Microwave Buying Guide
There are a number of things to consider when choosing the perfect microwave for you.
From cooking vegetables and rice to defrosting meat, fish and poultry, microwaves are one of the most versatile kitchen appliances you can own. This guide will help you find the most useful features for you, and decide which features you don’t need to help you save money.
Look out for the ‘Our Experts Love’ range to find microwaves with the most advanced features plus a variety of accessories – from rice steamers to soup makers.
And of course, if you want to see what’s on offer for yourself, come down to one of our stores and we’ll be happy to help find the right appliances for you.
Microwave Only (Solo)
Sometimes known as solo microwaves, these are great for completing simple tasks such as defrosting, heating and reheating, but can also be used for other simple cooking tasks such as baking cakes.
A solo microwave is a basic microwave for simple tasks such as heating and defrosting.
These microwaves are great for simple tasks such as reheating a forgotten cup of tea, warming up foods, cooking jacket potatoes, steaming vegetables or even baking cakes.
Solo microwaves are for simple tasks such as heating and defrosting. We have a wide range of microwaves that come with a grill, ideal for browning and crisping.
We have a wide range of microwaves to suit all sizes of kitchen, but you’ll find more compact models in our solo range, with the smallest models starting at a 17 litre capacity.
We have a range of microwaves in a number of colours and designs to match with the design of all kitchens.
Microwave with Grill
Grill microwaves combine normal microwave cooking with a heating element, making it easy to grill fish or meat or simply for browning your food.
These microwaves provide normal microwave cooking but in addition, they can brown or crisp up your foods, great for cooking pizzas.
Yes, you can grill and crisp bacon in a microwave with grill.
Flatbed microwaves do not have a cooking turntable, offering more cooking space.
A humidity sensor helps to automatically cook food without drying it out – all at the touch of a button.
A steam function powerfully injects high-density steam into the upper area of the microwave, enabling a fast new way to cook a wide range of ingredients. It helps to reduce fat content while retaining moisture.
Combination Microwave Oven
These offer more cooking flexibility than solo and grill models. This is because combination microwaves use microwave energy, a grill and convection heating (fanned hot air) so they can heat, roast, crisp and brown in the same way as a conventional oven, all in a fraction of the time.
Combination microwaves cook a wide range of foods in much less time than a normal oven - this could even include a full roast dinner. For example, a roast chicken can take just 32 minutes instead of the 1 hour 20 mins required in a normal oven.
Inverter technology allows the microwave to cook at different powers to suit the food you’re cooking, which means you get better results with an even temperature and texture.
A large capacity microwave will give you the most space to cook large dishes. Combination microwaves can grill and bake as well heat and defrost, so they’re great for cooking a variety of dishes.
Microwaves come with a number of different interiors ranging from ceramic enamel to stainless steel to help make cleaning easier and helping to reduce odours inside the microwave.
Intelligent sensor technology allows you to simply select the type of food you want to cook, rather than inputting a time, power or weight - the sensor analyses the humidity inside the oven, letting you know the exact moment your food is ready to eat.
Accessories to make the most of your microwave cooking
From rice steamers to soup mugs, we have a wide range of accessories to compliment your cooking.
Rice steamers feature a pressure chamber plate that allows any overflow to be collected and then drained back into the base container. You can cook perfect white rice in just 8 minutes.
We have a range of accessories to help you make the perfect pasta in any microwave.
We have a range of vegetable microwave steamers which will lock in the nutrients, making your vegetables easy to eat.
You can make the perfect poached egg in your microwave with our microwave egg poacher. It only takes a minute or two, with no mess and no fuss.
Jargon buster
Freestanding Microwaves | Designed to sit on top of your worktop.
Built In Microwaves | Designed to be fitted into your kitchen units. We can deliver and install your microwave as well as recycle your old one.
Capacity | Varies from 17 to 44 litres. A larger capacity will have a larger turntable and more interior height, allowing you to cook larger dishes or more than one dish at once.
Power | Measured in watts, microwave power varies from 800 to 1200W. The higher a microwave wattage, the faster its contents will be cooked.
Interior | Some microwaves are made with different interiors from ceramic enamel to stainless steel which all help to make it easy to clean between uses.
Auto Cook/Auto Defrost | Some microwaves also include functions that allow you to enter the weight and type of food before calculating the optimum settings in order to give the best results.
Programs | Some microwaves have pre- set programs that vary by model, offering options to automatically reheat, defrost or cook popular meals to perfection.
Flatbed | Flatbed microwaves do not have a cooking turntable, offering a great cooking capacity which guarantees uniform and even cooking.