The drying technique came in handy, though, for dried fruit. Following the jerky protocol, I nuked apple rings at the lowest possible power setting for about an hour, flipping and blotting every 15 minutes. Blotting fruit with a paper towel felt significantly less weird than doing so with warm meat, and the result was perfect.

But the oven performed best on the steamed fish with scallions and ginger, cooked in a microwave-safe zip-top plastic bag at 800 watts. The beauty of the dish is not just in its simplicity, but also in its flexibility. While Mr. Myhrvold’s main recipe calls for cod, he allows for different types of fillet or whole fish — as long as it will fit comfortably in the bag, or on a plate covered securely with microwave-safe plastic wrap (no tails flopping out).

During my first try, with a bass fillet, the bag exploded; when water boils and becomes steam, it expands in volume by a factor of 1,600 (Mr. Myhrvold explained that one liter of water becomes 1,600 liters of steam), so excess air will heighten the risk of popping. I was left with a wheezing bag and fish chunks. On the next try, with a whole bass, I removed as much air as possible from the bag before nuking. Success.