We need a new microwave. Any suggestions on one that cooks by convection, microwave and combination, and rather large countertop model?

Consumersearch.com is my gold standard of product review sites. They compile other reviews into a nice concise list, with more available if you want it. Great site.

Link is here.

Microwaves are evil.

quote:

Originally posted by grunhauser:
Microwaves are evil.

Not at all! I hear they're great for warming wine up from the fridge.

We have a double Thermador wall oven. The top oven has microwave and convenction in addition to conventional cooking, but I must agree with grunhauser. I only use the microwave for, dare I say it, reheating leftovers or defrosting. The convection ability is great for crisping food after conventional roasting. It's also good for speedier roasting, though I don't use it for that purpose.

quote:

Originally posted by grunhauser:
Microwaves are evil.

I agree with grunhauser. They even make very large and cumbersome kitchen clocks. Recommend spending the money on a barge trip in Burgundy instead.....

PH

Yey! Another barge trip for Irwin!

I got a micro, a GE something. I make oatmeal for dogs in it. They glow in the dark.

Microwaves are wonderful for drying cats and any breed of dog with the word "toy" in it.

They find that sort of post offensive on VC.

Gigond Ass:

Here is a clip from an actual case in Maryland:

Court of Appeals of Maryland.
ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND
v.
Stanley E. PROTOKOWICZ, Jr.
Misc. (Subtitle BV) No. 26, Sept. Term, 1991.
Feb. 5, 1993.

In a disciplinary proceeding, the Court of Appeals, McAuliffe, J., held that assisting former client in breaking into home of wife of former client, intending to take materials having evidentiary value in pending divorce litigation, taking items of personal property therein, and killing family cat in microwave oven, warrants indefinite suspension from practice of law with right to apply for reinstatement not less than one year from date of opinion.
Suspension ordered.

I was more interested in vegetables and reheating stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by irwin:
Gigond Ass:

Here is a clip from an actual case in Maryland:

Court of Appeals of Maryland.
ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND
v.
Stanley E. PROTOKOWICZ, Jr.
Misc. (Subtitle BV) No. 26, Sept. Term, 1991.
Feb. 5, 1993.

In a disciplinary proceeding, the Court of Appeals, McAuliffe, J., held that assisting former client in breaking into home of wife of former client, intending to take materials having evidentiary value in pending divorce litigation, taking items of personal property therein, and killing family cat in microwave oven, warrants indefinite suspension from practice of law with right to apply for reinstatement not less than one year from date of opinion.
Suspension ordered.

I was more interested in vegetables and reheating stuff.

I would assume the breaking and entering had as much to do with the suspension as the cat warming.

Not much point in putting the cat "back" into the microwave after the first "drying".

quote:

Originally posted by Board-O:
They find that sort of post offensive on VC.

I can see how such post may be offensive to some sensitive folks, but I am more concerned with sheer impracticality of advice. Every self-respecting "toy" pet owner knows microwave will shrink your pet dramatically. Not good if one is concerned about the size. On the other hand, if you living situation subsizes this might be a good way to readjust your pet's dimensions and make him or her feel more at ease in your new smaller digs. Good luck!

Hey, you can turn down the heat in the house if you keep the little critter warm.

the history of Microwave Oven,
http://www.microwavecooking.com/Microwave_History.htm

A Dr. Percy Spencer, a self-taught engineer with the Raytheon Corporation, invented the microwave oven. He first noticed something very unusual during a radar-related research project around 1946. He was testing a new vacuum tube called a magnetron when he discovered that a chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. This interested Dr. Spencer, leading to another experiment where this time he placed some popcorn kernels near the tube and watched as the kernels exploded.

He concluded that the melted chocolate bar and the cooked popcorn were all attributable to exposure to low-density microwave energy. He continued to experiment with other foods on the basis that if these foods can be cooked that quickly, why not other foods?

He later created a metal box with an opening, which he fed microwave power. The energy entering the box was unable to escape creating a higher density electromagnetic field. When food was placed in the box and microwave energy fed in, the temperature of the food rose rapidly. Dr. Spencer had now invented what was to become the microwave oven.

The first ovens were called 'Radaranges'. The first commercial applications and patents were based in the U.S.A. but there were parallel developments in Britain and Europe. Before long, microwave ovens became a commonly owned kitchen appliance.



I found this just few weeks ago and think that an amazing story!

We've got a GE Advantium 240 (which I refer to as the EasyBake oven). No convention (but I've got convection in the main oven and I don't much use it anyhow). The Advantium essentially is a microwave with two giant light bulbs (hence the allusion to the Kenner product). It actually does quite well. The lights provide the browning and general heating eveness that the microwave by itself lacks. Works reasonably on burgers, steaks, frozen pizza as well as being a fairly reasonable traditional microwave.

We have a Kitchen Aid Micro/Convection oven. It is fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Ron Natalie:
We've got a GE Advantium 240 (which I refer to as the EasyBake oven). No convention (but I've got convection in the main oven and I don't much use it anyhow). The Advantium essentially is a microwave with two giant light bulbs (hence the allusion to the Kenner product). It actually does quite well. The lights provide the browning and general heating eveness that the microwave by itself lacks. Works reasonably on burgers, steaks, frozen pizza as well as being a fairly reasonable traditional microwave.

Ron,
I've looked at those and wondered about how much energy they use, compared to a microwave? Also, I thought replacement bulbs might be prohibitively expensive. As I recall, there are 2 inside? And they are pretty specialized.
I generally hate to be part of the "throw-away" culture, but I'm betting you could buy a whole microwave for less than 1 of those lamps.
BTW, my wife called it a "chicken tanning bed."

Well you CAN use it as just a microwave, the bulbs run like 6000 watts but they're you're only running the thing for a few minutes. Compared to running a broiler or an electric cooktop element it's a win I guess.

As far as replacement lamps, I don't know. I've not had to replace mine in the three years I've had it and they're supposedly good for decades.