Show J its it's a womans woman's i I BY MARY LEE Microwave ovens which were introduced quite sometime sometime sometime some some- time ago are finally beginning to sizzle Acc According to a leading leading leading lead lead- ing trade publication there I is great optimism about the future of cooking with micro micro- waves Where only a couple of domestic domestic domestic do do- appliance manufacturers manufacturers manufacturers were making the ovens a year or so ago there are arenow arenow arenow now a half-dozen half or m more re top manufacturers on the electronic electronic elec elec- dec range bandwagon With prices coming down from the 1000 and higher level to around more homemakers can afford the new instant cooking And women who have seen the demonstrations or cooked with the microwave oven are tremendously tremendously tremendously tre tre- enthusiastic about them say industry sources Just think of being able to cook a pound 6 roast of beef in 30 minutes instead of 4 hours or a pound 12 turkey in about an hour instead of 4 41 2 hours You can cook bacon in seconds and defrost foods in aj a j jiffy iffy as well But there are more joys to cooking electronically than just speed You can cook right on the serving plate if you wish then reach in and pick up the plate without burning your fingers Or use cardboard and paper dishes to cook on and throw them away at clean up time Th The difference between microwave cooking and standard stand stand- m ard convection methods is that microwaves cook from the inside inside inside in in- side out The same high frequency frequency fre fre- quency used in radar installations installations installations lations provides the energy to heat the food While microwaves microwaves microwaves micro micro- waves pass through neutral objects objects ob oh like paper or ceramics metal surfaces act to reflect them Moisture-containing Moisture substances such as foods absorb absorb absorb ab ab- ab- ab the microwaves and in so 50 doing become hot The problem in constructing microwave ovens ovens' is that the magnetron tube which converts converts converts con con- verts electric current to microwave microwave micro micro- wave wan energy in the oven O will destroy itself if the oven o is empty So manufacturers build into the oven an object to represent represent rep rep- resent food such as a specially designed plate Because Bau c the metal interior surfaces of the oven o reflect ct the microwaves the oven o remains cool at all times hence no burned fingers But one problem lem Tern in cooking meat is that the in out inside heat does not brown broun the outside of the meat Consequently most ovens o are areno arenow arenow now no equipped with an extra electrical element in the top for fOI final browning brownin Among the outstanding companies now making microwave microwave micro micro- wave wa ovens are General Electric Amana Tappan Sears Roebuck Roebuck Roebuck Roe Roe- buck and Co and Montgomery Ward Many other nationally known companies have ranges in the testing stage and a number of Japanese firms are expected to introduce models |