Cooking For One - Top 3 Important Features to Look For When Purchasing a Microwave Oven
When cooking for one person what is the best microwave to purchase? When you are thinking of purchasing a microwave oven, knowing what to look for will ensure you end up with the ideal oven for your own individual circumstances.
There are really three important components to look for in the microwave oven.
They are the control panel, cooking wattage and power levels.
One of the most important features on the microwave oven is the control panel.
They come in various designs but the two most common are dials and touch pads.
Although many people prefer an oven with dials, I believe this preference comes from the individual being familiar with the knobs used to operate a conventional oven.
The touch panel can however, be easier to use, simpler to read and can also be more accurate.
Don't forget that in microwave cookery the cooking times can be very precise.
For example a few extra seconds can mean the difference between an overcooked bread roll instead of a hot soft and tasty one.
The second most important feature on microwave ovens is the wattage.
Power is measured in watts which indicate the cooking power of your oven.
Microwave ovens can be found with cooking wattages from 350 and up.
Generally you should be looking for wattage of around 700.
You will find that most of the recipes in newspapers, magazines and cookbooks have been tried and tested in a 700 watt microwave oven.
This means that if you buy either higher or lower you will have to make the adjustments to the recipes your self.
I personally wouldn't recommend getting a microwave oven less than 700 W.
Although a 500 W oven will eventually cook anything you put into it can take a while and the results can be disappointing.
The interesting thing is that 700 watt ovens generally cost no more than 500 watt oven.
Also the 500 watt ovens are usually the same size as the 700 Watt if you can.
So choose the 700 watt if possible.
The other features to look for are to have at least three powers levels.
These should be 100% power, 50% power and 30% power.
The 30% power level is needed to defrost foods before you cook them.
The 50% power level is useful when you need to simmer foods.
Together with the three power levels you need to have a microwave oven with either a turntable or the oven has the facility to automatically rotate the microwaves, so that the food is cooked through evenly.
Sometimes there is a bewildering array of extras that you can get with high priced models.
These extras are generally more expensive and can be just gimmicks.
If you follow my three point guideline you should end up with a basic microwave oven that should suit your needs.
There are really three important components to look for in the microwave oven.
They are the control panel, cooking wattage and power levels.
One of the most important features on the microwave oven is the control panel.
They come in various designs but the two most common are dials and touch pads.
Although many people prefer an oven with dials, I believe this preference comes from the individual being familiar with the knobs used to operate a conventional oven.
The touch panel can however, be easier to use, simpler to read and can also be more accurate.
Don't forget that in microwave cookery the cooking times can be very precise.
For example a few extra seconds can mean the difference between an overcooked bread roll instead of a hot soft and tasty one.
The second most important feature on microwave ovens is the wattage.
Power is measured in watts which indicate the cooking power of your oven.
Microwave ovens can be found with cooking wattages from 350 and up.
Generally you should be looking for wattage of around 700.
You will find that most of the recipes in newspapers, magazines and cookbooks have been tried and tested in a 700 watt microwave oven.
This means that if you buy either higher or lower you will have to make the adjustments to the recipes your self.
I personally wouldn't recommend getting a microwave oven less than 700 W.
Although a 500 W oven will eventually cook anything you put into it can take a while and the results can be disappointing.
The interesting thing is that 700 watt ovens generally cost no more than 500 watt oven.
Also the 500 watt ovens are usually the same size as the 700 Watt if you can.
So choose the 700 watt if possible.
The other features to look for are to have at least three powers levels.
These should be 100% power, 50% power and 30% power.
The 30% power level is needed to defrost foods before you cook them.
The 50% power level is useful when you need to simmer foods.
Together with the three power levels you need to have a microwave oven with either a turntable or the oven has the facility to automatically rotate the microwaves, so that the food is cooked through evenly.
Sometimes there is a bewildering array of extras that you can get with high priced models.
These extras are generally more expensive and can be just gimmicks.
If you follow my three point guideline you should end up with a basic microwave oven that should suit your needs.
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