Why do many people think the microwave oven is the best kitchen appliance ever invented?

Nobody can deny technology has played the main role in changing people’s lives. Modern homes have evolved fast during the last decades, particularly in everything related to comfort, from the living room to -and particularly- the kitchen. This evolution made kitchens go from a simple stove with a regular oven and a hand whisk to a full-equipped high-tech cooking area with a gadget for almost every process.

All kitchen appliances aim to make our cooking time more enjoyable, less stressful, easier, and sometimes faster. You cannot imagine your life nowadays without a coffee maker, a blender, a pressure cooker, or a microwave.

Undoubtedly, all these gadgets are essential in our daily activities. They have evolved since the mid-1800s, and they are in constant progress all the time. Inventors never stop, and they continue thinking of new ways of making the appliances smaller, faster, environment-friendly, energy-efficient, and easier to use.

Sometimes we get confused by trying to keep track of the new features of kitchen gadgets, and we end up with tons of equipment that almost does the same task when cooking. It happens frequently, but there is a kitchen appliance that does not need a replacement all the time: the microwave. Since its invention, it has all the features needed for being considered the best kitchen appliance of all.

When was the microwave invented?

A microwave is a small oven for heating and cooking food using electromagnetic radiation. Food gets hot by the transmission of thermal energy, heating it from the inside out.

Most people don’t know that the microwave has more than 75 years in the market. It was invented by Dr. Percy Spencer in 1947. History tells that he discovered the microwave principles (molecular heating effect) in 1945 when found out that some chocolate in his pocket melted near an active radar during his research experiments.

Then, he associated that this heating effect could be very useful in cooking. The first microwave was called Radarange and was very large and heavy: it measured 6 ft tall, with almost 750 lb of weight.

Due to its practical use in cooking, it started to be shrunk for being commercialized as a home appliance. In the beginning, people thought microwaves only worked for heating food they had stored in the fridge.

Not only for reheating leftovers

Fortunately, it does more than just heating. You can cook complete meals in it.

Preparing your food using a microwave brings you a lot of advantages. Needless to say that it drastically reduces cooking times and the chances of burning your meals. And if that wasn’t enough, cleaning it is a matter of minutes.

You can cook the simplest dish like white rice, and also complicated ones like egg fried rice. You do not have to worry anymore about making perfect and fluffy rice, in the microwave it is plain and simple.

Once you learn how to cook rice in microwave properly, you can be sure you will cook any rice-based dish.

Let’s try some of them and verify how easy it is to cook in the best kitchen appliance invented.

Rice omelet

Ingredients (1 serving)

• 1/2 cup of white rice.
• 1/2 cup of water.
• 2 oz diced chicken.
• 1 tablespoon of chopped onion.
• 2 tablespoons of mixed vegetables.
• 3 tablespoons of ketchup.
• 1 tablespoon of butter.
• 1 egg.
• A pinch of salt.
• A pinch of pepper.

Preparation:

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, add the chicken dice, the rice, mixed vegetables, onion, along with the butter, ketchup and water. Season all with salt and pepper.
2. Mix very well. Make sure all ingredients are well combined.
3. Cover the bowl with a sheet of parchment paper, and put a cling wrap over it.
4. Cook at high power for 3 minutes.
5. Remove the cling wrap, stir, and cook for 14 minutes at low power.
6. Take off the parchment paper and incorporate the whisked egg over the mixture.
7. Cook for 2 more minutes.

Jeera rice

Ingredients (3 servings)

• 1 cup of Basmati rice.
• 1 tablespoon of Caraway Seeds (Jeera).
• 1 pinch of cinnamon.
• 1 green cardamom.
• 1 Black cardamom.
• 3 Black Peppercorns.
• 2 cloves.
• 2 cups of water.
• 2 tablespoons of Ghee.
• ½ cup of sliced onions.
• Salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Rinse basmati rice and place to soak for 30 minutes.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, pour water, rice, cinnamon, caraway seeds, green and black cardamom, black peppercorns and cloves. Combine all ingredients very well.
3. Add ghee, salt, and mix.
4. Cook at high power for 15 minutes.
5. Let it stand and serve.