Large household appliances are bought for more than one year. Therefore, it should not only fulfill its functions, but also organically fit into the space. Most domestic kitchens cannot boast not only excess space, but also a headroom. A great solution in such conditions is built-in appliances, including microwaves.
Built-in microwave oven
A modern microwave oven can perform many functions, and not only quickly defrost food and reheat food in portioned dishes.
Potatoes are baked in the microwave, vegetables, fish and meat are stewed, including steamed, various casseroles and pastries are cooked faster than on the hob or in the oven.
The grilled microwave is especially popular, because who doesn't love crispy chicken. Freestanding ovens require at least a little space on the work surfaces not only for installation, but also for opening the door. Not every kitchen has such conditions. The built-in microwave, which is also smaller than an oven, does not clutter up scarce work surfaces and fits into any interior.
It is easy to install, in different models it can have a door that opens to the side or, like an oven, from top to bottom. And if we compare the cost of electricity, then the built-in microwave is more economical than the oven.
Leading Microwave Manufacturers
Today, many well-known manufacturers of household appliances also produce built-in microwave ovens. And the functions of most models are similar, but in many respects the prices depend on the brand and place of assembly, although manufacturers claim that all processes take place under the control of the specialists of the parent company. The most popular today in terms of price, quality and functionality are built-in household appliances, including microwaves, from Gorenje (China), Samsung (Malaysia), Bosch (Great Britain), Siemens (Germany) and other well-known brands.
Types of built-in microwaves
All built-in microwave ovens can be divided into several groups.
The first includes inexpensive microwave ovens, simple (solo), with a minimum set of functions and services. They are usually used to quickly defrost food and reheat food. This option is especially convenient in families where there are schoolchildren. The process of warming up lunch takes a minimum of time and requires only one keystroke. The second group is microwave ovens with a grill. The grill can be located inside the chamber at the top. This is a heating element in the form of a curved tube, which often has to be washed. You can find microwave ovens with a movable grill. In them, the heating element can be installed vertically or at an angle, which happensimportant in the preparation of certain dishes. In addition, the oven with such a heater is more convenient to clean. In some models of ovens, a lower grill is also installed in addition to the upper one. There are ovens with a quartz tubular grill, which is installed behind a grate at the top of the oven. Quartz heater is more economical and gives softer heat. Even more evenly and quickly, without overdrying the dish, you can cook in the microwave with a ceramic grill.
Ovens of the third group, except for the grill, are made with convection, in which the heated air is evenly distributed throughout the chamber with the help of a built-in fan. These devices are the most expensive, but in terms of their capabilities, they practically replace electric ovens.
The most expensive are multifunctional microwave ovens, which, in addition to microwave, grill or convection modes, can steam food or have other equally useful functions.
Very convenient, especially in small kitchens, built-in ovens with microwave. Such devices save the useful volume of the kitchen even more. No need to look for a place for two devices with overlapping functions, you can install something else useful. And the quality of baking is still better than in a convection microwave.
Position of a built-in microwave
Devices differ in size, volume and material of the coating of the working chamber, software and power. But just as important is the appearance of the microwave.
The built-in microwave oven, in addition to not occupying the work surface, also has several advantages. If achoose appliances from one manufacturer in the same style, this will give the layout and design of the kitchen completeness and a certain conciseness.
If you choose a device with a low height, then it can be placed in a single column, for example, with a dishwasher and oven, or with an oven and a steamer.
Usually, a microwave oven is placed at the height of an adult's chest. Although, if the appliance is mainly intended for warming up lunch by a child, then it can be installed lower, at the level of the work surface.
Dimensions of microwave ovens
The size of built-in microwaves is one of the important parameters that affect the choice of appliance.
Often, the oven is built into the column, when household appliances are installed both under it and above it. In this case, the determining size is the width of the oven, which must necessarily match the width of other appliances, be it a washing machine or a freezer, for example. The depth is usually not so critical, because the column is formed according to the most dimensional object, and if there is free space behind the microwave oven, this will not interfere with anyone. Built-in microwaves are available in widths of 45 and 60 cm, depths of 32, 38, 45, 50 cm. Maximum depth - 60 cm. Height - in the range from 30 to 45 cm in model lines from different manufacturers.
Volume and internal coating of the working chamber
The size of built-in microwave ovens affect the volume of workingcameras. For a small family of two or three people, a stove with a volume of 17-20 liters is suitable for warming up dishes and making hot sandwiches. Built-in microwave oven Zanussi ZSM 17100 XA has a working chamber volume of only 17 liters with dimensions (H×W×D) 39×60×32 cm.
The Siemens CM636GBS1 built-in microwave oven with dimensions of 45×60×55 cm has an oven capacity of 45 liters. But an apparatus with such a working chamber is needed only by large families with a dozen hungry mouths to cook large amounts of food or simultaneously heat several plates of food. Ordinary families are quite satisfied with microwave ovens with a working chamber volume of 21-25 liters. Even a thirty-liter oven is already a lot.
Another important parameter of the inner camera is its coverage.
Special enamel is easy to clean. Caring for such an oven does not cause problems, but it can be damaged, a low-quality coating can swell over time, and the device will either need to be restored or replaced with a new one.
Stainless steel inner chamber is more durable, withstands temperature changes, but it is more difficult to clean such a surface, it can be scratched from excess zeal.
