How I chose a microwave oven

Many families still use microwave ovens for primitive heating of food, the old-fashioned way – without even going into details of the real capabilities of this or that appliance but they are, and I, like every owner, encounter them.

No doubt, the microwave is a tangible help in the kitchen, complementing the work of the stove, and often even replacing it. For many who buy a microwave as an add-on for defrosting and heating food, it quickly becomes the primary means of cooking. Microwaves don’t emit the typical cooking atmosphere of stuffiness, heat and smells.

Microwave ovens have high efficiency: almost all electricity is used for cooking, not for heating the air in the room.

What characteristics are worth paying attention to when buying a microwave oven?

Size matters. And the volume?

Nowadays there is a wide range of oven capacities from 8,5 l to 55 l. Of course, it is unlikely that a whole chicken will fit in an 8.5 liter microwave oven. On the contrary, large ovens are designed for large dinners. They are good for big families. The standard size for the average household is 20-28 liters, but it all depends on your personal preferences in the end.

The next point directly related to the volume of the oven is its size. If your kitchen is small, for example 5×5 m, but you really want to install a microwave in it, look at the small ovens on the shelves. On the other hand, if your kitchen is big enough for you, if you often have guests over, or if your family is big enough, then the biggest ovens are the right size for you.

I will choose, but what can it do??

Determine what you’re buying a microwave for. If simply to heat food and quickly defrost food, it is enough that the oven has only one “microwave” mode.

It is also suitable for those who already have a grill and convection mode in the stove, and the oven serves only for auxiliary activities.

There are lovers of dishes cooked in a microwave oven, and no other options gastronomic delights do not suit them. As a rule, these are the lucky few who either have two left hands or have a left-handed, oblomov-like nature. The most important thing for them is that cooking in a microwave oven takes little time.

For those who want to bake pies and cakes, I recommend getting an oven with convection convection mode . It is organized so that the built-in fan evenly distributes the hot air, helping the electronics to better bake the dough.

Another argument in favor of convection ovens is that the combination of microwaves and convection speeds up the cooking process. For fans of grilled dishes, the ovens with grill, for example, Panasonic NN-C785JFZPE with grill and convection, inverter technology are produced. H*H*D dimensions: 32*52*42 cm its net volume is 28 l.

Maximum power consumption 1550 W. Even better technical, electric parameters and functionality has Panasonic NN-C2003 SZ, on which my choice has fallen – because of the size and the optimal combination of price and quality 14 560 Dollars . This oven can be called an elitist-professional, and here’s why – judge for yourself:

• dimensions: 376×611×490 mm
• inverter control
• grill power: 1800 W
• Oven power: 1000 W
• net volume: 42 l
• touch control
• the country of manufacturer – Japan
• Ceramic rotary table with a diameter of 39 cm
• Stainless steel inner coating
• Type of grill: quartz
• Microwave, grill, microwave+grill, convection mode
• electronic type of control
• Informative text display with operation modes indication
• Automatic heating: 9 modes
• touch-heating cooking : 9 modes
• automatic cooking of products: 2 modes
• automatic defrosting: 1 mode
• recording in the memory: 1 recipe
• Step-by-step cooking in 3 stages
• Built-in clock with delayed start: up to 90 minutes and sound timer up to 90 minutes
• Child-proof” mode
• internal lighting – a 15 W bulb of backlighting
• Type of door opening left : key
• other useful features – low and high grill grates are included
• A book of recipes as a gift to the buyer
• The weight of this treasure is 21 kg/

Inverter microwave ovens models NN-B756, NN-C897W, NN-GX35W, NN-C780P, NN-K571M(MF , NN-C871J, NN-V690P, NN-K237W/C, NN-K257W and other similar also have continuously adjustable heating power, which allows achieving better food cooking with less energy consumption.

It is important when choosing a modern microwave oven to remember that there are different grills, namely “quartz” or “tan” – respectively on the principle of heating the chamber.

The benefits of a quartz grill:

• Gains working power more quickly
• takes less space inside the working space
• easier to clean.

Advantages of the grill:

• it can change its position depending on the shape of the product up, down, inclined or placed along the back wall
• ovens with this type of grill are cheaper.

Both types have disadvantages, for example, quartz grill is “afraid” of shaking.

