What features do you like in a microwave oven?

[micky]

What features do you like in a microwave oven?

What brand has the set of features you like?

For example this one has different power levels but it's awkward to use. It has a way to enter the kind of food it is and how much it weighs to calculate how long it should cook, but I don't know how much it weighs and I don't remember the list of kinds of food, so that's useless for me.

I hate shopping because one has to compromise and you don't know whether you'll like it until after you have it. In the past, they have all been free, starting with Radarrange** Model #2 about 44 years ago, so I didn't have to shop.

**It had a spring broken at the end, so the door didn't work right, so someone gave it to me. 30-minute repair.

Mine sparked last night, then collapsed and died. The memorial service is tomorrow, and I have to buy a new one.

[Cindy Hamilton]

I'm a simple girl. If it cooks my morning oatmeal on high, I'm pretty satisfied.

That said, don't buy the cheapest microwave. Don't buy the most expensive.

We had (basically) this one for several (maybe 9) years:

Although ISTR the price was closer to $300 than $400. I liked it; the door felt nice and solid

The paint started peeling off the inside, so we got this one:

My theory was that if it lasted at least a third as long as the more expensive one, we'd break even. It isn't quite as nice as the "high-priced spread", but it's adequate and reliable.

I very occasionally use its "leftovers" setting (Auto-reheat). That seems to work reasonably well.

[Dean Hoffman]

Consumers Reports recommended models. Panasonic NN-SN67HS $155 81 Panasonic NN-SE785S $328 87 Panasonic NN-SN77HS $255 86 Panasonic NN-SD975S $362 83 Panasonic NN-SD987SA $290 83 LG MSWN1590L $152 82 Hamilton Beach P11043ALH-WTB $118. 80 GE Profile JES2251SJ $299 77 LG NeoChef LMC2075ST $208 75 LG NeoChef LMC1575ST $188 75 Panasonic NN-SC73LS $229 74 CR puts heating evenness and speed at the top of their list. Defrosting is next, followed by ease of use. The numbers on the far right are CR's point system. An article here discusses the advantage of microwaves with inverters.

[hubops]

Panasonic inverter. John T.

[Ed Pawlowski]

If you know a bit what you are doing and have some experience you really don't need much.

Mine is 1100 watts. Most of what I do is just set the time and set the power. For reheating, 50% works well.

Rarely defrost but I use 30% power if I do.

I usually cook for two meals so half my dinners are reheated. Most everything is 2 or 2 1/2 minutes at 50%. After the first hundred or so times you get a feel for it.

There are other buttons I never use.

[Dean Hoffman]

I'll throw a roast into a crock pot for the evening's supper. I cut the rest into meal size chunks. Those go into Zip Lock bags and my fridge freezer.

[Frank]

I think of microwaves ovens today like toasters. Buy a cheap one and throw it out when it no longer works.

My wife loved the air fryer I bought her and decided to buy one of those with a lot of bells and whistles. Cooking in it became complex and she went back to using the one I bought.

[Ed Pawlowski]

I've thought about getting one but have no experience with one yet. I'm thinking things like chicken thighs and French fries would be good.

I just don't want an unused appliance to sit on the counter. OTOH, maybe I'd use it every day.

[Scott Lurndal]

I tried FF with an air fryer. Once.

Today, I use the grill for FF (Alexis Yukon Golds); healtier and they're tasty enough without all the grease.

[Ed Pawlowski]

That's my concern, a $100 counter decoration used once.

[Thomas]

I bought a ninja foodie with pressure cooker. Cost 150 give or take. The non removable lid opens right to left, not from the front. Gave it to my daughter on her next visit. She has space and loves it.

Microwave. Imagine this. Magic chef with more buttons than i can fathom. It has a thin clear smudgeproof plastic over the keypad. Someone who i dare not mention thought it was shipping plastic that is meant to be peeled off. It kinda did...not. i do like it. Full size with turntable.

[Frank]

My wife loves it and uses it frequently. Just tonight it was pork chops.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Hmmmm. I like pork chops too.

[Scott Lurndal]

I just use a nonstick skillet on the stove to reheat pizza; nicely crisp and it doesn't screw up the cheese like a microwave does.

[Thomas]

Probably had a hot dog.

[Cindy Hamilton]

An ordinary frying pan will do the same thing. Most of us already have one of those.

[Slevin]

KitchenAid Over-the-Range Convection Microwave with Air Fry Mode

[Marilyn Manson]

This be mine:

It's an inverter style, so there's no splattering. Defrost mode, broiler element for grilling, very-easy-to-set power levels. (Press one button to set the power level then set the time just like normal.)

It's has some features that I don't use, but maybe others will like them. e.g. a "reheat sensor" that somehow knows when the food is hot enough. (I think it's some kind of "steam" sensor, but I haven't read the manual recently.)

My only real complaint is that the interior light is too dim to actually see what's going on with the food. You can see the food spinning, but you can't tell if it's bubbling, if the butter has melted, etc.

We use the "turbo defrost" feature all the time. If you freeze things like chicken cutlets or pork chops in a single layer in a zip lock bag, they all thaw out evenly without the edges even getting warm. Pile them all up in one big lump and things don't go as well.

[micky]

So now I've gotten carried away, gone to the other extreme and I'm thinking of getting the Toshiba 6-in-1 or 7-in-1 microwave oven, air fryer, inverter, convection, broil ... . IOW it does everything, but the only feature I'm likely to use a lot besides microwave is broiling. Won't that make the insides a greasy mess? With the smell of meat in everything I make afterwards.

With only mwaving, I just boil a glass of water every once in a while and wipe what little dirt there is off the sides. How will I get grease off?

7 in 1. It's a healthy $379!!

If I do decide I want something that does almost everything, including broiling, I can save $80 by getting the 6 in 1, that is the same except it's 900 watts instead of 1000, 0.9 cu. ft. instead 1, and doesn't have sensor cook.

I think that is what Cindy's oven calls Auto Reheat. Cindy, you use that quite a bit, right? And it works right? What make of oven do you have.

in 1, only #300

[Cindy Hamilton]

Go to that page and look at the user manual for cleaning instructions.