How do you choose to cook your weekly meals? Do you use the oven, or are you a fan of the microwave? Our team recently spoke about this in our office and figured there was more to unpack. When and how to choose heating over radiation can sometimes be overwhelming. There are plenty of benefits and drawbacks to each method. We’re taking a look into both methods and discussing when to choose heat over radiation.
The Difference Between an Oven and A Microwave
Although an oven and microwave cook foods, there’s a huge range of differences that set the two apart. An oven is a built-in appliance, whereas a microwave is portable.
Oven
It’s more common than not that everyone uses an oven day-to-day. All modern homes are installed with an oven, and it’s one of the most traditional cooking methods. Ovens are fantastic to cook with as they provide a range of settings and the fact that they can reach a temperature of 260°.
Due to the enclosed nature of the oven, all of the heat remains within the oven, giving the food penetrative heat from all angles. Unlike when cooking with fire, ovens provide a specific temperature. This accuracy is great for baking, roasting and cooking.
Microwave
The main attraction of cooking with a microwave is simplicity and ease. It’s quick and only takes a few minutes for food to be reheated and cooked. However, the apprehension about microwaves comes from how it’s actually heated. Microwaves turn electric energy into electromagnetic waves. These stimulate molecules in your food to heat it up. As a result, microwaves produce electromagnetic radiation.
Unlike an oven, the temperature of a microwave only reaches 100°. This can leave the option of what can be cooked to a minimal selection of foods.
When to choose heat over radiation?
Now that we’ve established the differences between traditional cooking methods and radiation, how do you choose what to use when cooking? This all depends on what you’re cooking or if you are simply reheating food.
If you need something that quick, easy and mainly just needs to be reheated, then going with a microwave is going to be your best bet. However, if you’re cooking anything that is going from the state of raw food and needs to be fully cooked, you’ll need to use an oven or other cooking method such as a BBQ or Wood Fired Pizza Oven.
Final Thoughts
No matter which method you choose to cook with, there’s something special about creating and cooking a meal for your family. Here at Sydney Heaters and Pizza Ovens, we’re a family business, so we love and appreciate the idea of food bringing everyone together. Our pizza ovens are one of our favourite ways to do this. If you’re interested in getting a pizza oven or any of our other products, get in touch with our team. In the meantime, read through our blogs for the latest and follow us on social media for the latest.
Read More: