Jul 02, 2005 12:57 PM
42525 Views
(Updated Jul 02, 2005 01:05 PM)
Microwave ovens will be very useful and they are fast becoming as essential as a fridge. Why not a normal electric oven and why a microwave oven ?
A microwave oven uses a technology in which the heat waves go through the food particles and heat it up from inside. This is the reason why the cake you make in a microwave would be so delicate and wonderful.
When you buy a microwave you have to look for the size and the space in side the oven. For example you may have the same capacity in liters but space inside may differ a little.
Another one is a ceramic bottom. A ceramic bottom inside the box makes it easer to clean and also heat will be conserved consuming lesser electric power.
If you take Samsung and LG and compare the Samsung has a ceramic lining inside which looks really good. But LG gives a little more space. I do not know why but LG is a bit popular brand at least in Hyderabad.
Both the LG and Samsung do belong to Korea and both have international standards.
Another one to take care of while you buy an oven is the feature ''with grill'' or without ''grill'' ?
Whenever you buy an electronic or latest technology equipments always choose the latest available in that category. You had better choose a microwave oven with grill. This ''grill'' feature would be better when you bake non-vegetarian items like a tandoori . It will give those red lines on it.
Yet another feature is convection. In this feature a fan is used on two sides of walls inside that heating space so the heat waves circulate inside the oven.
The plate , a round one made of glass would rotate when you switch on the oven. On which you have to place ''oven complaint'' vessels or bowels of food stuff to heat or to bake.
This means you have to spend so much money on oven compalint bowels as well.
Otherwise you can not use your oven !! At least two thousand rupees you may have to spend to buy oven compliant ceramic bowels to be used for your microwave oven. This cost you have to take in to consideration before you buy an Oven.
Another is the place. An oven should be ideally placed on a thick wooden plank firmely fixed to the wall in the kitchen. It is because Oven should not be moved while it's plate is rotating inside and should not be subjected to vibrations.
It should not be kept too near to your stove or on the top your fridge or any heavy metal objects. The best place is to place it is on a wooden plank firmely fixed to the wall.
The way a microwave functions may even surprise you.
For example if you place some food stuff on an ordinary plate ( not oven compliant) and start your oven , after some time it may ( the plate) break giving a big sound. But for example if you take a small paper pocket that you get in kirana shops or bakery shops and keep your wada or idli or mirchi bujji etc , . in that paper pocket and keep it inside the oven and start the oven nothing happens !!
In fact you would get your wada or others hot after 3 minutes inside that paper pocket. At the same time paper pocket would not be heated. It is because heat microwaves passed through the paper pocket.
The food stuffs inside that paper pocket would be so hot and so fresh that you can not differentiate the freshly cooked wada or idli with the one you had reheated in an oven.
If You have children of ten years or lower they create certain problems. When you made a wada for example they will not eat even if you had forced them. But when there is no wada and all were eaten or thrown out they would certainly demand the ones that is not there.
You can not heat certain food stuffs like rice, chapathi, wadfa, idili, muirchi bujji, mysore bajji or samosa. They can be reheated and made to tase as well as appear fresh and piping hot using a microwave oven. That is the technology. These wadas and bajjis you can put them in a paper pocket and heat them in oven.
The same oven if you use a bowel with a metal rim will give rise to sparks and cause you to panic. In the same way if you try to reheat a boiled egg in an oven it will burst like diwali cracker and spill all over the oven creating a big mess to clean. You have to switch off and start your cleaning work.
Oven comes of great use to bachelors. They can not make curries every day or sambhar everyday. If you heat sambhar or dal for the second time or third time it would give a burnt smell. The microwave oven will not give you any such problem. It will be heated and at the same time as fresh as if it were made now.
A family needs a minimum of 30 litre capacity microwave oven with convection and grill.
You had better opt for a feather touch control panel rather than tick/tack nob which is anyway outdated and would not be there with higher models. Just put oven complaint bowel filled with water inside the oven and select one minute or 60 seconds and the count down will start. After this one minute if you take out this water it should be boiling. If it is boiling hot then you can be sure that your oven is working properly.
For cooking rice a rice cooker should better be used rather than microwave oven.
