As you must be aware, microwave oven uses have become so popular that every household, restaurant, hotel, vending point is deemed incomplete without a microwave oven fitted in it. Microwaves are also used in satellite communications, radar, mobile phones, air and sea navigational aids etc. But in the past few decades microwave waves have become a household name due to their use in our kitchens.
Why Has It Become Popular
The first and foremost purpose of microwave cooking is to save time. Be it in a restaurant or at home, things get cooked, warmed, defrosted and re-heated in a matter of minutes, sometimes a few seconds only. Earlier microwave oven uses were limited to re-heating, heating frozen food and making simple things like rice etc. Gourmet cooks avoided using these ovens as according to them, the browning effect, caramelisation and other flavor enhancing techniques were not appropriate if food was cooked in a microwave oven. Thus they preferred using the traditional appliances like the stove and the traditional oven.
However with evolving technology and time, many food enthusiasts have prepared some recipes which are meant to be cooked in microwave ovens. Convection microwave oven has made browning easy and use of a grill completes the requirement of grilled food. For steaming and boiling purpose, microwaves oven are the best. This has made it popular with fitness freaks, as food gets steamed perfectly and oil-free dishes are possible using these ovens. One of the most popular task, making pop-corn at home can be done using these ovens, you can make pop-corn at a fraction of price of what is available for in the market and eat it hot…straight from the oven.
Technology Behind Its Working
While we discuss more microwave oven uses, let’s have a look at the technology behind microwave cooking. In these ovens, an electronic device called magnetron is used to produce microwaves. These waves are passed into the enclosed oven cavity and get reflected by the walls of the oven. In this way they get absorbed in food or drink placed in the middle. The waves penetrate the food or liquid and agitate the water molecules contained in it. Thus, molecular friction is created which produces a large amount of heat. Cooking time is hence very less and much shorter than the traditional oven.
There are also some unusual microwave oven uses, apart from cooking: You can dry your garden herbs, by placing them on oven table in a kitchen foil and by covering it with another kitchen foil. You can sterilize your garden soil by blasting it in the oven for at least 90 seconds. You can also sterilize your kitchen cloths, rinse them in clean water and when it is damp put it in the oven. Set the timing so that the cloths don’t dry, otherwise they may catch fire. Old, dried up mascara can be rejuvenated by putting it in oven for 5-10 seconds at full heat; do put a bowl of water along with it so that mascara is not splashed around. These and many un-traditional microwave oven uses can be helpful, but make sure you follow safety norms and experiment only if you have read about those tips and techniques somewhere or someone else has tried them.