I'm on my fifth microwave
Sep 15 '00
The one appliance I have purchased more than any other in my life is the microwave oven. I can count five so far, and I currently have two in operation at home. Here are a few tips on purchasing a microwave for yourself or for another person as a gift:
When buying a microwave for another person, consider how this person will use this product, the types of foods they will be cooking, the size of the space in their kitchen for the microwave, whether its going to be mounted below a cabinet or sitting on the countertop, and also the color. For example, I bought a Samsung Compact Series MW2000U for my father. This is a small microwave that is very simple to use - perfect for a retired senior citizen who rarely does more than reheat leftovers or boil water for tea. He loves the simple timer-dial operation - any other features would be wasted on him, and pressing buttons would just confuse an 85 year-old who has never programmed a VCR.
My sister's most important feature was that it be white in color to match her kitchen decor. She had very simple feature and capacity requirements, so she is happy with the inexpensive Kenmore I bought her. Her only complaint is that the "finished cooking" alarm doesn't shut off when you open the oven door.
Size does matter when it comes to many things, but not always for microwave ovens. Larger microwave ovens that are underpowered are the worst. I have owned larger capacity, 1000+ Watt microwaves that included a temperature probe and multiple racks, but I never used them for anything so complex that required this much capacity or any of these extra features. You CAN cook a turkey in a microwave, but who would want to? And who would want to eat a big turkey cooked in a microwave? Bigger items like roasts and poultry really belong in the oven or on the grill, in my humble opinion.
One of the most useful features I have ever found in all of the microwave ovens that I have purchased or used is the "one more Minute" button. This miraculous button gives you one more minute of cooking time, at whatever cooking settings you currently have set, with one quick touch of a button, either during or after you have started cooking your food. This is especially useful for cooking operations whose progress can be aurally monitored, like a bag of popping corn, or viewed through the window. For example, if you are boiling water for tea, you can easily be view whether the water is boiling without having to open the oven door for inspection. So with one touch of this miracle button, or two or three depending on how many extra minutes you visually estimate are required, you can continue cooking with little effort. By the way, a microwave without a window is probably one you found at a garage sale, since there are no new ovens without this crucial feature.
Boiling water is always one of those operations that vary so much from oven to oven. It always seems like it takes longer than it should. Some of the newer microwave ovens have an automatic feature to detect vapor arising from food or liquids, which is a pretty good indication that the cooking process is complete. It will take a while for you to believe that this thing works correctly, it seems to be amazingly helpful.
I am not a big fan of carousels in ovens since they are known to occasionally fail. If you have to get a microwave with one built-in, buy it from a reputable dealer in case it breaks and you want a refund, or buy a high quality microwave that is less likely to have a problem. and be sure to get one with a removable, dishwasher safe rotating plate and a on-off switch for the carousel. One of my current microwaves is a GE Convection Microwave which does not require a rotating plate to thoroughly cook your food. The GE also doesn't require that you stop the operation mid-way to rotate foods, even if it says so on your frozen dinner instructions! These ovens are likely to be more expensive than a conventional microwave - fortunately it came with the house.
Lastly, when buying a microwave or any appliance from a big store, ask for a discount! I got a whopping 25% discount on my sister's microwave that I picked up at Sears just because I asked. It was during the pre-Christmas buying season. They didn't have another model that I wanted in white, so when they showed me a model that did come in white whcih I actually preferred, I hemmed and hawed, and named a price that I would go for, and they gave it to me! But don't get stuck with a low quality microwave, even if it is cheap. Do your research - check out Consumer Reports, productopia.com, and Epinions to make sure you are not getting stuck with a lemon before cutting a deal. Good luck!
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
SteveBing
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Member: Steve Bing
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Reviews written: 72
Trusted by: 97 members
About Me:
Do they pay us for this anymore?
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.