Advantages Of The Microwave Oven - BORETTI MLBC45 User's Manual & Installation Manual

2. Advantages of the microwave oven

In a conventional cooker, the heat that is radiated through the resistances or gas
burners slowly penetrates the foods from the outside in. Therefore, there is a
great loss of energy in heating the air, the oven components and the containers
holding the food.
In the microwave, the heat is generated by the foods themselves, i.e. the heat
goes from the inside out. There is no loss of heat to the air, the walls of the cavity
or the containers (as long as they are microwave-safe containers). This means
that only the food is heated.
To sum up, microwave ovens have the following advantages:
1. Savings in cooking time; in general, there is a ¾ reduction in time compared to
conventional cooking.
2. Ultra fast defrosting of foods, thus reducing the danger of bacteria developing.
3. Energy-saving.
4. Conservation of the nutritional value of foods due to the reduction in
cooking time.
2.1 Microwave oven operating mode
The microwave oven contains a high voltage valve called a Magnetron, which
converts the electrical energy into microwave energy. These electromagnetic
waves are channelled towards the inside of the oven by a wave guide and
distributed using a metallic disperser or a rotating plate.
Inside the oven, the microwaves are propagated in all directions and reflected by
the metallic walls, thus uniformly penetrating the foods.
2.2 Why the food is heated
Most foods contain water and the water molecules vibrate with the microwaves.
The friction between the molecules generates heat, which raises the temperature
of the foods, defrosting or cooking them or keeping them hot.
Because heat is formed inside the foods:
* The foods may be cooked without any liquids or oils, or with very little of these;
* Defrosting, heating or cooking in the microwave oven is faster than in a
conventional oven;
* The vitamins, minerals and nutritious substances are conserved;
* Neither the natural colour nor the aroma are altered.
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