Online Shopping - Buyers Guide For Microwave Ovens

Around 70% of households in Britain have a microwave oven. The way in which many microwave ovens are used, however, often represents just a fraction of their total functions, as they are capable of performing a wide range of cooking options.

BENEFITS OF A MICROWAVE OVEN

Time Saving
A microwave oven uses microwave energy to cook, starting at the touch of a button rather than having to wait while the product heats up. Microwave energy cooks much faster than radiant heat so overall cooking times are much shorter, often half that of conventional cooking or even less.

Energy Saving
Microwave ovens also use much less energy than conventional ovens, not only because of the time reduction but also because the power used tends to be a maximum of around 1 kilowatt per hour. A conventional oven uses at least twice this amount.

Space Saving
Many kitchens are tight for space and microwave ovens come in several sizes, down to around one cubic foot. Alternatively micorwaves can be wall mounted on brackets or built-in. While most products have side-opening doors, some newer microwaves now have drop down doors, which also saves space.

Healthy Eating
Cooking fresh vegetables in a microwave oven retains nutrients and colour because the food is effectively steamed rather than boiled for a longer period of time. There is also no need to adjust the controls to ensure that the food is simmering properly.

Defrosting
A microwave can defrost food very quickly so it allows busy people flexibility with their menu planning and unexpected guests can always be accommodated.

Chaos Defrost - This is a relatively new method of defrosting, which uses random pulses of microwave power that maintain the temperature on the surface and transfers heat more evenly to the centre of the food. This gives quicker defrosting whilst eliminating the risk of cooking parts of the food.
Jet Defrost - This makes use of complex microwave patterns created by twin microwave emitters that are deflected off a specially shaped interior.

Re-heating Food
This can be done simply in a microwave oven without drying the food out.

Ease of Cleaning
Microwaves have smaller cavities than conventional ovens and are also generally at a more convenient height. Micorwave lnings are usually painted or stainless steel and most microwaves are specially designed so that they can be cleaned with soapy water.

TYPES OF MICROWAVE OVEN

Microwave Only
These are the simplest and most popular type of microwave oven. These micorwaves will effectively defrost and reheat food and drinks, as well as cook fish, vegetables and other foods, but these microwaves will not give a browned finish.

Microwaves with Grills
In addition to performing the same tasks as the microwave oven they also incorporate a grill adding to its versatility. The grill can be used on its own with the benefit of timed grilling with the door closed. Most models can cook using a combination of microwave and grill functions that can help perfect dishes such as lasagne although you should confirm this before purchase.

Combination Ovens
These micorwaves offer a complete cooker in one relatively compact appliance. Combination ovens do however tend to be of the larger family size as the air space surrounding the food helps in cooking foods which need to add air such as Yorkshire puddings. In addition to the microwave and grill these models also feature a convection oven that uses radiant elements and a fan to heat the oven cavity. Combination ovens often have two shelf positions for optimum cooking of individual dishes and offer greater capacity.

MICROWAVE OVENS - SIZES OF OVEN

Compact Models (approx 17-27 litres)
Family Sized Models (approx 30 litres+)

MICROWAVE OVENS - POWER LEVELS

Power levels tend to range from 800 watts to around 1,300 watts. The MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food) devised a labelling system where A is the least powerful and E is the most powerful. These letters are used on ready prepared foods as cooking guidelines.

Most microwaves will give a choice of power levels for various tasks and there is often a one-touch button to give full power for a minute for hot drinks.

MICROWAVE OVENS - CONTROLS

The most basic microwave ovens use rotary controls, which can be less accurate than those with touch controls.

MICROWAVE EMISSION SYSTEMS

Concerns as to whether ready-prepared foods were being adequately heated led to the development of microwave emission systems from two or more sources in the cavity to eliminate any cold spots.

MICROWAVE OVENS - SAFETY

You can rest assured that there should be no leakage in microwaves. There are also very stringent safety regulations in place, such as the oven automatically switching off when the door is opened.

MICROWAVE OVENS - NEW FEATURES

New Cooking Methods
Manufacturers are always improving their products in terms of successful cooking, ease of use and use of technology to give more automated cooking. Some microwaves now include crisping facilities for pizza and traditional cooked breakfasts.

Automatic Cooking And Defrosting
This facility has been around for a very long time and all microwaves use it in some form. There is usually a selection of food types to choose from and with weight sensing microwaves the appropriate weight needs to be input. The microwave then automatically selects the time for cooking or defrosting.

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