Choosing a Microwave

Nearly anyone you ask in the appliance industry will tell you that you should always know you’re family’s needs before going shopping for microwaves. Think about how much you plan to use this item, what types of foods you’ll be preparing in the microwave, how many people will utilize it regularly and in what manner? Asking yourself those kinds of questions will help your selection greatly.Before you leave for the store, measure your available space (height, width and depth). People with small kitchens may wish to consider a cabinet style microwave, or one that can attach to the bottom of cupboards. Larger kitchens give you more options but realistically unless you plan to cook a whole turkey in the microwave, you don’t need a proverbial “tank” for this job. Remember your microwave needs a little air space for ventilation. It also has to be placed where the door can easily open to the left (as you’re facing it), which is standard in all models.

After narrowing your selection based on size, next look at the microwave’s features. Does it have a one-minute button, which is idea for warming coffee and tea? Does it offer selection based on the type of food you’re making (like popcorn)? Does it allow you to defrost items on days when you forgot to take dinner out of the freezer early enough? You want everyone who’ll use the microwave to be fully comfortable with its operation, and also happy with the features they’re offered.One feature that’s worth a close look is microwaves with a broiler or convection cooking. These lets you brown and crisp microwaved foods, which you can’t do with a regular system. However, be aware that these use more energy, they’re more expensive, they can be a hazard to children (who can get burned on the heating element), and some models require a grounded 220 line to operate. If you’re already tight on your electrical panel you may find these high-end microwaves (with higher wattage to speed cooking) cause circuit breakers to go off.

Two other features to ponder are cooking sensors and turntables. The cooking sensor makes sure the food is fully cooked, and the turntable offers even heating (so one bite isn’t still frozen and another blisteringly hot).

In terms of wattage, the majority of microwave cookbooks seem to be written for machines that have around 700 watt of power. Such a machine averages 20” wide compared to a medium microwave, which is about 1” deeper and offers up to 1,100 watts of cooking power. For the granddaddy of microwaves, you’re looking at 24” wide, 2 more inches in depth and height, and an additional 500 watts of power. Again, bigger isn’t necessarily better unless you have a real need for that size machine.