The General Electric (GE) JES735WJ 700 Watts Microwave Oven is a small countertop microwave that's perfect for reheating leftovers, hot beverages, or just popping popcorn for movie night.
hvarmit's Full Review: General Electric JES735WJ 700 Watts Microwave Oven
Like most people, I have a microwave that I use to re-heat foods, or to nuke those frozen dinners when I'm too tired to cook and can't be bothered. Microwaves also great for melting butter and chocolate for a recipe. I had a very large microwave that I really liked but it kept acting up on me and finally it caught fire at it's base (where the cord goes into the unit) and had to be thrown out. At first, I decided I wasn't going to buy another because I would love to stay away from frozen meals altogether, and I was pretty set on that. But, after weeks of reheating foods in my oven (which took forever, it seemed), I broke down and just starting looking at microwaves in the stores. I didn't realize quite how much I used the thing until it was gone.
I ultimately decided on the GE Electric (JES735WJ) 700 Watts Microwave Oven because of it's smaller size, the price (around $40), and because it is a GE product. This microwave measures at 10 & 3/16" H x 17 & 7/8" W (exterior) and a depth of 13 inches. Also, it has a capacity of 0.7 cubic feet. It features 10 power levels, and is white in color (black is also available, but I liked the white one better).
It's a lot smaller than the microwave oven I previously had but I placed it where the other one was on it's own stand. It is still small enough to place on my counter if I chose to, but I didn't want to waste the counter space. The inside of the microwave isn't large enough to actually cook in, but is perfect for heating up plates of food. It will hold a dinner plate with no problem and leave several inches of space at the top. I also like the revolving glass turntable that is inside the microwave because it helps that my food is evenly heated (instead of hotter on one side than the other).
The microwave has a clock and a timer, and after setting it the first time, I haven't had to readjust it (well, except for daylight savings time, of course.) It works quite well and I rely on it as a kitchen clock. The microwave has 10 power settings, but only 6 are "quick heat controls". (Or, "instant cook keypads") This means that there are pads designed especially for reheating or cooking certain products and instead of guessing at a time to enter, all I have to do is press the button designated for the food item. The quick heat buttons are for popcorn, a dinner plate (of leftovers or food), pizza, a potato, heating beverages, and then there is a 30 second control. The 30 second control is perfect for heating mugs of hot chocolate, or reheating coffee and tea and will set the timer to 30 seconds just at the press of this button. It also will add 30 seconds to your current cook time just by pressing the button. It's pretty convenient and I adore this feature. There is also an auto-defrost button but depending on what it is I need to defrost, it either doesn't defrost it enough, or it cooks it a little. But, I rarely use this feature anyway unless I am making a casserole and need to defrost some vegetables. But, it can defrost different meats, poultry, and fish up to 6 pounds. I would just suggest staying with it and checking on it before it finishes the defrost cycle to see if it's "through" before the time is up.
I'm not too thrilled that this has no door release like other microwaves, and requires tugging on the door to open. Don't get me wrong, it's not hard to do or anything, but it is a bit of an inconvenience. If there are small children around, a neat feature with this microwave is that it has a child lock built in, and you can actually lock the keypad so the kiddos cannot start the microwave. I have tried it out once but, my daughter is old enough to use the microwave unsupervised, so I do not bother with it. (I know I would forget how to open it, as well. I just KNOW.)
As far as operation, it's great. Pressing #1, for instance, will auto set 1:00 on the clock and so on, and it heats up foods and beverages a bit slow, but they come out evenly heated. I heat up coffee in it sometimes (with the 30 sec pad) and it comes out pretty hot. Popcorn, with the feature on the microwave for it, comes out with few unpopped kernels and no scorched or burnt pieces. It's not very loud, which I appreciate, but it is a bit slow (then again, it's only 700 watts).
The only frustrating thing I've had happen with the microwave is that it will sometimes start itself (light comes on and the glass tray starts turning) when I shut the door after taking something out of it. I have to open and close it a couple of times before it will actually shut off. It hasn't happened in a few months now, but it used to happen pretty regularly. It got to the point one time where I just left the door open because it was so frustrating. My daughter used to joke it was some kind of microwave ghost. (like, the ghosts of the animals we would reheat in it)
Cleaning it is easy enough. The glass tray removes and is safe for dishwashers, but it's just as easy to wash it by hand. I always wipe out the interior and exterior of the microwave as well and this can be done with a damp cloth. Easy as pie.
I don't like it quite as much as the one that burnt up on me, but I do like this little microwave. It gets the job done and is easy enough for my 8 year old to operate as well. It doesn't take up very much room in my kitchen and it's perfect for just re-heating. While I did have the weird occurrence with the microwave cutting itself on when I shut the door (while it was empty), like I said, it hasn't happened in a while and everything is back to normal. It has a one year warranty, and I've had it slightly over that amount of time, so I am glad it fixed itself. For the money, it's a decent little microwave. I would only recommend it to those who only want to do a bit of reheating (or cooking something like popcorn or a frozen dinner (i.e. Lean Cuisine, Stouffer's, etc)), because of the size.
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