planning to buy Microwave oven

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ranjan2001

ranjan2001

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Have no idea which feature should I look for.

I basically want to have healthy cooking with it & thats why I want microwave for.
Looking for user experience & suggestions for buying.
 
There are two basic things you need to decide when buying a microwave oven; cooking modes and size.

Microwave cooking is not very popular in India because it wont give you the browning that we Indians like. So microwave ovens have other modes like grill and convection besides microwave. The first thing you'll have to decide is whether you want just microwave capability or you also need grill and/or convection. You must be aware that grill is sort of BBQ while convection is for baking.

The second thing you decide is size. The size is specified as volume of the inside of the oven in liters. Sizes range from 20 to 40 lts AFAIK.
 
convections are used for baking i think and are a lot more expensive than the normal ones. unless you want to end up with some hefty bills (using oven for 1hr+) you might want to give it a miss

other than that i recommend samsung for their excellent service network
 
one user experience from me - u cant use any metal vessel in it for cooking. Only glass or ceramic or microwave proof plastic containers can be used.

edit: i just remembered another thing - food doesn't taste that great if heated in a microwave compared to the normal lpg stove cooking. They taste bland - like something's missing from them..
 
6pack said:
edit: i just remembered another thing - food doesn't taste that great if heated in a microwave compared to the normal lpg stove cooking. They taste bland - like something's missing from them..
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Hehe thats more psyche than the microwave :rofl:.
 
^ Some people prefer cooking on the conventional cow dung stoves used in villages and say that food tastes better with it.
 
^ I am not British lol. Its been 10 months I have been in here. And they use microwaves in here of course.
 
Amol said:
^ Some people prefer cooking on the conventional cow dung stoves used in villages and say that food tastes better with it.
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It actually does. The funda is the strength of the flame, the actual heat generated and the vessel. Food cooked on cow dung stoves in an earthen vessel undergoes a lot of simmer as the flames are not as intense as a gas stove. And the earthen vessel has its own way of transferring heat to the food inside. Its more even rather than centered at the bottom of the vessel..

Try and have some tender red meat cooked in an earthen vessel on a cow dung stoved (chulah, as they call it there). It tastes heavenly. I guess some members doing hotel management/cooking classes would be able to throw some light on it ...
Sorry for being so off topic

With ovens you will notice that most of the recipe books mention setting a temp and cooking for particular time. I think that can only be done in a convection mode and not in the one which does not have it, isnt it? So if you get a regular one with a grill, you will not be able to just blindly follow most of the recipes you download from the net. You will end up just using the oven only as a heating device.
 
@ranjan - most of this thread has gone totally OT. Hope you got what I was talking about. A microwave oven can be a basic MW oven. On the other hand, you can buy one with a grill and/or a convection option.

In India we generally use microwave only for reheating food although it can be used for cooking as well. It is partly a mindset that needs to change. The idea of having a combination or MW, grill and convection in one appliance is partly for space saving purposes. Certainly most such appliances can also be used in combo mode where two different methods work simultaneously.

Microwave cooking is most efficient as the heat is generated directly inside the food. However, it will not give the surface browning that we tend to like.

Convection is the mode used for baking although many dark cakes can be made in MW mode too.

I earlier had a big beast of a BPL combination oven that was 40 ltrs. It gave me endless trouble over the years. Finally I purchased a new one of Godrej make as I got it from Vijay Sales (one day offer) a couple of years back for just about Rs. 8400 IIRC. Has MW, grill and convection and came with a lot of freebies thrown in.

I understand that Godrej does not make it. It is made by Electrolux and branded for Godrej. There are many brands out there and all are more or less the same. Check out which company gives the best service in your area. Many companies also include free MW cooking lessons.
 
Kneo said:
It actually does. The funda is the strength of the flame, the actual heat generated and the vessel. Food cooked on cow dung stoves in an earthen vessel undergoes a lot of simmer as the flames are not as intense as a gas stove. And the earthen vessel has its own way of transferring heat to the food inside. Its more even rather than centered at the bottom of the vessel..

Try and have some tender red meat cooked in an earthen vessel on a cow dung stoved (chulah, as they call it there). It tastes heavenly. I guess some members doing hotel management/cooking classes would be able to throw some light on it ...
Sorry for being so off topic
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Not offtopic in a thread about microwaves at all.

What you said in terms of cooking is absolutley true, the modern equivalent to get the same effect is to use a crock pot or slow cooker. Slow simmer over many hours, same idea. The pot i used in the US was made or clay and it fit into an electrical housing case not very different than a rice cooker. Fantastic for cooking meat.

I have been looking for a microwave for a long time, i wanted to get the standard size ones i used in the west without the baking & convection, stirctly for reheating and maybe making rice. But the prob is they only sell the really tiny ones here with just microwave, all medium size ones come with those extra features that are not affordable at the electricity prices we pay here.
 
Microwaves - 3 popular types in India based on action
1) microwave
2) microwave + grill
3) microwave + grill + convection(fan)

Cost increases in same order.

Capacity ranges from 20L to 32L last I checked(you don't get large size 40L and above microwaves easily in India).

Three types of microwave interiors
1) Heat resistant ABS plastic - cheap, easy to clean, gets dull after a while
2) Steel - looks good, ok to clean but needs constant cleaning to keep looking good, good wave reflection to cook food faster.
3) Ceramic - easy to clean, unclean microwave does not look that messy, gives a good look and feel to the microwave interior.

2 types of exterior finishes
1) Plastic - low maintenance, looks quite good if properly designed, cheap, more models available in plastic.
2) Steel - expensive, fewer models and options(in India), posh looking, must be careful around kitchen to avoid scratching the finish.

Note: All the above are based on research I did two years ago. There may be some mistakes and what I've stated is to the best of my recollection.

Look around at different stores four yourself to get a better idea and make a decision.
 
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