On My Oven’s Waves… Or ovens?

Microwaves crusade against ovens. Whose side the average shopper will be on depends on how well-equipped the new microwave.

One of the problems of equipping the kitchen with new appliances is the mismatch between the desire to place as much as possible and the possibilities of limited kitchen space. And if from a set: hob, oven, refrigerator, hood, dishwasher and small appliances – something does not fit, there is a question: what appliance to give up, who will be outsiders?

Oven plus microwave or minus?

Of course, from this list is unlikely to drop the most popular appliances – stove or built-in steam, but many housewives are seriously thinking about whether to replace the oven with a new microwave oven with many functions.

Everyone, who has ever cooked in it, knows approximately how an electric oven works. It has: bottom and top heaters, grill many models have a fan on the back wall, often with a ring heater.

Combinations of different heaters create specific conditions in the oven, focused on cooking different dishes, for example, for frying until crispy crust you can use the grill and the top heating element, to bake a closed pie choose the mode with the heat from the top and bottom.

In the process of cooking in the oven reaches a certain, most often high temperature, in electric – the temperature maximum is usually 250 degrees rarely 300 or more , in gas – 280-300. As you might imagine, in such an oven, your food is in a special kind of microclimate, where it’s cooked, i.e. e. Are heated, and it’s gradual – from the surface inward.

In the oven, cooking is slow, but at a high temperature.

energy in the cooking process. So Whirlpool offers a special Crisp dish. Microwaves in the oven are sent through the bottom hole of the waveguide directly to the plate.

Its bottom has a special active layer, which heats quickly in 2 minutes to 170 ° C, max. temperature of 210 ° C and maintains the achieved temperature. It turns out that Crisp works like a frying pan, and you can fry any food on it.

LG’s Solar Dom oven has a round tray that evenly distributes heat during cooking. The company experts believe that the technology not only improves the taste of the dish, but also reduces cooking time by a factor of four.

People want to talk

But everything written in this article is, in fact, a theory. Much more interesting to know the opinions of those who have already tried the new multifunctional microwave ovens and made their choice. Therefore, in conclusion of our small research we give the opinions of ordinary users, which we collected on Internet forums:

– My new microwave is the PERFECT thing in the kitchen! A year ago, after renovating the kitchen, we installed only the hob – we gave up the oven, t. k. The convection and grill are great!

– Once upon a time I had a regular oven and a regular microwave, the oven was very lacking: to bake meat, rolls or just make sandwiches … The time came to change the microwave, I bought an expensive one with oven function it has no convection, but bottom and top heating , I must say – the thing is great, it almost completely replaced the oven. For example, yesterday we roasted potatoes with meat in it and the result was absolutely delicious. However, now I’m going to do a kitchen and still bought a full oven, because 28 liters of microwave space is sometimes not enough, or for example, 2-3 full-fledged trays have not put. But if you don’t like to cook in the oven, you can get by with just a microwave with a grill and convection.

– I’ve practically stopped using the oven. And the taste of dishes from my microwave is quite satisfactory to me. And it’s easier to clean than the oven.

– I must be honest: I am very pleased with the fact that the oven has an independent convection mode, t. e. You can just use it as an oven.

– I have a microwave with convection and grill, I bake pies in it and stuff, it heats up quicker, so it’s more economical, I think, in terms of power consumption. If you think about it – my advice to you: buy not less than 30 liters, so you can bake chicken, although the turkey, goose, duck have to do it in the oven anyway.

– A microwave with convection and grill is not inferior to an oven, and food properly cooked in the microwave is indistinguishable from the oven. One disadvantage – the volume. If you take it, then the maximum.

– I have a microwave with convection and steam cooker. I can’t say it’s a full-fledged substitute for the oven, apparently the smaller volume of the chamber itself has an effect, somehow the heat is distributed differently, I don’t know what it is. It’s basically the same electric oven, but smaller, so I gave up experimenting with meat and pies: not at all to my taste. Good for casseroles and small portions.

– I bought the oven recently: the oven in the gas stove died, and to change the kitchen unit is not possible yet. So I decided to buy a microwave oven with convection and grill. I liked the design, the volume, and how the oven opens. After the installation it was immediately used in the microwave mode, heats and defrosts everything perfectly, and most importantly, you can put a few plates at once. Then I decided to test the convection, made potato casserole with meat and vegetables. It turned out very well. Everything baked without any problems, the main thing is that you can set any temperature from 40 to 250 °C. I once roasted chicken shanks with mayonnaise and relish and it was great too, the main thing was that the meat was not dry but juicy inside and crusty on top. The puff pastry rose very well, the fish pie was just perfect. I am very happy with the purchase and I think this oven can easily replace the oven.

– I do not have an oven and will not have one anytime soon, but I have a husband who is a gourmet and two small children. I cook everything in the microwave: bake meat, bake cookies, pies, make casseroles, bake chicken, grill chicken, boil cereal for the kids in the morning, make coffee and cocoa, heat food and defrost. When I had a floor replacement in the kitchen and no gas stove at all I used the microwave for soup and burgers. The only disappointing thing is the small volume.