Get to know your microwave oven Print E-mail
They may have been around for more than 40 years but today's microwave ovens use 21st century technology with impressive results, says Clare Royals. Around 85 per cent of us own a microwave oven but often use it just for heating up a cup of coffee or defrosting something quickly for supper. Yet once you learn how to use your microwave to its full potential, there's so much it can do to save you time in the kitchen, not to mention saving gas and electricity, which are becoming ever more costly. Energy savings are in excess of 70 per cent when compared with conventionally prepared food. And, in global terms, we all need to be aware of the implications of wasting energy.

It makes good sense when just cooking for one to use the microwave. And for busy mums who have to put a nutritious family meal on the table each day, it really comes into its own. Desserts can cook while you are eating the main course, while vegetables will be ready while you leave the meat or poultry to stand and rest before carving. The old myths such as not being able to put metal objects into the microwave no longer apply. That's why there are metal racks and turntables in microwaves today.

If you're still sceptical, microwave expert and Chairman of the Microwave Technologies Association, Jennipher Marshall-Jenkinson, stresses that if you follow the cooking instructions and use the right accessories the results will be excellent. On the other hand, zapping food on HIGH power until it looks done is certain to produce a failure. Jennipher recommends 600 watts (a MEDIUM HIGH power setting) as being the best for most cooking. It adds only a few moments to the cooking time but makes an enormous difference to the success of the finished dish.

We have included some of Jennipher's recipes here for you to try. See recipe index http://womans-world.co.uk/recipes/13.html

If you've never used a microwave oven and think you're probably too old to start now, don't be discouraged. Take a leaf out of Marguerite Patten's book. At 99, the doyenne of British cooks is a great enthusiast of microwave cooking and President of the Microwave Technologies Association.

Choosing and buying a microwave oven

Today's microwaves are sophisticated machines. You can buy a standalone model but the trend is to have them built in to save space or to maintain the streamlined appearance of the modern kitchen. Built-in models can cost in excess of £350 but, if you choose one of the Panasonic range of microwaves, it can be fitted into a unit with a trim kit, which you buy separately.

Combination microwaves use convection heating (fanned hot air) and have grills so that you can cook and brown the food in the one appliance and be far more adventurous in what you cook. Another useful feature is the auto-reheat button. If you enter the weight of the food to be cooked, the microwave will calculate how long it will take to cook.

In Which's most recent testing of microwaves (Feb 2007) there were seven Best Buys at prices ranging from £65 to £465. All had been put through their paces to see what they were capable of. Microwaves from Panasonic, Neff, Sanyo, Bosch and Zanussi all performed well but the highest rating was awarded to the Panasonic Solo Standalone NN-SD466M price £119. Its controls are clear and, for anyone with visual impairment or difficulty gripping, it is easy to use.

Book offer

Jennipher Marshall-Jenkinson's book, Microwave Magic - the Art of 21st Century Cooking, is a comprehensive introduction to cooking with a microwave and  how to use it to its full potential.

In more than 100 pages, it covers all types of recipes from starters to desserts, baking to preserves. Recipes range from the everyday to those for special occasions and include ones for toddlers, children and cooking for one. But this is more than just a recipe book. It also teaches the concepts of microwave cooking and the processes involved when using microwave appliances. There are plenty of helpful tips plus advice on choosing the right equipment to guarantee you get the best results from your microwave.
 
The book comes in a convenient, lie-flat, wire-bound paperback or in a hardback version. The usual price is £14 for the hardback and  £12.95 for the paperback but Woman's World readers can buy either version at the special price of £9.95 (plus £2.50 P&P). Orders will be despatched on receipt of payment but please allow 28 days for delivery.

To order, send a cheque or postal order for £12.45 made payable to the Microwave Technologies Association, Norfolk Glen, Love Lane, Iver Bucks SL0 9QZ.
 
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