Archive for January, 2010

Microwave Oven: Cooking Rejuvenated

 

Food has been the necessity of men from the time when the evolution of men happened. But earlier eating food was just a formality as men were totally unknown to the art of cooking. However as the time changed so did the men and its need for food. Today eating food is one of the important activities of a person’s daily life. Hence it is very essential for a normal human being to be very careful about his eating habits. It is because a person’s eating habits have a direct relationship to his health. So if a person will follow a proper eating routine then he will enjoy a great health, if not then he will encounter with series of health disorders. However in today’s life of hectic schedule a person’s eating routine is bound to suffer. Also the quality of food has gone from bad to worse. Thus to prevent people from facing all these problems microwave oven is here.

As said above only the quality of food available today is not very good. Also since food is the only factor from where a person derives most of the essential nutrients therefore it has become very important to maintain the quality of food even after long intervals of time and Latest microwave oven just does that for its users. It maintains the nutrient value of the food and sustains them for a long period of time. In addition to that the microwave oven allows the heat generated through the electricity to go into the deepest portion of the food and reheat them. These microwave ovens can cook almost every thing and needless to say the food cooked in them is very tasty and nutritious at the same time.

There are also various other types of other microwave oven available in market i.e. convection microwave oven and oven grill microwave. Convection microwave oven are little different from the normal microwave oven. It is because these ovens are capable of cooking some extra items then the normal oven do. Also these convection microwave ovens are energy efficient appliances. Other type of oven is oven grill microwave. This type of microwave allows the users to grill the food, while cooking. Thus in this way this way these home appliances have entirely changed the method of cooking.

Thus it can be clearly seen that these latest microwave oven, convection microwave oven and oven grill microwave have completely changed the method of cooking food. Not only that they are extremely efficient appliances when it comes to preserving the nutrient quality of food over long period of time.

Buying Your Microwave Oven

There are many types of microwave ovens that are available today for the consumer to check out. Each one offers a number of features to provide quick and easy cooking convenience. The type of microwave oven would depend on how you will be using it.

Because of the increasing popularity of this innovative appliance, many companies have been making more and more advanced models to provide better performance and efficiency as well as more attractive designs.

When you are shopping for a microwave oven, you should be able to know the extent of functions that you are going to use it for. Here are some of the things that you should be considering when looking for that ideal microwave oven for your home.

The first thing that you should try to consider in buying your microwave oven is your own cooking needs. Most microwaves in the home are being used to reheat or defrost food. Some would want to use microwave as an ideal alternative to actual cooking, baking, grilling and even roasting. There are different microwave ovens that can handle different cooking options.

You should also consider a microwave oven’s capacity when you are looking for one. Check out the models that you think would be able to accommodate all your cooking needs in terms of volume and regularity. There are microwave oven models available that can be used to cook and reheat food by the plate and there are also bigger models that can cook more food simultaneously at any one time.

Another thing that consumers should consider before buying a microwave oven is the location. There are several types of microwave ovens that you can choose from when it comes to location. There are microwave ovens that can be installed under the cabinets as well as over your existing gas or electric range.

There are others that can be built-in walls and also microwave ovens that you can simply put above the countertop. You should first decide on where you want to place your microwave oven in the kitchen before you shop for a suitable model that would fit in.

Shopping for a good won’t be as difficult when you have the GE Spacemaker microwave oven to check out. This remarkable microwave oven offers you convenience and efficiency like you have never seen before. The GE Spacemaker microwave oven features advanced sensor cooking controls that make use of built-in sensors that monitor the moisture level in the food to allow automatic time and power adjustments to achieve exceptional cooking results.

It also features Auto and Time defrost for a hassle free defrosting. Its sleek design allows you to have more cooking flexibility as well as space saving advantages. The GE Spacemaker microwave oven is one of the best of its kind that you can find today. It can be just the microwave oven that would be perfect for you.

This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more information on Microwave-Ovens & other information, please visit http://microwave-oven.articlekeep.com

Working of Microwave Oven

Microwave radiations are the basic tool applied by microwave ovens or microwaves to cook or heat the desired food stuff. The scientific formula used to achieve this process is simple.

