how useful is the microwave oven?

I guess I am dumb but what is an OTG? As for a microwave being expensive. I do not think so. You can get one for any where from 50 dollars to a couple hundred dollars. Ours was 70 dollars and it is used EVERY day. 70 dollars was worth it by far. I use mine for a number of things. I would have to say mainly to reheat things. My kids who are not old enough to use a stove enjoy being able to make there own food in the microwave. You can cook a number of things in a microwave for instance. TV dinners takes about 20 minutes in a regular oven takes 3 minutes in a microwave. Baked potatoes 7 minuets in the microwave, eggs 1 minute in the microwave (scrabeled of course). There are so many things you can do in a microwave in a quater of the time. I perosnally do not have a lot of extra time so my microwave is very valuable to me. In fact my last microwave broke and I bought a new one the next day.

I use mine every day for several different things. Popcorn, cup of tea, bowl of oatmeal, and I do all my vegetables in the microwave (unless they're being prepared with the meat in the skillet or something), frozen burritos, etc. Can't beat steamed broccoli and cauliflower that way, fast and easy. Warming leftovers too, of course.

My mother always used her microwave for reheating and defrosting. And this has been the scenario for the past 12 years. Till recently, I didn't have a microwave of my own...and so I would cook and heat everything the old fashioned way. A couple of months back, I got my own microwave...it is a convection grill type...and yes, I cook in it too. But the regular microwaves can cut cooking time by half if you know how to use it. If you use it to cook the vegetables or meat befor the main cooking, it does save time....but I figured you spend same amount if not more on electricity than you would for the LPG gas.

It is indeed useful for people like us who are a working and we are always in a hurry. You can warm the food, even kids can operate it and cook the vegetables such as rice etc. without any problem. We have been using it and we found that it a very useful. OTG may be good for baking Pizza etc. but may not be as useful as a micro-wave over is.

hi sudipta! you're right when you said that food can also be heated in the stove and not just in an oven. but the process and end result is kinda different. when you heat a food in the stove, you have to constantly stir it or move it so that every part will be heated or else, one part will end up overheated and some parts will not. with microwave you don't have to move the food because it heats the food all around it. so the distribution of heat is even. i also think that we can cook some food in the oven, like baking small cakes or something, which we couldn't really do with a stove. so for me, i would buy a microwave if i have the money.

I personally use the microwave a lot. In this time of a fast paced life especially for career driven individuals, the microwave is indespensible for fast heating, cooking of meals. Well basically the microwave oven in our house is more used for heating water, reheating food and thawing of food. But sometimes I cook simple food such as eggs. But basically, most foods dries up after cooking in the microwave or is cooked on the outside but raw on the inside due to the principle of microwave cooking/heating. But what helps to keep the moisture in the food is covering your food with gladwrap over the dish to trap the water evaporating so your food will still be moist. I guess this can be done to cook boiled corn though I have not tried it yet. I learn cooking eggs without oil or no water in the microwave from my friend years back. You just have to break and egg in a microwavable plate and let the egg spead in the plate. Cover the egg with another plate of same size and place in microwave oven. Just cook for less than a minute or so until done and you your cooked egg! There are some cookign instructions that comes with recipes in some microwave when you buy them. So maybe you can explore that and ask your mom for the recipe book of the microwave (if it has one). Happy cooking!

i only use microwaves for reheating food. and melting cheese on my pasta meals. i have not tried using them in cooking :)

I haven't used a microwave for cooking but my sister in law has used it severaltimesfor cooking va rios dishes. soups, rice, she even cooked some sort of chickjen dish in it. I alsso use mine for disinfecting my dish towels. put a bowl with just a cork full of bleach and a tot of dish soap add dish towel and microwave on high for 1min. and 30secs.Wipe inside of microwave with a cleancloth or sponge and viola fresh smelling microwave and clean towels.

Hello dear sudiptacallingu. My sister's family has bought one microwave oven last year, but my wife and I have not decided to buy one yet. Some of those who have used microwave ovens say that the food does not taste that good compared with the food cooked in a traditional pan or wok. But I will only get to know it when we have one of our own.

I also dont have microwave but my mother in-law has it. They use it to make popcorn, reheating and defrosting. I dont see the reason of spending so much in buying something for just defrostinf and reheating, it just doesnt make sense. I would also go for an OTG because its use is expansive than that of the microwave.

You can also use your microwave to boil water which does not take as long as the stove you can, you can defrost meat instead of letting it thaw out all day you can cook frozen dinners in 3 minutes instead of twenty you can pop popcorn, you can re heat things up, you can warm up your soup there are alot of things you can do with a microwave.

I guess with me its just laziness, and its just so easy to pop something in to heat it up or defrost something. I buy microwave meals that I do in it and any food that I can cook in it I will. I heat drinks up in it, I defrost bread in it. I use my cooker for everything else. I have always had a microwave so I guess its just what I am used to. But with some microwaves you can do loads, I know on mine I can, I just never have!

Actually you a right...but it all boils down to how have you been involved with the cooking thing..may be from the time u understood what the cooking is..Its like a meantal block the intial hesitation to use a newer technology..although microwave cooking is by no means new.. it suffers from the inhibitions of performing experiments twice a day in order to fulfill your basic need when their is an alternative which actually isn't creating enough problems to you. On second thoughts, there are few dishes that cannot be cooked as perfectly as in a microwave. So, my suggession:- buy a microwave and keep a day per week for your experiments to make yourself used to it..and get ready for the day..when your gas cylinder is no more

Oh yes, I love the microwave it is the best thing that has been made. It has gotten me through some rough days.

I use my microwave every day. I use it to reheat a lot of food and to make microwave popcorn. I have used it to warm up baby bottlesand sauces. I even make baked potatoes in the microwave. I guess it is hard for me to think of all of uses. I just know that without my microwave I would go nuts.

Yes...I use my Microwave lots...I finish all my roasts in the Microwave, with a meat probe, they are finished to absolute perfection..set the temp to rare, med. or well done. Start the meat in the conventional oven, until nicely browned, then into the microwave...I now have the roasting pan free to make my gravy (with the drippings) while the roast is finishing & resting. I cook 90% of my sauces in the Micro...make the best souffle's in the Micro. Cook all my veggies in the Micro, use so little water, and the juices are concentrated so save for soups. Nothing does clams better, pop them in, in a glass pie plate, once they are open, filter the concentrated nectar for clam chowder base. Cook my oysters in it. I guess I could go on forever! Another thing I like is that I can serve the food in the dish that I have heated it in....versus conventional stove, pot, then to serving dish. It's power consumption is so much less than conventional stove. Yup! I love my Microwave! Cheers.

Lots of things can be done in the microwave. As at matter of fact, when I was in middle school and the microwave was becoming more popular in homes the home ec class (which I was in) did a series of recipes that were cooked in the microwave. One that I did that I still remember 20 years later was chicken nuggets. Chicken cut up, dredged in flour, dipped in egg wash and rolled in crushed nacho cheese doritos. Then nuked for a minute and a half, turned over and nuked for another 2 minutes. They were GOOD. Much of what I do with the microwave is just re-heating or cooking frozen stuff -- my son has a limited diet, more often than not it's easier to either make a big batch of something he'll eat and reheat or turn to the stock of frozen entrees he'll eat than to make 2 different meals. The microwave has also helped make some holiday/party favorites faster to make. You can do rice crispy treats or chex party mix in the microwave in a flash, vs heating the house with the oven/stove. Do I personally use my microwave for much more than reheating? No, not really. I'm more inclined to use the oven, stove, crock pot or rotisserie for actual cooking. I still wouldn't give up having the microwave.