 A microw

ave
oven (also
commonly
referred to
as
a microwa
ve) is an
electric ove
n that heats
and cooks
food by
exposing it
to electrom
agnetic
radiation in
the microwa
ve frequenc
y
[1]
range. Thi
s
induces pol
ar
molecules i
n the food to
rotate and
produce the
rmal
energy in a
process
known
as dielectric
heating.
Microwave
ovens heat
foods
quickly and
efficiently
because
excitation is
fairly
uniform in
the
outer 25–38
mm (1–1.5
inches) of
a homogen
eous, high
 water
content
food item.
 The
developme
nt of
the cavity
magnetron
made
possible the
production
of
electromag
netic waves
of a small
enough
wavelength
(microwave
s).
American
engineer Pe
rcy
Spencer is
generally
credited
with
inventing
the modern
microwave
oven
after World
War
II from rada
r technolog
y developed
during the
war. Named
the
"Radarange
", it was first
sold in
1946. Rayth
eon later
licensed its
patents for
a home-use
microwave
oven that
was first
introduced
by Tappan i
n 1955, but
these units
were still
too large
and
expensive
for general
home
use. Sharp
Corporation
introduced
the first
microwave
oven with a
turntable
between
1964 and
1966. The
countertop
microwave
oven was
first
introduced
in 1967 by
the Amana
Corporation
. After
Sharp
introduced
low-cost
microwave
ovens
affordable
for
residential
use in the
late 1970s,
their use
spread into
commercial
and
residential k
itchens aro
und the
world. In
addition to
their use in
cooking
food,
microwave
ovens are
used for
heating in
 many
industrial
processes.
 Microwave
ovens are a
common kit
chen
appliance a
nd are
popular for
reheating
previously
cooked
foods and
cooking a
variety of
foods. They
are also
useful for
rapid
heating of
otherwise
slowly
prepared
foodstuffs,
which can
easily burn
or turn
lumpy when
cooked in
conventiona
l pans, such
as hot
butter, fats,
chocolate
or porridge.
Unlike
conventiona
l ovens,
microwave
ovens
usually do
not directly
brown or
caramelize
food, since
they rarely
attain the
necessary
temperature
s to
produce Ma
illard
reactions.
Exceptions
occur in
rare cases
where the
oven is
used to heat
frying-oil
and other
very oily
items (such
as bacon),
which attain
far higher
temperature
s than that
of boiling
water.
 Microwave
ovens have
limited roles
in
professional
[2]
cooking, b
ecause the
boiling-
range
temperature
s of a
microwave
will not
produce the
flavorful
chemical
reactions
that frying,
browning,
or baking at
a higher
temperature
will.
However,
additional
heat
sources can
be added to
microwave
ovens.