The microwave radiations usually are emitted by magnetrons. The polarized molecules such as oil, water, fat and etc., within the respective food stuff are excited to produce heat. The uniform excitation leads to the simultaneous and complete heating of the food stuff. Heating food quickly and efficiently has been epitomized by microwaves. The art of food preparation has been revolutionized by microwave ovens since their inception into the market in the 1970s.

First introduced to the world by Percy Spencer, while in the midst of building magnetrons for radar sets, microwave ovens have since then taken the world by storm. The microwave oven cooked its first food as popcorn and later came the egg.

Raytheon, the company for which Spencer had been working on with the radar sets and had discovered the microwave phenomenon, filed a patent on 8th October, 1945. They came out with the first official microwave oven, the Radarrange. It was huge, consuming almost 3000 watts and weighing almost 340 kg. Later on commercial models were introduced that consumed about 1600 watts and sold for around $2000 to $3000. The first popular and home model was produced by Raytheon again. The countertop Radarrange in 1967 was priced at $495 and was the initiators of the popular microwave oven models in use today.

By 1975, sales volumes for microwave ovens went up to 1 million, but were less than Japan. Here cheaper building methods led to extensive market penetration for the home models of microwave ovens. The rapid decline in the price of the microprocessors with the arrival of the technological revolution in the 1980s led to microwave ovens being a regular fixture in all US households as well as in the rest of the world. Today as 90% of the US households own a microwave oven, the Chinese firm Galanz is the biggest player in the microwave oven market, accounting for up to 40% of the global microwave oven market.

The microwave actually consists of these constituents: high voltage transformer, the source path of energy to the magnetron; cavity magnetron; magnetron-control circuit along with a microcontroller; waveguide; cooking chamber for the food stuff to be placed in.

Microwaves cook food from the outside itself, contrary to popular belief that food is cooked `inside out` here. Microwaves are absorbed by the food stuff as from any other conventional heat sources. The penetrative power of microwaves is the only differentiating factor here. They have several power levels to choose from that allow the depth and extent of heating that the food stuff is assumed to be supposed to undergo. Convection ovens have nowadays gained popularity. These are a mix of standard microwave and a convection oven, allowing food to be cooked yet be crispy and brown as in convection ovens.

Microwave ovens are usually used for time efficiency and yet quality cooking in households as well as industrial applications. Even though microwave radiations are not considered injurious to health and are better than conventionally cooked food, there are still security issues with the conventional microwave oven. At times, liquids and improper heating or faults with the magnetron tube may cause bursts and resultant burns. Some also have issues with being exposed to microwave radiations.

The Working Of Microwave Oven

Microwave radiations are the basic tool applied by microwave ovens or microwaves to cook or heat the desired food stuff. The scientific formula used to achieve this process is simple.


The microwave radiations usually are emitted by magnetrons. The polarized molecules such as oil, water, fat and etc., within the respective food stuff are excited to produce heat. The uniform excitation leads to the simultaneous and complete heating of the food stuff. Heating food quickly and efficiently has been epitomized by microwaves. The art of food preparation has been revolutionized by microwave ovens since their inception into the market in the 1970s.


First introduced to the world by Percy Spencer, while in the midst of building magnetrons for radar sets, microwave ovens have since then taken the world by storm. The microwave oven cooked its first food as popcorn and later came the egg.


Raytheon, the company for which Spencer had been working on with the radar sets and had discovered the microwave phenomenon, filed a patent on 8th October, 1945. They came out with the first official microwave oven, the Radarrange. It was huge, consuming almost 3000 watts and weighing almost 340 kg. Later on commercial models were introduced that consumed about 1600 watts and sold for around $2000 to $3000. The first popular and home model was produced by Raytheon again. The countertop Radarrange in 1967 was priced at $495 and was the initiators of the popular microwave oven models in use today.


By 1975, sales volumes for microwave ovens went up to 1 million, but were less than Japan. Here cheaper building methods led to extensive market penetration for the home models of microwave ovens. The rapid decline in the price of the microprocessors with the arrival of the technological revolution in the 1980s led to microwave ovens being a regular fixture in all US households as well as in the rest of the world. Today as 90% of the US households own a microwave oven, the Chinese firm Galanz is the biggest player in the microwave oven market, accounting for up to 40% of the global microwave oven market.


