The microwave oven has revolutionized the kitchen and the way we cook.
No kitchen is considered complete without it.
It helps to cook food faster and more easily than the pan on fire.
Needless to say, thanks to the microwave oven, people need to spend much less time in the kitchen.
These ovens use radio waves that penetrate the food.
They get absorbed by the moisture and the fat content, and their molecules get "excited" enough to vibrate and produce heat due to friction.
Thus, their heating process is very different from the conventional ovens that conduct heat.
Microwave Oven Facts

• Microwave ovens cook liquids faster than dense foods.
  
• Always use glassware or microwave safe plastic containers.
  Metal and foil containers cannot be used.
  
• The waves penetrate 1.
  5 inches, therefore it is recommended that food is evenly spread out.
  
• Even sized pieces of food must be placed in a circle to get cooked evenly.
  With pieces of different sizes, keep larger pieces on the outside and smaller ones inside.
  
• There must be some outlet for steam to escape from a covered dish or food with a shell, or else the food will explode.
  
• It is the quickest and most convenient accessory for heating and defrosting foods.
  
• It heats up only the food and not the "microwave safe" container in which the food is kept.
  
• Cooking for longer than necessary can make the food excessively dry and chewy.
  
• It changes the concept of cooking since it does not need elaborate planning or pre-cooking preparation.
  
• It promotes the concept of cooking by time, and not by continuously checking to see if the dish is ready.
  

Getting Started For those who may not have used the microwave oven before, the ideal way to start is to use it to reheat leftovers or cooked food emptied into a bowl.
The next step is to use to steam vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, potatoes, and so on, which take just a few minutes while retaining their flavor and color.
Rice, puddings, fish and poultry, can all be cooked to perfection in a matter of minutes.
It can cook pastas and pies, Indian recipes and Mexican, and virtually all other types of cuisines, with the aid of special microwave recipes available.
Whole stuffed poultry, however, may not be such a good idea to cook in these ovens.
The microwave oven offers low fat solutions for the health conscious.
Harder foods often need a lot of oil to soften, but put into this oven they need much less oil and very little time.
A Complete Cooking Solution For those who do not have elaborate cooking as part of their daily routine, can find all their cooking needs met by a microwave oven.
They can boil, cook, defrost, bake, reheat and steam all that they need for a wholesome meal.
The food regimen could not be simpler than:

• Buying from the supermarket
• Storing in the freezer or refrigerator
• Heating in the microwave oven
• The meal is ready to eat

The microwave oven thus is a boon, a convenience and a real time saver for those who have too much work on their hands.