Modern bioceramic coating combines resistance to temperature and mechanical damage. It is easy to clean and long lasting.
Functional content and software
Oddly enough, but the size of the built-in microwaves also affect the set of functions provided in them.
The same Zanussi ZSM 17100 XA has no additional features, only five power levels and a signal toend of work.
In general, small ones are mostly inexpensive microwaves with a minimum of functions and mechanical control or, at best, electronic.
Microwave ovens with a chamber volume of 20 liters or more are the most popular, and there are already much more functions in them. However, the price is also higher. They, as a rule, can work in grill mode, have several automatic modes, be programmed for certain recipes, steam or memorize a given work algorithm. And there are ovens that can cook dishes of national cuisine.
There are also ovens with built-in microwaves.
Steaming prevents some foods from drying out and is considered he althier.
The function of automatically cleaning the chamber from odors is very important, especially when several dishes with pronounced aromas are cooked in succession, for example, fish or meat in spices, after which you need to bake sweet pies or puffs.
The auto-weight function allows you to determine the weight of the products in the microwave itself, and the so-called double radiation due to the dispersed source - to heat them more evenly.
Dialogue mode, when leading questions are sequentially displayed on the display, after receiving answers to which the cooking mode is set, it makes life easier for novice housewives. Not only that, some ovens may give cooking recommendations.
An e-cookbook maybe not very importantaddition to the device, but children can also cook with it. However, they are the ones who master such additions in the first place.
Microwave control
The type of control is important not only in terms of the convenience of setting settings and modes, but also from a design point of view.
Mechanical control - these are two protruding knobs, with the help of which the radiation power and cooking time are selected. This option is the most reliable and cheapest, but, firstly, the accuracy of setting the time is low, and secondly, it does not look very modern.
Button control already looks much prettier, but less reliable. But with such control it is already possible to program cooking modes.
Touch control is the most convenient in cleaning, since there are no protruding elements or slots, it allows you to program processes, but does not tolerate power surges and their replacement requires tangible costs. Prices for built-in microwave ovens vary greatly depending on the type of control.
Power built-in microwave
One of the important parameters of a microwave oven, including a built-in one, is the power, which depends primarily on the set of functions.
Ovens with only a microwave emitter consume 500 to 1000 W of power.
Microwaves with grill - 800-1500 W, with a convector - up to 2 kW.
Even the simplest devices have several emitter power modes. And the most complex devices have 10 levels of operation.
The minimum power level, which is 10% of the nominal, is used forkeeping food at the set temperature or reheating food that is sensitive to high temperatures.
A quarter of the value is used in the MEDIUM/LOW mode, that is, below average when defrosting and heating food and cooked dishes.
Medium setting at half the maximum power - MEDIUM - suitable for cooking most dishes, including cooking soups and roasting meat.
At full power (HIGH) rarely cook. It is suitable for quick roasting vegetables and fruits, making drinks and sauces.
Some of today's microwave ovens use innovative inverter power control technology. The microwave emitter does not work discretely, as in most microwaves, but constantly, and its power is regulated by an inverter. Cooked in this mode of constant and continuous energy penetration, the food does not dry out and retains its nutritional properties.
Samsung microwave ovens
One of the most popular is the built-in Samsung microwave oven model FW77SSTR with a useful chamber volume of 20 liters. It costs about 17 thousand rubles, but the inner coating of the working chamber is bioceramics, electronic control, four automatic modes, two recipes are stored in the memory of the device. The stove can work in double boiler mode, removes odors by itself. The stove looks concise, the combination of silver metal and black glass attracts attention.
Built-in microwave "Samsung" NQ50H5537KB today costs 60 thousand rubles. This is a manufacturer's newRussian market. Its volume is as much as 50 liters, dimensions are 45 × 60 × 55 cm, the door opens down.
This is an oven with microwave radiation, grill and convection, internal enamel coating, microwave power 800 W and 7 degrees of regulation with touch control and digital display. Its functions include working in mixed modes of grill and microwaves, convection and microwaves, steam cooking, programming with the ability to set 15 cooking programs, five automatic defrost modes, steam cleaning modes and delayed start. The power of the device is 3 kW, the maximum heating temperature is 240 °C.
Bosch Microwaves
The Bosch HMT75M654 built-in microwave is assembled in China. It costs about 25 thousand rubles. Its volume is 20 liters, dimensions 38 × 60 × 32. Microwave power - 800 W with 5 adjustment levels. Electronic control with digital display. It has 7 automatic programs and one program is memorized. The door opens to the left, the stove is easy to clean, and it looks modern and strict.
The Bosch BFL634GS1 built-in microwave is assembled in the UK. Its volume is 21 liters, the dimensions are the same as the previous model. The microwave emitter is a little more powerful, and there are seven automatic programs, but it already costs 50 thousand rubles.
Siemens microwave ovens
The Siemens CM636GBS1 device, the price of which is already 95 thousand rubles, can work separately in microwave and grill modes, andalso combine them. In microwave and grill modes, power is 1 kW each, the control panel and display are touch-sensitive.
Maybe such an expensive and stylish large microwave oven is a fashionable and prestigious thing, but these are not the main indicators at all.
The dimensions of built-in microwave ovens, the set of functions that they are capable of performing, as well as their price, are much more important. And, of course, the appearance, which may well complement the design of a modern kitchen.
