Achougoo's Guide - Choosing Microwave Ovens. Review on Choosing a Microwave Oven

ACHOUGOO's Guide For Buying Microwave Ovens

It may surprise most of you, especially the non-Indian members of MS to know that microwave ovens or for that matter even ovens are seldom found in Indian kitchens. In fact microwaves are still'luxury items'. Though the trend is changing slowly as the modern women/girl have more inclinations for pizza or the working lady needs the'extra fast cooking'. I would also attribute it to wonderful mouth watering recipes shown on TV shows - such a chicken piece being removed from the MW, I am salivating even as I am typing it out. But I must tell you that the food cooked in MW cooks evenly from inside out and is hygienic. Besides you need not waste the cooking gas every time you want to warm up the food. A minute or less is what it takes the MW to heat up the food. Microwave can also double up as a grilling device - a boon for Kebab lovers. It may not be a necessity but is definitely a device that adds value to your kitchen and your cooking skills.

So if you want to buy one, which one to buy? What are the features you should look out for? Do not worry, just read Achougoo's guide here on MS.

WHY MICROWAVE?

Is there a milliwave too? Hey kidding!

Microwaves are called so because of their wavelength. Leave the physics alone. A magnetron device emits these waves that tend to vibrate the food molecules in its path. The frictional forces generate heat in the process and lo the food heats up.

THEY COME IN SIZES TOO?

The smallest size is 17 litres. Probably ideal for a loner or at most a couple. These are too tiny and they are only ovens i.e. w/o grilling facility. The biggest one that I know of is 37-litre model by BPL. Wow! Ideal for Turkey lovers. But I feel genuinely that loners or couples can go for 23-25-litre range. Families of 4 and above should opt for 28-32 litre capacity.

LOOKS, LAYOUT AND INTERFACE

There aren't many variations in looks. They are usually white rectangular boxes. What differs is panel on the right hand side. Some of them sport trendy feather touch membrane panels, while some of them still prefer tact/knobs. Some of them have neat-labeled buttons i.e. easy interface - Daewoo, LG, Electrolux for instance but Samsung user interface can be quite cryptic with only symbols, no text, necessitating user to learn the manual. Many models have'one-touch' operation, i.e. presets for common items a MW is used for. Eg. Auto Defrost time and power settings for meat, chicken, fish. 'One-touch' cooking presets for Vegetables, Frozen or normal pizza, noodles/macaroni/pasta, beverages or'Just warming' etc.

The manual time settings in Samsung MW are in multiples of 30 sec/1 min. LG and Daewoo, Electrolux, BPL on the other hand are much more flexible as they allow it in multiples of 10 sec/ 1 min/ 10 min. Also sometimes you may like an item warm or hot, light brown or heavily browned etc. So look out for models with'More/Less' button, sometimes seen as''/'', that adds/deletes a few seconds of time.

All models have a display to show the time and settings etc. Some use 8 digit character diode display, though LCDs are also used. All models sport a glass door with a shield so that the MW do not come out and you can see what's cooking.

Coming to interiors, most of them are stainless steel - mainly from point of view that it is easy to clean and extremely wear resistance. Samsung, however has an upper edge here. It has an epoxy coat on the inside, in its Bio Ceramic models, that is less scratch prone(14 times less than stainless steel), easier to clean(simple wiping also suffices). Moreover the ceramic enamel stores heat allowing faster defrost which also saves power.

UNIFORM COOKING TECHNICS

All models sport a turntable. Place the food item or bowl/plates on it. It rotates when MW is switched on. The cheaper models have waves emanating from only one slot or sometimes two slots to direct waves upwards and downwards. Some like Daewoo have concave reflecting surfaces that redirect the waves all over to achieve uniform heating. Samsung has a 3D Shower wave system to have a more redistribution of these waves. LG talks of Intelligent flowing waves. I would recommend such models, that use convection cooking caused by aerodynamic flow patterns, often by using fans. The wave redistribution ensures quick and uniform heating without the need to break and/or stir. Also conventional baking is possible. Cakes anyone?

MULTI USE

Though smaller models are mainly only meant for cooking and warming(MW option only), most models have grill option and then a combination of MW and grill is also possible. So it is suitable also for Tikkas and Kebabs, Tandooris. My mom uses it also to make Papads or heat tea/coffee and roast groundnuts! Talking of grill, most models have a fixed coil but some like Samsung also sport inclinable grill, allowing complete and easy cooking of perfect barbeques.

POWER LEVELS

This is like the knob you have on gas stoves to increase/decrease flame. In MW's it is available in discreet steps(5 in lower end models and 10-12 in higher end models). It increases/ reduces cooking power of the MW. 100% power is always the default option that allows faster cooking. But my mom uses this option and often forgets about it, only to find pure carbon powder left in the plate.hee hee. This is where power levels comes handy.

OTHER THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR

Child Lock: MW's can be dangerous if misused. Try keeping a cup with metal linings and watch the sparks - Diwali time! Keep an egg and watch it explode. So a child lock is very important.

Discounts/Freebies:I got my Daewoo KOG 390A worth Rs 15, 000 for Rs 12, 500. Some dealers offer such heavy discounts plus some gift worth Rs. 1000 to Rs. 2, 000 depending on the original cost. Some OEMs offer freebies like a bowl of toughened glass to be used in MW or a cookbook etc.

Prices: A 17 liter model could be between Rs. 6, 500 to 8, 000. A 20-25 liter model is generally below Rs 12, 000. A 26-32 liter costs somewhere around Rs. 15, 000. Note that Kenstar and Bajaj are aggressive on their pricing. While Electrolux models are generally very expensive.