The microwave actually consists of these constituents: high voltage transformer, the source path of energy to the magnetron; cavity magnetron; magnetron-control circuit along with a microcontroller; waveguide; cooking chamber for the food stuff to be placed in.


Microwaves cook food from the outside itself, contrary to popular belief that food is cooked `inside out` here. Microwaves are absorbed by the food stuff as from any other conventional heat sources. The penetrative power of microwaves is the only differentiating factor here. They have several power levels to choose from that allow the depth and extent of heating that the food stuff is assumed to be supposed to undergo. Convection ovens have nowadays gained popularity. These are a mix of standard microwave and a convection oven, allowing food to be cooked yet be crispy and brown as in convection ovens.


Microwave ovens are usually used for time efficiency and yet quality cooking in households as well as industrial applications. Even though microwave radiations are not considered injurious to health and are better than conventionally cooked food, there are still security issues with the conventional microwave oven. At times, liquids and improper heating or faults with the magnetron tube may cause bursts and resultant burns. Some also have issues with being exposed to microwave radiations.


But apart from all these factors, microwaves are not only safer than normal cooking methods, the food cooked by them is considered healthier too. And hence, the popularity of the microwave oven has not dwindled but is only soaring upwards with the progression of time.

Simple & Hassle Free Cooking With Microwave Oven

Cooking can be a long and tiring ordeal and the best way to make things simple is to opt for a microwave oven. Cooking is faster and tastier and doesn’t take more than a few minutes to cook. A microwave oven saves time, energy and minimizes the mess in the kitchen.

A microwave oven cooks and heats food by the process of dielectric heating. This is achieved by the use of microwave radiation to heat water and other molecules within the food.

The Principle behind its function:

The main principle is that the microwave oven functions by passing non-ionizing microwave radiation at frequencies about 2.45 gigahertz and wavelength of 12.25 centimeter. This radiation provides energy which is absorbed by the food in a process known as dielectric heating. There is however a misconception that a microwave oven cooks food from “inside out” which is not true. The energy from the microwave radiation is absorbed on the outer layers of food similar to heat energy from other sources.

Cooking in a microwave oven is better because the penetration depth of microwaves is much higher than the conventional methods. In comparison to conventional methods, a microwave oven ensures quick and hassle free cooking. While choosing a microwave oven, the ones with low microwave frequencies and higher penetration is always better.

Choosing the right microwave oven:
There is a gamut of microwave ovens and choosing an ideal one can be quite a task. The distinction is mainly on power levels and the defrosting levels. Most microwave ovens are similar in that the intensity of microwave radiation is same while the magnetron is turned on and off in cycles of several seconds at a time. This is specifically of significance to airy foods that inflate during heating phases and deflate when the magnetron is switched off. The magnetron is pushed by a linear transformer which can be either completely switched on or turned off. The latest gadgets which are equipped with invertors’ power supplies make use of pulse width modulation for continuous low power heating. This type of microwave oven is ideal for all kinds of cooking.

The miscellany and accessories to enhance the cooking effect:
The cooking chamber of a microwave oven is known as the Faraday cage. This enclosure prevents the microwave from escaping into the environment and the glass panel door enables easy viewing. The heat is maintained with a layer of conductive mesh. The size of perforation on the mesh is lesser than the microwaves’ wavelength.

Conventional microwave oven has a variant in the convection microwave which is a combination of a standard microwave and a conventional oven. Food is cooked quickly and getting them browned or crisped is now so much easier. They are however more expensive that the conventional microwave oven. They are often used for cooking prepared dishes.

Another recent variation is a microwave oven with high power quartz halogen bulb which utilizes the high intensity halogen lights at the top of the microwave to deposit huge amounts of infrared radiation to the surface of the food.

Accessories like browning tray, pop corn bags etc may accompany the microwave. Consumer microwave oven from leading brands like LG, Kenstar, Onida, and Electrolux may be bought either from online stores or a physical shop. Online shopping is an easier and convenient option especially if you want to gift it to someone.

So, waste no time, in adopting the microwave-mode of cooking. Opt for an ideal microwave oven and get started with hassle free and efficient cooking.