Short-order cooks: very good microwwave ovens are cheaper than ever.(Buyers Guide)

Publication: Consumer Reports

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COPYRIGHT 2002 Consumers Union of the United States, Inc.

The notion that bigger is better is clearly driving the microwave market, as evidenced by the arrival of high-powered ovens that promise ever-faster cooking. You'll find more models rated at 1,100, 1,200, even 1,300 watts in midsized and large units. But our tests showed that smaller, less powerful ovens are no slouches, with many offering fine performance that may fill the bill when space or budget is tight.

Like their predecessors, the new ovens are still dandy for steaming vegetables, popping corn, reheating leftovers, and defrosting dinner in a hurry, but dreadful for baking, roasting, and toasting. Other types of speed-cooking appliances (like the GE Profile Advantium that you may have seen advertised) combine halogen, convection, and microwave heating to offer the crisping and browning ability that microwave ovens alone lack. But these appliances are expensive and limited in what they can do well, so we doubt that they'll replace microwave or conventional ovens in most kitchens.

In this report, you'll find details on five of these speed-cooking appliances (page 49) along with Ratings of 38 microwave ovens (page 51). An important note: In October,...

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