Shopping for a new kitchen appliance is tricky these days. The options are just too good to pick only a single one. A microwave oven has been around for decades, so people disregard it as an option, but it is actually as classic and useful as your conventional oven. If you’re unsure whether to have a microwave or not, check out this pros and cons list. There are different situations where a microwave is a kitchen must-have, and when it isn’t.
7 reasons to use a microwave at home
You’ll be able to maximize the potential of a microwave oven at home if:
1. Kids will be using the kitchen appliance
Microwave ovens are probably the most kid-friendly kitchen equipment. There are no open fires that could burn their tiny hands accidentally.
While the microwave container does heat up a bit and could cause minor burns, it is incomparable to the dangers of fire on a gas stove. It’s typically less dangerous too than the heating element of a convection oven.
2. You work from home
Reheating meals from the night before, or heating make-ahead meals is very doable, even if you only have a 10-minute break when working from home. If you have kids while juggling work from home, the convenience a microwave can give you is priceless.
3. Follow a healthier diet
Because the microwave boils the water content of veggies quickly, it is able to retain the nutrients from the food that would rather be lost if cooked longer. You’ll also be able to cook anything with less oil.
So, if you’re following a low-fat diet, cooking meals in the microwave solves your dilemma in cutting oil from your meals. If you order from ready-made diet meal services, a microwave is a must-have since you’ll be heating the food for every meal.
4. You make homemade herbs and essential oils
You can scratch that dehydrator from your wishlist. If you’ve been dying to make your own essential oils, but have no budget to buy a dehydrator yet, a microwave lets you dry the herbs and other plants. You’ll be able to capture their oils for other uses too.
5. Bake bread regularly
Baking bread means having to use yeast and waiting minutes, hours, or even a day for it to activate and make the dough rise. A microwave allows you to reduce the proofing time of dough.
The handy appliance can slash the time it takes dough to rise to more than half the time. If baking bread is a small business you do from home, imagine the time-savings and extra bread products you can make on a daily basis.
6. You always have leftovers
The world wastes an estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food each year. If you’re bothered by this statistic, but you can’t seem to avoid leftover food going to waste, a microwave oven can do wonders for you.
Whether the leftovers come from takeout or from the meals you didn’t finish the day before, you can keep food waste to a minimum with a microwave. That’s because you’ll be able to reheat them anytime you need to do so.
7. Melt ingredients like a pro
Want to make fondue or nachos with melted cheese, without buying any other new kitchen equipment? A microwave can help you melt everything from butter and cheese to hardened jam or honey.
It’ll do so quickly too, which is great when you have a busy schedule and don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen. You’d be able to use these ingredients almost instantly and without the mess of a double broiler.
4 reasons NOT to have a microwave at home
A microwave probably isn’t the best choice if:
1. You want to explore new ways of cooking
Obviously, the microwave offers only a handful of ways to cook, such as roasting, boiling, broiling, and popping popcorn. If you’re trying to shop for kitchen equipment that can do multiple types of cooking, the conventional oven would be the ideal choice.
2. You want all your food to be crispy
If you love the crispiness of all your food, the microwave isn’t the kitchen appliance for you. An air fryer, stove, deep fryer, and oven would be better options if you can’t live without crispy bites.
3. It’s not in the budget
If you’re already finding it hard to meet financial demands, adding a microwave to the list is probably not what you want to do. Instead, you’ll want to focus on the essentials, such as paying the house heating bill.
4. Small kitchen
While there are compact microwaves, you still might not want to sacrifice the small space you have in the kitchen for one. Instead, your focus could be on keeping the countertop clear of anything and have a trendy kitchen.
The verdict: To have or not to have a home microwave
A microwave oven is ideal for people who want to eat more healthily, but have little time to prepare and make meals every day. It is highly versatile and accommodates everything from boiling veggies to roasting nuts. Work-from-home parents also vouch for the usefulness of microwave ovens during workdays.
The microwave oven isn’t for people who always crave crispy meals like fried chicken and french fries. It also wouldn’t accommodate those who are trying to explore the exciting culinary world, since you’d be stuck to the functionalities of the microwave and only cook meals that you boil or broil.
A microwave oven is a game-changer for most people, especially once they learn how to maximize its potential. However, like most kitchen gadgets, it isn’t for everyone.