So Which One Do You Buy?
Sun Herald
Sunday January 29, 1989
WHAT microwave should you buy given all the alternatives now available?
According to a survey on microwave ovens carried out last July by Choice magazine, Panasonic microwaves faired better than rivals-Philips, Sanyo, Toshiba and Sharp.
However, several brands were not tested. NEC, Simpson and Westinghouse, for example, were changing models at the time.
The microwaves surveyed were medium-sized and under $700.
All the ovens had special features aimed at improving the cooking process.
Choice found the Panasonic oven's humudity sensor, which determines cooking time by detecting steam, cooked a chicken and broccoli very well. Reheating a meal and defrosting a frozen meal were also successfully done.
Philips' innovation is a temperature probe which determines cooking time according to the internal temperature of the food.
The survey found the probe worked quite well on a meatloaf with a set power level but failed when used in conjunction with auto temperature cooking. A chicken cooked with both methods was undercooked around the drumstick joints and on the underside.
However, the manufacturer said it was necessary to experiment with the probe.
The Sharp auto sensor-which works the same way as the Panasonic sensor-overcooked both broccoli and meatloaf but cooked a chicken quite well.
The oven was able to defrost frozen beans and then cook them to satisfaction but heating a frozen meal was not as efficient-food was lukewarm in the middle.
But the one-touch reheat function which uses the sensor to reheat a meal fared better.
The Sanyo microwave doesn't have the sensor cooking features of the other ovens. What it does have is an auto weight cooking function where the weight and type of food combine with the oven to determine the cooking time. Choice found this system worked well with chicken.
All the ovens tested had an auto-defrost function where the user keys in the weight, the type of food and the oven determines the defrost time.
However, Choice found that Philips, Sanyo and Sharp microwaves were only adequate when it come to defrosting mince. The Sharp and Philips models were better at defrosting manually. This meant using the constant power level recommended by the manufacturer as well as keying in the time.
Panasonic, on the other hand, worked well for both methods.
All the ovens were easy to use but it was hard to see the food in the Panasonic while the Philips and Sanyo had fiddly controls.
The Philips oven proved harder to clean because the rollers under the turntable can only be removed with a screwdriver.
Choice decided on Panasonic because it consistently cooked a variety of foods to satisfaction. The other plus was its automatic features.
The survey found the automatic features on the Philips and Sharp microwaves did not live up to expectations and did not take the guess-work out of cooking.
The Sanyo's auto-weight cooking feature also performed well but it did not cook as well as the Panasonic and has fewer automatic features.
The Sharp microwave was found to be suitable for both the manually disabled and the visually impaired. This model has a coloured, easy-to-use touch control pad and it's door is also easy to open.
The Panasonic has an easily opened door, too, but reading the control pad proved more difficult.
© 1989 Sun Herald