Information about microwaves
Page EN-13
What are microwaves?
Microwaves are electromagnetic waves like
those for radio and television; as with radio
and TV waves, they cannot be seen or felt.
Microwaves
– are reflected by all metals,
– can penetrate glass, porcelain, plastic and
paper,
– are absorbed by foodstuffs.
What effect do microwaves have
on foodstuffs?
– The microwaves penetrate foodstuffs to a
depth of approximately 3 cm.
– The water, fat and sugar molecules are
heated up (dishes with a high water con-
tent are heated up most quickly).
– This heat then slowly penetrates the entire
dish and leads to the dish being defrosted,
heated and cooked.
– Due to the fact that the individual elements
of the dish are heated unevenly, it is impor-
tant to stir or turn the dish over to ensure
that it is cooked through evenly.
– Heating the liquid can cause so-called “de-
layed boiling”. The liquid then reaches boil-
ing temperature without any outward visi-
ble sign of boiling. Even a small vibration
can cause the liquid to squirt out suddenly,
e.g. when being taken out of the appliance.
– The cooking chamber and the air inside
it are not heated – the food container be-
comes warm primarily due to the heat of
the food.
– Every dish requires a certain amount of en-
ergy for cooking or defrosting – a good rule
of thumb is “high power, low time” or “low
power, high time”.
How does a microwave oven
work?
– A microwave generator, the so-called mag-
netron, generates the microwaves and dis-
perses them into the cooking chamber.
– The cooking chamber walls and inner
screen reflect microwaves, preventing
them from being emitted out of the cook-
ing chamber.
– The turntable ensures that the microwaves
are distributed evenly to the food.
– The microwave power can be set to sev-
eral levels.
Information about microwaves
