part in contact with the food will conduct heat to the food (especially if it's liquid or relatively wet). You might be slowed down wondering if it's safe to eat after microwaving something in plastic, and finding the rim partially slumped. (which I have no idea if it's safe. When I was a grad student, I'd probably have eaten it. Now I'd likely pitch it)
Is bone china microwave safe? Are bone china products strong enough? These questions are often asked when people consider using bone china products.
Are they microwave safe?Bone China is a kind of daily ceramics, as the highest-grade ceramics, bone China products is characterized by light, transparent, thin, white on the appearance, this is because a certain amount of bone ash(don’t panic, not human bone ash) is added to the raw material when produced, at the same time, because of its low lead and cadmium content, the appealing appearance and healthy features makes bone china tableware more and more popular.
Although it looks thin, it has a higher density and hardness and is harder than ordinary household ceramics. But it is a kind of ceramic after all, so it is easy to break.
As bone China products are fired at least 2 times, sometimes 3 or even 4 times at high temperature, the firing time is up to 8 hours or more, the highest temperature of firing up to 1350 °C. So under normal circumstances, it is safe to put bone china in the microwave oven heating.
So, when is bone China not allowed to be heated in the microwave oven?
The answer is when bone China has gold in its decorative surface.
If the surface of bone china is decorated with gold border and gold pattern, once we put the bone china products in the microwave oven, when it’s working, the gold layer on the bone china surface will generate a strong electric spark under the intense microwave radiation.
The radiation will seriously damage the gold layer and lose the yellow brightness, and the sparks would cause panic and danger, which will matter more than just ruining the bone china tableware.
Here comes another question, how do you tell if there’s gold in it?
The answer is to see with your eyes.
The use of gold makes the cutlery shine and makes it look more beautiful. There are two colors of gold, platinum and gold. And there are two main ways to decorate with gold. One is a line drawn in gold water, the other is in the designs, in addition to color pigments, but also the adding of gold.
Below are a few examples of bone china products with gold.
What’s the difference between this gold and our usual jewelry gold?
The difference in gold content and making method.
The liquid gold used to decorate the ceramic products is a chemical raw material.
The main ingredients are acid, gold, silver, bismuth, resin, Turpentine, essential oil and other components, according to a certain proportion of the formula, and formed by complex chemical reaction. It often has an appearance like brown oil and liquid.
Bone china cups with gold brushed the handle before firingWhile precious metals are the main component of gold, due to international gold price fluctuations, while the price of gold is different every day, so is the price of liquid gold for ceramic decoration.
The higher the gold content, the brighter the fired products, also the price would be higher.
To solve the problem that the products with gold can not be heated in the microwave oven, more and more people choose to use microwave gold instead of ordinary gold to make the dough. Compared with ordinary gold, microwave gold is relatively dull in color and looks less attractive than ordinary gold.
This principle not only applies to bone china tableware but also other daily ceramic tableware.
If you can’t be sure if the design is with microwave gold or not, refer to the instruction, otherwise, avoid putting the bone china tableware in the microwave might be a safer choice, what do you think?
Hope the above words helped you understand the is bone china microwave safe question. If you are interested in more bone china tableware knowledge, check the below links and share us your thoughts.
All you want to know about bone china
If you want to develop your bone china project. Refer to the below topic.
How to develop a bone china mug?