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WHAT ARE MICROWAVES?
THIS IS WHAT YOUR NEW COMBINATION
MICROWAVE OVEN CAN DO
Like radio and television waves, microwaves are
electromagnetic waves.
Microwaves are produced by a magnetron inside
the microwave oven, and these vibrate the
molecules of water present in the food. The friction
this causes produces heat, which ensures that the
food is defrosted, heated or cooked through.
The secret of the reduced cooking times is the fact
that the microwaves penetrate the food from every
direction. Energy is used to the full. In comparison,
the energy from a conventional hob passes from
the burner through the pan and so to the food.
This method wastes a great deal of energy.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROWAVES
Microwaves penetrate all non-metal objects made
of glass, china, earthenware, plastic, wood or
paper. This is why the microwaves never make
these materials hot. Dishes become hot only
because the food inside them is hot.
The food absorbs the microwaves and is heated.
Microwaves cannot pass through objects made of
metal and so they are deflected. For this reason
metal objects are not normally suitable for
microwave cookery.
There are exceptions where you can actually make
use of the fact that the microwaves cannot pass
through metal. If you cover food with aluminium foil
at specific points while it is defrosting or cooking,
you can prevent those parts from getting too warm,
too hot, or overcooked. Please check out the
advice given in the guide.
MICROWAVE OPERATION
By using the microwave facility in your new
combination microwave oven you can, for
example, quickly heat up ready-prepared meals or
drinks, or melt butter or chocolate in no time at all.
The microwave oven is equally good at defrosting
food. Sometimes, however, it is better to combine
the microwave with convection heating or grilling
(combined operation). You can then cook the food
rapidly and brown it at the same time. Cooking
times are generally much shorter than in
conventional food preparation.
COMBINED OPERATION
(MICROWAVE OPERATION WITH
CONVECTION OR GRILL)
By combining two modes of operation the benefits
of your oven are cleverly linked together.
You are able to choose between
• microwave + convection (ideal for joints of
meat, poultry, puddings, bread and cakes) and
• microwave + grill (ideal for pizzas, snacks,
quick fry-ups, joints, poultry, chicken legs,
kebabs, Welsh rarebit and cooking au gratin).
Using the combination facility you can cook and
brown food at the same time.
The advantage is that the convected heat or the
heat from the grill quickly seals the pores in the
outer layers of the food. The microwaves ensure a
short and gentle cooking period. The juices are
preserved inside the food and the outside is crisp.
CONVECTION OPERATION
You can also use convection without microwave.
The result is like using a conventional oven. The
circulating air quickly heats up the external parts
of the food without drying up the meat juices and
the foods.
This sealing process means that the meals remain
tasty and cook in a shorter time than with
conventional ovens with upper and lower heaters.
GRILL OPERATION
This appliance comes with a quartz grill above the
cooking area. It can be used as a conventional
grill without microwave. You can quickly bake or
grill dishes. It’s also suitable for steaks, chops and
cakes.
1. ZD-91D-EU English 22/02/2005 08:55 Page 10
