Information about microwaves
Page EN-14
What are microwaves?
Microwaves are electromagnetic waves. As
with radio and TV, microwaves are also invis-
ible and intangible.
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.
– The cooking chamber and the air inside are
not heated. The food container is primarily
heated by the hot food itself.
– When heating liquids, a so-called “boiling
delay” can occur. The liquid then reaches
boiling temperature without any outward
visible sign of boiling. Even a small vibra-
tion may cause the liquid to suddenly spray
out, for example when removing it from the
microwave oven.
– Every dish requires a certain amount of en-
ergy for cooking or defrosting – a good rule
of thumb is “high power, short time” or “low
power, long 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’s power can be set to var-
ious levels.
– The microwave switches itself off
– after the selected time has elapsed,
– when opening the cooking chamber
door (2),
– by pressing the “Stop/Delete” but-
ton (13).
Applications
The appliance is ideally suited to defrosting
smaller portions as well as the preparation of:
– stews, soups, sauces
– meat without crusts
– steamed fish
– vegetables
– side dishes (rice, boiled potatoes, some
pasta)
– hot drinks
Information about microwaves
