How to Pick the Right Type of Microwave Oven for You
On January 06, 2010 in Technology
You merely have to take a peek in any electrical stores catalogue or read microwave oven reviews to realise that the range of microwave ovens out there is vast. So how do you go about picking one which is going to be best for you? Well, I cant advise you which is the one you ought to pick, but I can tell you that there are a couple of vital questions you need to ask yourself that will help you decide which microwave ovens you must think about more carefully.
What Will the Oven be Used For?
The first subject is the most important for narrowing down whether you ought to consider solo microwave ovens or models with additional features. Most people only use their microwave to heat up food rather than truly cooking whole meals from scratch. For this, standard microwave ovens are without doubt adequate. If you were planning on using it for more different tasks you might want to look at combination microwave ovens which can also work like a normal convection oven.
This issue will also help you to narrow down the microwave choice further by helping you think about the size of microwave you are going to want. If you live alone then a small microwave will probably be all right, but if you propose to cook for a complete family then you will probably want to look at bigger models.
Do I Need Extras?
Most models of microwave will come with a list of features, and for some the list can appear pretty enormous. This doesnt necessarily mean that those with more features will be superior for you though. Added features are only worth paying for if you think they will be useful to you. One of the first you ought to think about is the auto-program functions which are obtainable. If you are quite lazy then it could be quite attractive to get one where you can just press one button to automatically set the time and the power level. As well as saving a few seconds, this feature is also truly useful if you are a beginner with the microwave and you arent very sure how long and at what power things should be cooked it can save quite a lot of additional time that you would spend looking these things up.
An additional feature that many microwave ovens such as the Sharp R959SLM include is an auto-defrost feature. This lets you key in the weight and the microwave calculates the power and time needed for defrosting again a handy time-saving device which saves you looking it up.
If you have a somewhat higher budget you might want to bear in mind a model which has sensors which will stop the microwave oven when they sense the food is cooked such as the Panasonic NN-A554W. Again, this is almost certainly mainly helpful for all those new microwave cooks out there.
To end with, there are just a couple of issues which you should be familiar with to make sure that you get the top microwave in your price span. Most microwaves come with removable plates and turntables as standard, but this is definitely something that will make your life easier, so pick out one with removable parts over one with a fixed turntable if possible.
The power of the microwave (e.g. 700W/800W/1000W and so on) is an guide of how swiftly it cooks. Make sure that you pick the highest power microwave you can within your budget, as even 100W further can make a huge variation in cooking times.
Accordingly if you go along all of these tips then you ought to be able to narrow down the list of microwaves which are best for you. The only feature left to do then is go for the one which you find most visually likable.