In a world where time means money and life is on the fast lane, we really don’t have time to wait around much anymore. Well, in 1946 Dr. Percy Spencer felt the same way as he was working on an active radar set and noticed that the candy bar in his pocket started to melt, so in his discovery of what was happening, he found a way to electromagnetic waves, or otherwise known as microwaves, and containing it in a box that had no way for these waves to escape; thus creating the microwave oven.
In the late 1940’s, if you wanted this magic quick cooker first called the “Radarange”, then you needed for fork out up to three grand and find a place that would fit this 6 foot tall 700 pound monster. Thank goodness for technology. Just think if your normal counter top microwave was actually still this overweight huge gadget. Our electric bills would be out of this world!
Obviously with time, the size, weight, and price of this ingenious microwave went down and became a multimillion dollar household necessity. Almost everything can be cooked in a microwave oven these days, except for anything wrapped in foil. Foil will cause your dear compact cooker to go up in flames.
Around the 1970’s is when the world started picking up the pace and looking for easier ways to save time and energy while looking for a convenient way to make a meal. Many stay at home moms were now working moms and were starting to realize that fast food wasn’t always what was fast and convenient. Microwaves became a way that the working mom, or even dad, could pop in a frozen meal, or even a left over and within minutes have the family together at the table.
With the microwave, there is no waiting for that oven to heat to 325 degrees, or waiting for that frozen roast to thaw to cook, the microwave would cook it right away or thaw it out for you with the touch of a button.
Everyone in the U.S. began incorporating the microwave in their home, and the more popular it became, the more companies began discovering more and more foods that could be cooked via the microwave, especially that famous snack called popcorn. By 1975 over 52 million households had a microwave, and the number kept on rising.
So we know that a microwave is quick at heating things up by using microwaves, but does it really affect the taste of the food? Does cooking food via the microwave better than cooking food via your gas or electric range or oven? I personally say that it depends on the food because water, fat and other substances that are in the food absorb the energy that the microwaves produce causing it to be an unnatural way of cooking. But I have to admit, the taste is still pretty satisfying.
Many people feel as though there is a safety issue with using a microwave oven. Many feel that the radiation from the microwaves radiation can heat body tissue like it can heat the food. The exposure has to be in high levels to cause cataracts and sterility, which are two of the main concerns with such levels of radiation. Low levels of radiation on the other hand have not yet shown any harmful effects. In some cases, the microwave oven can cook the food unevenly which can cause health concerns if the food is not prepared well enough.
As far as positive effects of the microwave versus your gas or electric oven, you don’t have to worry about the burner still being heated after the food is prepared, thus less of a chance for someone to get burned. This is a big plus especially when you have little ones running around the kitchen when you are trying to prepare dinner. Speaking of the little ones, you never want to heat up a baby’s bottle in the microwave, because the microwave has the tendency to cook unevenly, you could risk the chance of burning the baby.
In conclusion, the microwave has come a long way, decreased in height, weight, and price. And above all, has made everyone in the United State’s life just a bit easier.