The inner coating of the working chambers of microwave ovens made of ceramic is very common. The ceramic coating is durable, difficult to scratch, and smooth enough to make grease and other contaminants hard to retain on its surface. Stainless steel coating is just as durable, beautiful, and withstands elevated temperatures, which is very important in grilling and convection modes.

But sometimes in inexpensive models of microwave ovens, the chambers are simply painted “under the enamel”. This option is not very successful, similar to the disposable Chinese clock, but, however, because of the cheapness and it has a right to exist.

It is necessary to observe safety measures in handling the coating of the walls of the chamber, since a violation of the internal coating leads to a decrease in the efficiency of the microwave generator and increased acoustic noise which subsequently almost never decrease and “treacherously” give away the defect . Cheap coating is fine if you cook dishes that do not require high temperatures and too long cooking times.

It is necessary to take into account that if the oven is taken from a cold room to a warm room or to a room with high humidity, moisture may condense on the elements of the oven, the presence of which negatively affects its normal operation.

Another microwave is another function of the oven

In microwave ovens, depending on the dish to be cooked, you can change the level of microwave power:

80-150 W – mode of keeping cooked food hot gentle heating

160-300 W – defrosting and cooking “delicate” foods

400-500W – fast defrosting in small quantities

560-800 W – relatively slow cooking or heating “delicate” products

900-2000 W – rapid heating and cooking.

Operation: with one finger or rotary knob?

The next thing to consider when choosing a microwave oven is the control panel. It can be touch mechanical or push-button electronic-mechanical .

Features of the mechanical control panel:

• ease of operation
• reliability
• less chance that the child will turn it on.

Features of the push-button electronic-mechanical control panel:

• Easy to use, programmable
• beautiful appearance.

Features touch control panel:

• pleasant appearance
• Great possibilities when setting the initial values the possibility of programming the cooking process .

Many models have built-in recipes, for example, the most common recipes are programmed. To start the cooking process is enough to specify the type of product, its quantity volume and select the recipe.

The number of recipes differs from oven to oven usually 4 to 8 . In some models, the number of built-in recipes reaches several dozens.

Using pre-set cooking programs makes it possible to choose the optimal cooking mode and the exact cooking time required for the dish.

It cooks, it cleans itself

An important consideration for microwave ovens is the inner coating walls. The most common is the inner coating of ovens made of special durable enamel, which is easy to keep clean. Ceramic inner coating makes the construction more expensive.

It is very durable, difficult to scratch, and so smooth that grease and other dirt is barely trapped on this smooth surface. And if it succeeds, it can easily be removed with a soft sponge.

Stainless steel coating is very durable, beautiful, and can withstand high temperatures, which is very important in grilling and convection modes. True, it is a bit more difficult to care for such a coating and keep it clean and shiny. Sometimes in cheap budget models of microwave ovens working chambers are simply painted “under enamel”.

But this option has a right to exist. The coating holds up well if you cook food that does not require high temperatures up to about 350ºC and too much time.

Accidental or intentional violation of the integrity of the inner coating of the working chamber will immediately make itself felt – the power consumption will increase reducing the efficiency of microwave generator-magnetron and increase significantly the acoustic noise. Moreover, later on it is not possible to eliminate the noise already generated by the microwave oven – it will betray the defect.

What to Clean the Walls of the Chamber

Any metal and even plastic surfaces can be successfully cleaned with a special composition of Penguin cleaning gel.

It quickly removes accumulated and even stubborn dirt from surfaces. The advantage of this composition is that it is harmless to cookware and food.

What kind of dishes like stoves?

You can use what you already have at home: plain porcelain, earthenware, terra cotta, and ceramics. It is important only that your dishes were not gold and silver rims and patterns, as these paints containing metal are conductive and can cause weak electric discharges.

In a microwave oven you can even cook in paper cups so called “quick soups” , heat non-liquid foods in paper bags or wrapped in tissue paper, paper towels, or wax paper.

But do not try to heat canned food in the microwave – in practice, such cases are not uncommon – the metal base can of canned food, being inside the emitting microwave generator, is the center of magnetic induction, drawing on itself short-circuiting the magnetic field.

This kind of experimentation can result in a high probability that the microwave oven’s magnetron will malfunction or its normal mode of operation will be affected see “Microwave cooking” on page 14 . above . And replacing the magnetron, the most important element of a microwave oven, is a very expensive procedure with the above recommendations, I think you can do without it.