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31 Oct 2022 11:05
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Cost of Cooking Chart
We know everyone is trying to save as much money as they can wherever they can. www.meal-plans.co.uk released a chart showing how much each appliance costs for you to use them, and the microwave is by far the cheapest. We know most people do not like to use the microwave to cook a full meal, however, there are some amazing recipes out there, we have several on our blog. kitchenwareonline - Blog (oxatis.com). We also have a range of microwave cookware, which are pretty inexpensive such as our Set of 2 Microwave Bacon Racks for £8.08.
Just using your microwave twice or even three times a week for cooking a meal can drop your energy bill significantly. Not everything has to be a mug cake when it comes to cooking in your microwave, you can cook so many delicious meals.
Check our blog every wednesday @2pm to find a new microwave recipe.
The Microwave Technologies Association also has some great recipes.
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21 Oct 2022 13:41
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As part of the Microwave Service Company, we have been operating the kitchenwareonline.com website to offer spare parts and accessories for a range of microwave ovens and other kitchen appliances for almost 10 years.
As part of ongoing mission to improve and grow we are always looking at ways to improve the website. You might appreciate that to list a product we have to get it in stock to photograph and then add all the specifications either from our distributor or from scratch.
When considering what to start adding next we were in close contact with one of our spares suppliers who suggested rather than extract the information from them and add it to our site why not just link to their site and let our customers use their information. This has many advantages:
- We don’t need to laboriously add new information for each product
- We no longer need to worry about keeping that information up to date, it is continuously updated by our supplier.
- We don’t need to update pricing constantly. The prices are updated live by the supplier.
- We don’t need to hold stock. The supplier will send directly to our customers.
This seems like the ideal solution for us just to maintain the association between customers and the parts they need to complete repairs. Our main job now is pro-actively find new customers who need spare parts at the right price and get the correct spares to them in good time.
Kitchenwareonline.com will remain our main website and we will continue to specialise in microwave and bread maker spares on there but will use kitchenwareonline.shop to help new and old customers to find the spares they need for other appliances both in the kitchen and throughout the home. In current times where everyone wants to save money, save time and save energy we will continue to get the Right part, Right price, Right now. |
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31 Aug 2022 12:00
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"4 Reasons to throw out your Microwave" - Debunking
There was recently a "meme" posted on Facebook that several news outlets broadcasted. The meme states that "microwaved foods lead to a higher percentage of cancerous cells in the blood stream" we want to assure everyone this is not true.
This is the meme for reference, everything stated is in fact untrue.
- This is false, microwave ovens work by vibrating water molecules which essentially heat the food up, there is no studies that have proven that microwaves cause food to have carcinogenic substances.
- False. Actually as the microwave cooks food a lot quicker than a conventional oven some foods are known to retain more nutrients. There are no significant differences between the nutrients in microwaved food and oven cooked food.
- Also false, there are no proven studies that link microwave ovens and cancer together, there are also things that stop the microwaves escaping, there is a door latch which allows the microwave to turn on once the door is shut, there is also the mesh screen you will see on all microwave doors this is to keep in the radiation.
- Lastly the fourth point is also false, as with "microwaves cause cancer" there is no studies to suggest that any health problems are linked to microwave ovens.
In conclusion, just because Facebook told you so does not mean it's true.
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26 Aug 2022 11:55
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Making the best of the energy crisis
We understand the cost of living at the moment is very high, so we did some research into how efficient a microwave oven is compared to other methods of heating to see how much less energy a microwave uses. In order to understand this more easily it is better to consider how much energy that an appliance uses, actually gets transferred into heating the food.
Lets start off with the gas hob. A gas hob is only 6% efficient. That means that only 6% of the heat given off by the gas ring gets to heat the food. Quite a lot of the heat just passes around the saucepan and heats up the kitchen. And most of the remaining heat then heats up the saucepan. Only a small amount of that is then passed on to heat the food.
Using exactly the same principle the Electric hob is only 14% efficient. A lot of energy is used to create the heat in the ring or element but only some of that is passed onto the saucepan and again only a small amount of that is transferred to the food.
The microwave oven comes next. 50% efficient. All of the heat produced is transferred directly to the food. Unfortunately the microwave uses quite a lot of energy to make those microwaves. A very interesting point here is that microwaves work on the moisture content of the food, the more moisture, the better the microwaves can heat them (see our articles on how microwaves are made). It follows therefore that if you are heating vegetables that will contain moisture (they all do), you wont need to submerge them in a bowl of water like you would in a saucepan, you just need to introduce a little moisture - sometimes a few tablespoons of water will be enough, especially if you then cover the food using a lid. Then most of the microwaves can concentrate on heating the food - not the water. You can forget what mum said about bringing the saucepan to the boil, just microwave for a few minutes at a time until the veg softens. Don't waste all that energy.
