What to look for in a microwave oven

The microwave oven – the kitchen device that means you no longer have any useful excuses for not being able to create at least some type of edible cooked meal. The microwave oven changed the way we saw food preparation when it was released onto the domestic market in the late 1960s. Now it’s a must-have device in all kitchens, the microwave oven comes in many shapes, sizes, colours, and efficiencies.

Here are some considerations when it comes to choosing the right microwave oven:

Microwave oven size considerations

What space do you have available for your microwave oven? Quite often, if you move into a new house and are not planning on renovating the kitchen, the previous owners will already have had a space put aside for the microwave oven they used to operate in that kitchen. Measure this up before buying a new model because if you can’t change the space, the microwave oven must fit the space already put aside.

Efficiency of a microwave oven

A typical microwave oven produces 700 W of microwave power and consumes 1100 W of electricity. Are you using the microwave for domestic or commercial use? Depending on your answer to that question, this may greatly change the type of microwave oven you choose to buy. Depending on your usage requirements or size requirements, choose a microwave oven with the best possible energy efficiency rating to save on the costs of power.

Microwave oven: Safety features

A microwave oven is a tool which is to be used with exercised care. For example, you can never ever place aluminium or steel bowls or utensils in your microwave oven – doing this will cause a terrible explosion and you could end up burning your entire kitchen down, or electrocuting yourself.

Ensure you read your microwave oven manual properly to work out what you can place in the oven, and how high or low the power levels can go for health and safety reasons. Power levels can have affects on the minerals in food and sometimes microwaving food at a high level can completely deplete foods of nutrients and minerals. Read up on the best ways to use a microwave and all power levels before you use the microwave oven.

Other microwave oven considerations

When choosing a microwave oven, be sure to choose a model with a decent warranty – usually 1-3 years. If you are unhappy with the performance of the microwave oven, contact the manufacturer and have the problem dealt with while you are still within the warranty time frame.