Microwaves

A microwave oven or a microwave as it is commonly called is an electronic kitchen gadget which is nowadays found in most homes located all over the world. Microwaves come in a variety of different sizes and styles. They are used primarily to heat or cook food by using radiation emitted from microwaves. These microwaves are emitted from a magnetron contained in the appliance which excites water and other polarized molecules that are present in food that is to be heated. This process of excitation is quite uniform and food placed in a microwave is usually heated all over quickly and quite uniformly. Microwave ovens are now considered to be safe and efficient appliances, which are often considered to be extremely useful for the preparation and heating of food.

The microwave oven was invented by an American called Percy Spencer in the 1940's while he was building magnetrons for radar sets at the Raytheon Company. In October 1945, the Raytheon Company filed a US patent to produce the first microwave called Radarange which was built in 1947. The first microwave ovens consumed a lot of power and were priced in range of $2000 to $3000. Over the years many companies including those in Japan began to manufacture microwaves. As technology developed further and the price of microprocessors began to decline, it became cheaper to produce these microwaves and they began to be priced more reasonably. Nowadays microwaves are found in most kitchens the world over and depending on your requirements you can either install a high-end microwave which comes equipped with many gizmos or go with an ordinary run of the mill appliance which performs its primary function of heating food quite efficiently.

Apart from home kitchens, microwaves are even used in industrial applications and in the restaurant industry; however professional chefs have little use for microwaves as they cannot usually perform the processes like browning and caramelization which are essential in the execution of their craft. Microwaves are ideal for defrosting and heating frozen and pre-packaged foods and are indispensable in places like college dorms where cooking facilities are very limited.

Newer models of microwaves today are sold with additional features like a convection oven. These convection microwaves are a combination of an original microwave and a convection oven. This appliance is capable of cooking food quickly and also browning the dish if required. These convection microwaves are generally priced much higher than standard microwaves, whose primary function is to heat food and liquids.