Microwave ovens were an invention of the Nazis who used them for fast and efficient cooking for their troops. It is estimated that over 90% of households in the U.S. own atleast one microwave oven.
However, the opinions about microwave cooking vary widely. American government permits microwave oven use with certain safety stipulations. The Russians have done extensive research on microwave oven use in the 60’s and 70’s, and ultimately banned them in 1976. As on date, they allow microwave oven use only with the most stringent safety stipulations. Most other governments, including the Indian government, similarly lay down safety standards.
The arguments against the use of microwave ovens are manyfold. Firstly, the cooking is supposed to be unnatural. Microwave cooking apparently generates carcinogens, nephrotoxins and neurotoxins in the food cooked, not one but of many types. Infact, the high colic cancer rate in the U.S. has been attributed to microwave cooking.
Secondly, microwaves are known to convert the natural isomers in the food (needed by the body) to synthetic isomers (refused by the human body), thereby reducing the nutritive content of the food.
Microwaving liquid foods (tea, coffee) sometimes results in ’super-heating’, a phenomenon wherein a liquid’s temperature is beyond its boiling point, but the liquid remains a liquid. Slightest movement of a superheated liquid results in its sudden vapourization (your coffee cup may explode like a bomb). Most microwave related burn injuries in the U.S. are caused like this.
Mothers sometimes mistakenly microwave milk in bottles and feed them to babies ; the bottle may be cold to touch, but the milk inside would be superheated. You can guess what happens to the baby.
And then comes the problem caused to those people who use pace-makers. Microwaves from ovens are known to interfere with pace- maker functioning, and in the U.S., are required to carry a warning sticker.
But then, there is a pro-microwave lobby which says that the possibility of getting affected by microwave radiation, is as remote as getting sun-tan by moon-light. General consensus is that while microwave cooking on too regular a basis should not be the case, using it sometimes causes no harm provided all the safety precautions are taken.
When I decided to buy a microwave oven, it was purely for convenience sake ; to cook that occasional quick meal for myself. After deliberating alot over prices, and the type of microwave oven I would require, I decided that I need one about 25 litre capacity, with both grill and microwave. At the same time, I happened to see a news paper advertisement about Big-Bazar’s Kitchen Festival, and on a holiday, visited the outlet.
The choice was between Samsung ’’Bio-ceramic’’, National, and Kenstar. All three had 900 watts microwave power output, and a grill. From performance and looks point of view, National’s models win the competition hands down. They use advanced technology called inverter technology, which makes the microwave sleeker, while retaining the same spacious interiors. Their cooking is also known to be more uniform. The others use the conventional transformer technology.
But then, to call the pricing of Kenstar as aggressive would be euphemism. It can be best described as predatory. With Big-Bazar’s discounts, price difference between comparable models and Kenstar’s is more than Rs.5, 000/-. I was also told that the brand belongs to the Dhoot family, the owners of Videocon Group. That explains the pricing! It made me buy the piece.
The manufacturers seem to be safety conscious. The equipment is provided with two safety latches, a child-safety lock, and a microwave-proof safety-mesh on the door which facilitates visibility but does not let the microwaves out.
The front-panel has high-end feather touch buttons, in contrast with the mechanical knobs in most of the Bajaj’s models. The icons on the front-panel are clear, and easily discernible. But it still requires reading the instruction manual to operate this microwave oven owing to the multiplicity of functions. If you want to use all the features of this microwave oven, then read the manual!
Coming to the performance, it has auto-defrost option by weight and time, a quick cooking option, a delay option, and a two stage cooking option. The quick-cooking option provides for increasing the cooking time in 30 second intervals upto six minutes in total. There is a combination-cooking option, wherein you can use both the grill and microwaves simultaneously to cook the food. There is a large turn-table inside, and a stand for grilling. The grill inside is a quartz one. The cavity itself has a bio-ceramic coating, so much so for Samsung’s ’’Bio-Ceramic’’ models.
There is a variable power option ; you can either cook with 100% power of the microwave oven, or reduce it by 10% intervals down to 10% of the total power.
This microwave oven did not give me any trouble despite its low price in two years of use. I think this, as well as its successors in Kenstar’s OM series, are good value for money for all those housewives who want to own a microwave. Videocon’s servicing network is fairly large, and there should not be any problem in servicing this oven. Before buying this oven, you can also check out IFB’s models, and Bajaj’s line up of low-priced microwaves. But then, keep the safety precautions in mind. Happy cooking!