The most efficient method of cooking currently is the induction hob. This is believed to be as high as 74% efficient. This is because that induction technology, being a lot newer than microwave technology (see our article on the history of microwaves) takes a lot less energy to heat. Again you can use a lot less water but you will still need a pan and a lot of heat is wasted heating the pan albeit from heat transfer from the heated food.
So, why don't we all use induction hobs ? Simple. Most households have a hob, but it isn't induction. They are expensive to retrofit especially if your hob is working. When your current hob packs up, consider replacing it with an induction hob. A microwave oven on the other hand is - or can be fairly cheap to buy. if you don't already own one. But nowadays in excess of 85% of households do already own a microwave. Perhaps it just isn't getting used as much as it should. If you already have a microwave consider using it where possible to save on energy - and your energy bill.
Use your microwave for cooking or reheating anything that just needs heating but not browning or baking. Anything that has a high moisture content will cook more efficiently in your microwave than on the hob.
Microwaves are fairly robust but if yours doesn't seem to be working properly get us to check it out and repair if necessary. For an estimate at our shop we only ask for a Refundable deposit of £10 to diagnose any faults. We'll then let you know the repair cost which also includes a full function and safety test.
Microwave Service Company Ltd. You can find us at the Main Road (A20), Sellindge, Near Ashford, Kent, TN25 6EQ, United Kingdom. Or you can call us on 01303 813530.
If you’re unsure of what to cook in your microwave we have a section on our blog with several recipes, and we add new ones often so keep a look. Follow this link to find them.
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6 Sep 2021 11:20
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Gastroback Breadmaker
Last year during the pandemic I sold an incredible amount of bread maker machines and spares and accessories for them. People stuck at home took the opportunity to dig out the machines and get them working. Perhaps like me usually only using it over the Christmas period but being locked down with nothing much else to do it was a good time to experiment.
Although Panasonic is the market leader in bread machines, we have been using for over 10 years a LG model that I took home to try to see how it compared to Panasonic. Up until recently it behaved well although I only used it for a week over the Christmas period when I had family staying with us.
I was almost waiting for an excuse to upgrade and after several failed loaves in a row so I decided to try the Gastroback version.
The machine will make up to a 1Kg loaf which is quite big. It is possible with some attachments to also make ice cream, yoghurt, and jam.
The machine has an easy to read and understand blue LCD display which includes a timer so that you can set the machine to finish its magic and wake you up with that tantalizing fresh baked bread smell in the morning.
Although I do make bread using separate ingredients, I do buy the supermarket's own bread mix for ease. All you need is to add the contents to the pan with some water and switch the bread maker on.
 So far, I have done this twice and the results have been perfect. There is even a setting to increase the crustiness at the press of a button, that too worked a treat. The machine is bigger on the inside but takes up the same space in the cupboard at home as the old LG but so far has not had a chance to get put away. I totally recommend the Gastroback Design bread maker and have it in stock ready for dispatch.
Trevor
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24 Aug 2021 11:00
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The science behind browning dishes
A browning dish or crisping plate is a neat gadget that is used in a microwave oven to brown the food.
Because microwave ovens don’t produce actual heat like a conventional oven, although the food will come out cooked it may still look a little pale.
Foods such as burgers, steaks, fish, and chicken immediately spring to mind as foods we expect to see nicely browned. They will cook perfectly in a microwave but will lack that darkened finish. To save using a conventional oven or grill to finish them off a browning dish could be the answer. Of course, if you have microwave / grill or convection oven that will have the browning facility built in. You can follow the manufacturer's instructions for your microwave oven.
What is a browning dish? A browning dish is designed to absorb some of the microwaves so that the dish itself gets hot. It is that heat in the dish that colours the meat in the same way as it would get coloured in a pan on the hob or in the oven. Early browning dishes were made of a heavy ceramic such as the corning ware range but today most dishes are made of metal. Don’t panic, by design they are microwave safe (if you do not place it too close to the sides of the microwave). The general principle is that you place the dish in the centre of the oven empty and following the instructions carefully microwave the dish. A ferrite ‘pad’ on the base of the dish absorbs the microwaves and transfers them to the dish making it hot. Then you place the food in the dish with perhaps a little oil depending on taste and the recipe (to stop it sticking). Microwave it again as per the instructions and this time some microwaves will cook the food, but most will keep getting absorbed and keep the pan hot which will give a great coloured and crispy finish.
Because of the potential issue with having metal in a microwave oven it is important to follow the instructions supplied with your dish. Don’t forget also that the dish will be extremely hot, the same as a pan on the hob, so you will need oven gloves.
We have tried with great success the kitchen Craft micro grill and found it to be an excellent product. It is dishwasher safe and comes with adequate instructions. Like any cooking we would recommend that you take care and experiment with the microwave and dish. Keep an eye as you are cooking and adjust the times according to taste. Cook for a lesser time and then cook a little longer if needed rather than overcooking food in the first attempt by leaving it in the microwave too long.
The Kitchen Craft micro grill is available here and is in stock ready for immediate dispatch.
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